Calculation of Living Expenses for Members of Vietnamese Agencies Abroad

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Living expenses for members of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and their spouses are calculated according to the instructions in Clause 1, Article 8 of Circular 07/2020/TT-BTC, as follows:

- Living expenses (hereinafter abbreviated as LE):

Monthly living expenses = Local LE rate x Individual LE index

In which: Local living expenses rate = Base LE rate x Local coefficient

- Living expenses for less than a month:

Supporting documents for payment of living expenses include: Decision approving the spouse's accompaniment entitlement and the introduction letter for living expenses payment issued by the managing agency of the Vietnamese representative agency abroad; photocopy of the passport personal details page and the pages with the departure and entry stamps.

Some specific regulations on living expenses for members of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and their spouses:

- Living expenses for members of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad:

+ Paid according to the actual number of days present in the host country consistent with the duration specified in the decision to second them to the Vietnamese representative agency abroad (except in cases returning to Vietnam for work as stipulated in Point c, Clause 9, Article 8 of this Circular).

+ Full living expenses during annual leave.

+ Female members of Vietnamese agencies abroad who give birth are entitled to maternity benefits equivalent to 100% of the average salary and wages on which Social Insurance is based, paid by the Social Insurance Fund, and living expenses policies cease during the maternity leave period.

- Living expenses for the spouse: Paid according to the actual number of days present in the host country. When the spouse leaves the working location for personal matters with the consent of the Head of the Vietnamese representative agency abroad, living expenses are not paid for the days spent in Vietnam. The Head of the Vietnamese representative agency abroad is responsible for specifying the living and activity regulations of the spouse.

Circular 07/2020/TT-BTC stipulates that the payment of living expenses is based on the Living Expenses Table according to form C02a-HD issued together with Circular 107/2017/TT-BTC dated October 10, 2017 by the Minister of Finance guiding the administrative and non-business accounting policies. In cases where living expenses are paid in local currency, they are converted from the fixed living expenses in US dollars (USD) to local currency according to the exchange rate provided by the host country's bank at the time of payment (attached with the host country's bank exchange rate).

Special attention, living expenses policies for spouses who cannot accompany officials on their mission at the Vietnamese representative agency abroad due to difficult family circumstances or difficult and dangerous locales.

For the full text of the regulations, see Circular 07/2020/TT-BTC, effective from March 20, 2020.

Thu Ba

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