Every citizen must have the right and duty to perform military service when he comes of age. So, when performing military service and when demobilizing, what benefits will Vietnamese citizens be entitled to?
Article table of contents
According to the Law on Military Service 2015 of Vietnam, military service is the glory of citizens who serve in the People's Army. Military service is performed in the regular armed forces or in reserve forces of People’s Army. Citizens at the age for military service, regardless of ethnics, sectors, faiths, religions, education levels, occupations or residences, shall complete the military service according to the regulations in this Law.
Thus, military service is the right and obligation of every citizen when they reach the age of military service. Citizens performing military service shall be entitled to 05 benefits specified in Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, specifically as follows:
One, leaves of active non-commissioned officers and soldiers from the 13th month on service
From the 13th month on service, an active non-commissioned officer or soldier has an annual leave of 10 days (exclusive of the travel time) and receives allowances for travel cost under current regulations. Concurrently, if leave cannot be granted due to a combat situation or threat thereof or difficulty in travel, the leave will be converted into an amount of money (the payment for one leave day shall be equal to the daily meal allowance of a non-commissioned officer/foot soldier).
In particular, for non-commissioned officers/soldiers who have used up their annual leave, if their family suffer from natural disaster or a serious fire or their parents, parents-in-law; lawful fosterer; spouse; children or legally-adopted children pass away or they gain remarkable achievements during duty performance, they will be given a special leave of a period of no more than 5 days (exclusive of the travel time) and receive an allowance for travel.
Two, exempt from postage when sending money, mailers or parcels.
Active non-commissioned officers and soldiers shall be exempt from postage when sending money, mailers or parcels and provided with 4 letter stamps/month of which the price as regulated and monthly rank allowances in the same period. Besides, non-commissioned officers and soldiers who are members of poor households or students who have taken loans from Vietnam Bank for Social Policies shall be eligible for an interest-free deferral of loan repayment during the service period under current regulations.
Concurrently, active non-commissioned officers and soldiers who satisfy standards for political quality, ethics, culture, health and age may sit the entrance exam and shall be given plus points when sitting entrance examinations as currently regulated.
Three, one-off discharge allowances and allowances for job creation and traveling
Discharged non-commissioned officers and soldiers shall be provided with the following allowances:
- In addition to one-off benefits from social insurance under law provision on social insurance, the discharged non-commissioned officer/soldier shall receive one-off discharge allowances; the allowances for one year serving in the military force shall be equal to the amount of 2 month’s statutory pay as regulated by the Government at the time of discharge (current statutory pay rate is VND 1,490,000/month). Allowance for an incomplete year: Less than 1 month: no allowance; 1 – 6 months: 1 month’s statutory pay; from more than 6 months to 12 months: 2 month’s statutory pay.
Concurrently, non-commissioned officers/soldiers who have served in military force for 30 months inclusive shall receive an additional allowance equal to 2 month’s current monthly rank allowances when discharged; if discharged prior to the time mentioned above, an additional allowance of 1 month’s current monthly rank allowances shall be paid for the period from the 25th month to the 30th month.
- Allowances for job creation: Non-commissioned officers/soldiers who fulfill their duty of military service shall receive allowances for job creation equal to 6 month’s basic salary when being discharged as regulated by the Government on the discharge day.
- Discharged non-commissioned officers/soldiers will have a farewell meeting before discharge held by their supervisory authority with the cost of VND 50,000/person; and taken back to their residence place as regulated or provided with an allowance for travel.
Four, training, vocational training and employment opportunities after discharge.
- Non-commissioned officers/soldiers who are studying in or receive an acceptance letter from vocational training institutions or tertiary education institutions before enlistment shall have their academic records retained and may be admitted by these institutions after discharge. Concurrently, when discharged, if the non-commissioned officer/enlisted soldier who has fulfilled his/her duty of military service desires to enroll in vocational training courses and is eligible for vocational training, he/she shall be provided with vocational training.
- Non-commissioned officers/soldiers who complete their military service will be readmitted and assigned jobs at the place where they worked before enlistment and ensured salaries and wages commensurate with job position and salary and wages before enlistment.
- Discharged non-commissioned officers/soldiers shall be given priority in job provision and plus points in school recruitment or recruitment of officials and public employees; and shall receive 100% of salary and allowances suitable for their knowledge and skills during probation.
Five, benefits for families of active non-commissioned officers and soldiers
- VND 3,000,000/time if the house of the active non-commissioned officer/soldier collapses due to a fire or natural disaster or the incident results in relocation or causes severe financial damage; (Note: no more than twice a year)
- VND 500,000 for each family member who has suffered from illness for at least 1 month or has undergone one-time treatment in the hospital for at least 7 days; (no more than twice a year for each family member)
- VND 2,000,000 for each family member of an active non-commissioned officer/soldier who is killed in combat or dies or is missing.
Ty Na
