Universities are 'removed' from administrative procedures when attracting foreign lecturers and experts

The Government has just issued a Draft Decree regulating foreigners entering to work in management, teaching, scientific research and academic exchange at educational institutions in Vietnam. The Decree aims to regulate the employment of foreign experts in the fields of management, teaching, scientific research and academic exchange at educational institutions. This is an important step in enhancing international integration and attracting high-quality human resources from abroad. This new regulation not only opens up opportunities for foreign experts but also improves the quality of education in Vietnam.

There are schools that invite hundreds of foreign lecturers and experts.

According to information from the Ministry of Education and Training, in recent years, the number of foreign experts, lecturers and scientists coming to work at educational institutions in Vietnam has increased, contributing significantly to improving the quality of training, promoting scientific research, and transferring knowledge and technology.

Trường ĐH được — Foreign lecturers teaching at the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University)

From the reports of 110/241 universities, data shows that in the period 2020-2025, 35 schools (31.8%) have less than 2 foreigners working, 12 schools (10.9%) have 3-5 people, 5 schools (4.5%) have 5-10 people, 16 (14.5%) schools receive more than 10 people. Of which, RMIT University Vietnam has more than 300 people, Foreign Trade University has about 200 people and University of Commerce has about 100 people.

In terms of work, most foreign lecturers come to work to teach foreign languages (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, English), or a few work as ODA experts (by project). Many schools have specialized training in engineering, but the number of foreign lecturers mainly comes to teach foreign languages, other majors have few or almost no foreign experts.

"The support of foreign experts in teaching at universities contributes to improving the foreign language skills and professional qualifications as well as teaching methods of Vietnamese lecturers. However, in the actual implementation process, there are still some shortcomings related to legal procedures, administrative procedures and management work," the Ministry of Education and Training stated the reason for issuing the draft decree.

In fact, the need to attract foreign lecturers and experts to work is very large. However, according to the Ministry of Education and Training, the current system of legal documents only provides general regulations on foreign labor management in Vietnam, and there are no specific and unified regulations for the fields of education, scientific research, and academic exchange. Especially the issue of licensing procedures.

This causes difficulties and has not created a favorable mechanism for universities to attract and effectively use international lecturers and experts.

Reduce administrative procedures

According to Decree No. 219 of the Government (dated August 7, 2025) regulating foreign workers working in Vietnam, there are 21 cases of foreign workers who are not subject to work permits, including those coming to Teaching, research, and transfer of international education programs certified by the Ministry of Education and Training.

This draft adds the following cases: foreigners with professional qualifications or international prestige and reputation in their specialized fields are invited by Vietnamese educational institutions to conduct teaching activities, guide scientific research, and transfer knowledge; are experts with 3 years of experience in a certain specialized field, invited or sent to Vietnam to perform professional tasks including compiling educational and training programs; training and fostering a team of teachers and educational managers; supporting the development of an educational quality assessment and accreditation system; participating in academic exchange programs, teaching, scientific research, and academic presentations at seminars, conferences, and specialized classes in the field of education and training.

In addition, there are also cases of foreigners with doctoral degrees or titles of professor, associate professor, or academician working in management, teaching, scientific research, and academic exchange.

Accordingly, this draft decree proposes that foreigners working in management, teaching, scientific research, and academic exchange at higher education institutions that are certified by the Ministry of Education and Training as not being subject to work permit issuance will be exempted from administrative procedures for certification at competent local authorities.

At the same time, the principals and directors of some key higher education institutions as prescribed by the Minister of Education and Training are also allowed to confirm that foreign experts and scientists with doctoral degrees who are invited to manage, teach, conduct scientific research, and conduct academic exchanges at their educational institutions are not subject to work permits. This confirmation is exempted from the administrative procedure of issuing a certificate at the competent local authority.

The validity of this certificate is maximum 2 years.

Also according to the draft, universities will be allowed to recruit and employ foreigners in accordance with the development strategy of the educational institution, with the aim of improving training quality, promoting scientific research, knowledge transfer and innovation, especially in the country's priority and spearhead science and technology sectors.

The draft decree is expected to overcome shortcomings of related legal documents, reduce administrative procedures, and create conditions for educational institutions to proactively attract qualified foreign intellectuals in the fields of education, science and technology.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/truong-dh-duoc-go-thu-tuc-hanh-chinh-khi-thu-hut-lecturers-chuyen-gia-nuoc-ngoai-185251023175714767.htm