Proposal to offer a minimum salary of 400 million VND/month to attract experts from abroad.

The Ministry of Education and Training is developing a draft plan on breakthrough mechanisms and policies to attract and utilize foreign experts and scientists, as well as Vietnamese people living abroad, in the fields of higher education and vocational education.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director of the Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Education and Training), said that the overarching goal of the Project is to build breakthrough and superior mechanisms and policies, overcome the limitations of current regulations, and create a synchronized foundation to attract and retain high-quality intellectuals for Vietnamese education.

According to general policy, foreign experts and scientists , or Vietnamese citizens residing abroad, will receive incentives as stipulated in current regulations upon recruitment; they will also be recognized as equivalent to the titles of professor or associate professor if they have already held these titles at educational or research institutions abroad.

The highest-paid group can receive a minimum fixed salary of 400 million VND per month.

The draft plan also outlines separate policies for three groups of experts, demonstrating a priority level aimed at attracting outstanding personnel in cutting-edge science and technology fields.

illustration (6).jpg — Practical session at a university in Hanoi. (Illustrative photo: *USTH)*

Group 1 will receive a minimum fixed salary of 400 million VND/month; be exempt from personal income tax for the first 3 years; and receive an initial grant of up to 5 billion VND to set up a laboratory, purchase initial equipment, and hire assistants.

In addition, they are assigned important positions such as program director, head of research teams on cutting-edge, nationally prioritized science and technology projects as stipulated; and are given priority in being assigned ministerial-level and national-level scientific research projects according to established procedures and regulations.

Experts in this group are recruited as postdocs (researchers/PhD candidates) to work directly with the program, and their travel expenses for domestic and international business trips and conferences are fully covered as per regulations when directly related to the assigned scientific program, project, or task. In addition, experts are provided with permanent housing/apartments or receive support for renting high-end housing up to 50 million VND/month; and enjoy other support and incentives as agreed upon by the employing unit.

Group 2 will receive a minimum salary of 200 million VND/month and preferential research allowances; they will also receive an initial grant of up to 2 billion VND (depending on the field) to purchase basic equipment and research materials. Simultaneously, they will be assigned professional management positions (institute director, department head, training program director, scientific research program director, laboratory head, strong research group leader, etc.).

This group is assigned at least two scientific research projects at the ministerial or national level, in accordance with current regulations.

They are also fully reimbursed for expenses incurred during business trips and conferences both domestically and internationally that are directly related to the assigned scientific programs, projects, and tasks; they receive housing support of 20-30 million VND/month for the first three years and enjoy other support and incentives as agreed upon.

Group 3 will receive a minimum fixed salary of 100 million VND/month plus teaching fees, and will be provided with an initial allowance of up to 500 million VND for initial settlement and participation in international conferences.

In addition, they are assigned professional management positions (director, deputy director, head/deputy head of department, head of subject area, director of training programs, director of scientific research programs, head of laboratory, head of strong research group, head of research group, etc.).

Experts in this group will have all expenses covered as per regulations when traveling for work or attending domestic and international seminars directly related to the assigned scientific programs, projects, and tasks; they will also receive full support for attending international conferences twice a year.

They will also be assigned at least one ministerial-level scientific research project each year; receive housing support of 10-20 million VND/month for the first three years; and enjoy other support and incentives as agreed upon by the employing unit.

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