Hello and welcome to the brand new VN Foreigner Brief!

This is the first formal issue for the briefing and what you can expect for the future ones generally. This issue focuses on recent education policy developments that directly affect foreign teachers and international educators in Vietnam. We look at newly approved government mechanisms, draft regulations under the Law on Teachers, and broader signals showing how Vietnam is reshaping the way it attracts and regulates foreign teaching talent.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Over the past several weeks, Vietnam has taken a series of coordinated steps that point toward a more structured, and potentially more open, framework for employing foreign teachers. While many of these policies are still in draft form or early implementation, taken together they suggest a long term direction rather than isolated changes.

For foreign teachers, especially those working in ESL, higher education, or specialized language instruction, these developments are worth close attention.

The Vietnamese government has approved new breakthrough mechanisms that give vocational and higher education institutions greater autonomy in recruitment and staffing. Under these policies, institutions are allowed to sign contracts directly with foreign experts, including teachers and scientists holding doctoral level qualifications. In some cases, eligible foreign experts may receive work permit exemptions for up to three years.

The policy also grants local authorities more discretion in deploying education staff, which may reduce administrative bottlenecks for institutions outside major urban centers.

Editorial note: This change mainly benefits vocational colleges and universities rather than language centers, but it signals a broader shift toward decentralizing decisions around foreign hiring in education.

Vietnam News reported on the approval of these mechanisms here.

A draft decree under the Law on Teachers is expected to clarify the process and conditions for recruiting foreign teachers into public educational institutions. According to Lao Dong News, the draft outlines procedural steps for how public schools may receive, manage, and contract foreign teaching staff.

If finalized, this would mark a meaningful shift. At present, foreign teachers are far more common in private and international schools, while public school roles remain limited and inconsistently regulated.

Editorial note: This does not mean public schools will immediately begin hiring foreign teachers at scale. However, formalizing procedures is a necessary first step before broader implementation becomes possible.

The reporting is available here.

Vietnam has officially approved plans to expand language instruction beyond English, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and selected ASEAN languages such as Lao and Khmer. These languages may be introduced at the preschool level and expanded upward, provided institutions meet regulatory conditions.

This reflects Vietnam’s broader regional integration strategy and growing demand for multilingual education.

Why this matters for teachers: While English remains dominant, this policy opens the door to new opportunities for qualified foreign language teachers, particularly those with formal teaching credentials and early childhood or school based experience.

Vietnam News covered this policy change here.

The Ministry of Education and Training recently reported on a session of the National Education and Human Resource Development Policy Council focused on mechanisms to attract foreign experts and scientists. While the discussion centered on research and high level expertise, teaching roles are closely tied to these policies, especially at the university level.

Editorial note: When discussions reach this level, they often precede more concrete regulatory changes. This suggests further clarification or new policies may follow in the next one to two years.

The ministry’s official summary can be found here.

Several longer term developments continue shaping the environment for foreign educators in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training is drafting proposed standards that would require foreign teachers to hold relevant degrees, recognized teaching certificates such as TESOL, and appropriate experience. Tuoi Tre News has reported on these proposals here.

The government’s broader plan to make English a second language includes discussion of allowing foreign English teachers to work in public schools under defined mechanisms. An overview of this debate is available from Giáo dục Việt Nam here.

Recent decrees on teaching in foreign languages also introduce stricter qualification and proficiency benchmarks, affecting both foreign and Vietnamese teachers. VietnamPlus provides a summary here.

Public discussion around the role and quality of foreign teachers continues, particularly in the English teaching sector. VNExpress maintains ongoing coverage here.

Taken together, these developments point toward a more regulated but also more transparent system. Vietnam appears interested in attracting qualified foreign educators, particularly those with strong academic credentials or specialized language skills. At the same time, expectations around qualifications, certification, and legal compliance are becoming clearer and more strictly enforced.

For teachers working with reputable institutions and holding appropriate credentials, this direction is generally positive. For those relying on informal arrangements or minimal documentation, the environment is becoming less forgiving.