Vietnam: Notable legislative documents from the Past Week (from March 18, 2023 to March 23, 2023)

National High School Exam 2019: Exam for Independent Candidates, Continuing Education, and 12th grade Students in Vietnam

On March 18, 2019, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular 03/2019/TT-BGDDT amending and supplementing the national high school examination regulations and the recognition of high school graduation as stipulated in Circular 04/2017/TT-BGDDT and Circular 04/2018/TT-BGDDT.

Unlike previous regulations where independent candidates and candidates from continuing education programs had separate exam rooms, in 2019, a unified exam approach will be conducted for all candidates. Specifically:

- Independent candidates and those studying the continuing education program will take the exam together with Grade 12 students from the regular high school education program at certain Exam Locations, as determined by the Director of the Department of Education and Training ;

- The list arrangement for exam rooms at these Exam Locations will be conducted as follows:

Each Examination Council has a unique code applicable nationwide. For each Examination Council, the candidate list for each Exam Location is established as follows:

- Arrange the list of all candidates at the Exam Location alphabetically (a, b, c,...) to assign candidate numbers;- Arrange the list of candidates alphabetically (a, b, c,...) for each exam or component exam of the composite exam (Natural Sciences or Social Sciences) to allocate exam rooms.

Circular 03/2019/TT-BGDDT takes effect from May 3, 2019.

2. Female Lawyers with Children under 12 Months are Exempted from Training in Vietnam 

This is a new regulation mentioned in Circular 02/2019/TT-BTP on the mandatory obligation of professional and vocational training for lawyers.

Circular 02/2019 stipulates cases where lawyers are exempt from the obligation to participate in training for the year, including:

- Lawyers serving as National Assembly delegates or People’s Council delegates at the provincial and municipal levels;- Female lawyers with children under 12 months of age;- Lawyers with health issues who have submitted a request and received confirmation from the Bar Association Board;- Lawyers aged 70 and above with over 20 years of practice;- Lawyers undergoing long-term treatment at medical institutions for diseases listed in the long-term treatment category, certified by competent health authorities.

Note: Lawyers falling under the exemptions must submit proof documents to the Bar Association they belong to.

Circular 02/2019/TT-BTP takes effect from May 5, 2019.

3. Guidelines for collection of social insurance premium arrears for Commune-level officials who are sick soldiers in Vietnam

On March 20, 2019, Vietnam Social Security issued Official Dispatch 835/BHXH-BT to guide the retroactive collection of mandatory social insurance for non-public preschool teachers and commune officials who are war invalids.

Communal officials who worked or held positions and received allowances as per Article 3 of Decree 09/1998/ND-CP and those who worked or held positions as per Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 2 of Decree 121/2003/ND-CP are subjects of retroactive collection under this Official Dispatch 835.

Amount of Retroactive Social Insurance: The retroactive social insurance amount is calculated based on the percentage (%) X the allowance or monthly salary basis for social insurance contributions plus interest as per social insurance regulations.

- From January 1998 to October 2003, for holding positions and receiving allowances as per Article 3 of Decree 09/1998/ND-CP: 15%, with 5% paid by communal officials and the remainder by the commune People’s Committee;- For holding positions as per Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 2 of Decree 121/2003/ND-CP (from October 2004):- From October 2004 to December 2006: 15%, with 5% paid by communal officials and the remainder by the commune People’s Committee.- From January 2007 to when they started participating in mandatory social insurance as per Decree 92/2009/ND-CP dated October 22, 2009, of the Government of Vietnam: 16%, with 5% paid by communal officials and the remainder by the commune People’s Committee.

4. Details of conditions for participating in compulsory social insurance for Foreign employees in Vietnam

On March 18, 2019, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (Hanoi, Vietnam) issued Official Dispatch 1064/LD-TBXH-BHXH providing clarifications on issues concerning foreign workers’ participation in mandatory social insurance as per Decree 143/2018/ND-CP.

Official Dispatch 1064 clearly states that foreign workers are subject to mandatory social insurance participation if they meet the following conditions:

- Have a work permit or practicing certificate or license issued by Vietnamese competent authorities;

- Have a labor contract (for an indefinite term or for a definite term of at least 12 months) with an employer in Vietnam;

- Are under 60 years of age for men and under 55 years of age for women;

- Are not covered under internal corporate transfer according to Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree 11/2016/ND-CP, which include workers who are managers, executive directors, specialists, or technical workers working for a foreign enterprise, who have been employed by the foreign enterprise for at least 12 months, and are reassigned to work at the commercial presence of that foreign enterprise in Vietnam.

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