Outstanding new policies take effect from early May 2025

* Candidates for civil service exams must not be more than 10 minutes late from May 1, 2025.

The regulations and rules on recruitment, promotion, and consideration of promotion of civil servants and public employees are issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Circular 001/2025/TT-BNV.

Accordingly, Circular 001/2025/TT-BNV adjusts to shorten the time candidates can arrive late to take the exam without being eliminated from the recruitment round. Candidates must arrive no more than 05 minutes late for exams with a maximum exam time of 30 minutes or no more than 10 minutes for exams with a maximum exam time of 60 minutes or more; If candidates arrive late after this time, they will not be allowed to take the exam.

If the candidate is in a force majeure or objective obstacle that prevents the candidate from being present on time. In these cases, the Head of the Examination Board will report to the Chairman of the Council to consider and decide whether the candidate is allowed to take the exam or not.

* Ethnic minority students enjoy new policies from May 1, 2025

The Government stipulates this content in Decree 66/2025/ND-CP on policies for nursery children, students, and trainees in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, coastal and island areas, and educational institutions with nursery children and students enjoying policies. Specifically:

- Boarding children: Lunch support of 360,000 VND/child, benefit period not exceeding 09 months/school year.

- Boarding and day students:

Meal allowance: 936,000 VND/person, duration not exceeding 09 months/school year;

Housing: If boarding students and trainees have to provide their own accommodation because the school cannot arrange it on campus, or if first and second graders or disabled students need to provide their own accommodation near the school for their relatives to take care of them: They will receive support of 360,000 VND and the duration of the support will not exceed 09 months/school year.

Rice support: 15 kg of rice per month/student, trainee and the benefit period is no more than 9 months/school year.

Boarding students in grade 1 who are ethnic minorities and learn Vietnamese before entering grade 1: Enjoy an additional 01 month of the above policies.

* Principles for determining the fine level for a violation in case of aggravating or mitigating circumstances

The Government issued Decree 68/2025/ND-CP dated March 18, 2025 amending Decree 118/2021/ND-CP guiding the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

Accordingly, the principles for determining the specific fine for an administrative violation in cases where there are aggravating or mitigating circumstances are as follows:

- The specific fine for an administrative violation is the average of the fine range prescribed for that violation;

- If there is 01 mitigating circumstance, the specific fine level is determined from above the minimum level to below the average level of the fine range; in case there are 02 or more mitigating circumstances, the minimum level of the fine range is applied;

- If there is 01 aggravating circumstance, the specific fine level is determined in the range from above the average level to below the maximum level of the fine bracket; in case there are 02 or more aggravating circumstances, the maximum level of the fine bracket is applied;

- If there are both aggravating and mitigating circumstances, then deduct one aggravating circumstance from one mitigating circumstance;

- If the decree on administrative sanctions in the fields of state management stipulates the principles for determining the specific fine level for an administrative violation in case of aggravating or mitigating circumstances, the provisions of that decree shall apply.

* Instructions on how to fill in the administrative violation penalty form.

Also in Decree 68/2025/ND-CP, instructions on how to fill in the form content in administrative violation handling for violators being households, business households, and residential communities are as follows:

- Information of households, businesses, and residential communities: Recorded in the organization's information section;

- In the "name of organization" section, clearly write the phrase "household" attached to the name of the head of household (if it is a household); clearly write the name of the business household (if it is a business household); clearly write the phrase "residential community" attached to the address for the subject being a residential community;

- In the "enterprise code" section, write the business household code for violators that are business households, cross it out for violators that are households and residential communities;

- In the section "investment/enterprise registration certificate number or establishment/operation registration license", write "business registration certificate number" (if it is a business household), cross out for households and residential communities;

- In the "legal representative" section, clearly state the full name of the head of the household, the full name of the business owner, the full name of the representative of the residential community who is the head of the village, hamlet, hamlet, village, hamlet, bon, buon, phum, soc, residential group and similar residential area or the person agreed upon by the residential community to be elected.

Policy effective from May 2, 2025

* Change in accommodation allowance for officials and civil servants from May 4, 2025

Regulations on business trip allowance regime and conference expense regime, including accommodation allowances for officials, civil servants and public employees, are amended and supplemented by the Ministry of Finance in Circular 12/2025/TT-BTC.

Specifically, the accommodation allowance from May 4, 2025 will increase by VND 100,000/day from VND 200,000/day to VND 300,000/day.

For accommodation allowances for daily business trips, the actual number of hours spent on business trips, the distance traveled, and internal spending regulations are based on the actual number of hours spent on business trips, and the internal spending regulations. This Circular does not change the method of deciding on accommodation allowances for daily business trips, but adds criteria on the distance traveled.

* 3 forms of training cooperation between Vietnamese and foreign universities from May 5, 2025

Circular 07/2025/TT-BGDDT regulates training linkages between Vietnamese higher education institutions and foreign higher education institutions at undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels, specifically:

1. Direct training link: Up to 30% of the total training program volume is conducted through the online training system.

2. Online training linkage: Ensure that over 50% of the total training program volume is conducted through the online training system and only applies to university level.

3. Combined training combining direct and online: From 30% to 50% of the total training program volume is conducted through the online training system, applicable to undergraduate and master's levels.

* From May 5, 2025, early admission method will be eliminated in university admissions.

This is the notable content in Circular 06/2025/TT-BGDDT amending and supplementing the Regulations on university and college admissions for Preschool Education.

Accordingly, Point c, Clause 2, Article 2 of Circular 06/2025/TT-BGDDT has abolished the phrase "early admission plan" in Clause 2, Article 16 of Circular 08/2022/TT-BGDDT.