Decree of Government No. 157/2005/ND-CP of December 23rd, 2005, on financing Vietnamese officials working on the tenure basis in foreign countries

DECREE

ON FINANCING VIETNAMESE OFFICIALS WORKING ON THE TENURE BASIS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Government’s Law on Organizational Structure on December 25th 2001;
Pursuant to the Decree on Officers dated February 26th 1998 and its amended version dated April 29th 2003;
Pursuant to the Decree on representative bodies of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in foreign countries dated December 2nd 1993;
At the proposal of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance,

DECIDES:

Chapter I

GENERAL STIPULATIONS

Article 1. The scope and the target group of coverage

This Decree stipulates some financial issues including the subsistence expenses, allowance, and subsidy for officials working in Vietnamese representative agencies in foreign countries on the tenure basis; those for their spouses and others; these agencies include the representative agencies of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam overseas as stipulated in the Decree dated December 2nd 1993 and other Vietnamese organizations financed by the State budget currently operating in foreign countries (hereafter they are called Vietnamese agencies in foreign countries).

Article 2. Finance for officials working in Vietnamese agencies overseas on the tenure basis

During the time working in Vietnamese agencies which are based in foreign countries, officials are financed by the Government in terms of housing, electricity, water, fuel; they get subsistence expenses, some kinds of allowances and subsidies and others funded by the State Budget as stipulated in this Decree; they get 40% of their current salary, function allowance, and seniority allowance (if any) as inside the country; their social insurances continue to be paid.

Article 3. Grounds for defining finance for officials working in Vietnamese agencies which are basedoverseas on the tenure basi0073

Regulations on the subsistence expenses, allowances and subsidies; the diplomatic spouse status and others were developed on the basis of materialistic and spiritual needs to ensure the daily life thanks to which, officials can fulfill their tasks overseas, suitable to the country’s economic conditions, external affairs and the actual situation of their work.

Article 4. The application rules for the subsistence expenses

1. The subsistence expenses regulation is applied equally for all officials having the same task of working on the tenure basis in Vietnamese agencies in foreign countries.

2. Officials occupying more important positions are granted higher rate of subsistence expenses.

Article 5. Financial source for the application

The financial source for applying this regulation on the subsistence existence, allowances, subsidies, the diplomatic spouse status and others stipulated in this Decree is planned in the annual budget estimate according to the Laws on the State Budget and this is part of finance for Vietnamese agencies based in a foreign country.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC STIPULATIONS

Article 6. Stipulations on the subsistence expenses

1. There are 3 minimum rate of subsistence expenses for officials working on the tenure basis in Vietnamese agencies based overseas: 400; 450 and 500 USD/person/month.

2. The minimum rate of subsistence expenses will be considered and revised when the consumer price index (CPI) in the country where the Vietnamese agencies are based increases by at least 10% or when the economic conditions of the country gets better and allows the revision.

3. The rate of subsistence expenses which is applied for Vietnamese agencies based overseas is defined according to the structure of standard titles, diplomatic positions of Vietnamese officials and salary grade inside the country of Vietnam.

The highest rate of subsistence expenses is 250% and the lowest is 80%.

4. Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for collaborating with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Finance to specifically define the minimum rate of subsistence expenses applied to different countries where Vietnamese agencies are based and the table of subsistence expense rate for 5 groups of officials: officials, diplomatic officials; state administrative officials; national defense officials; technical and logistic officers and the spouses.

Article 7. Stipulations on allowances and subsidies

1. The Ambassador, chief representative of the Vietnamese agencies based in the foreign country assigned by competent authorities of the Communist Party and the State to work on the concurrent basis in foreign countries or in the international organizations based overseas enjoy the multi-place function allowance of less than 15% of the minimum subsistence expenses rate.

2. In the case that the Vietnamese agencies in foreign countries can not arrange enough officers as in the approved workforce, those officers who are appointed to concurrently do the others’ work enjoy the allowance of less than 15% of the minimum rate of subsistence expenses.

3. Officers who tenure of work is in places where there is war or serious epidemic threatening the lives of human beings enjoy the allowance of less than 30% of the minimum subsistence expense rate.

4. Officials working on the tenure basis in foreign countries who have to work overnight or work for extra hours can have time off in compensation or enjoy the extra time working allowance as stipulated in current regulations.

5. Female officials working on the tenure basis in foreign countries enjoy the monthly allowance of 5% of the minimum rate of subsistence expenses.

Article 8. Others

1. Officials working on the tenure basis in Vietnamese agencies based in foreign countries are paid by the State of Vietnam in terms of the following items:

a) Money to buy working costumes and essential personal belongings during the time of work;

b) Air tickets and cost for 50 kg of excess luggage, basing on the Airlines’ regulations on this when he/she leaves Vietnam for the country they are posted and when they finish their tenure of work and come back to Vietnam. The Ambassador, Chief representative of Vietnamese agencies based in foreign countries enjoy the business class air tickets when they leave for the country they are posted for the first time and when they finish their tenure and come back to Vietnam; when they present the credentials and say goodbye when they finish their tenure of work and when they go for mission with the local leaders or when the mission trip is arranged by the diplomatic corp. If they go by train, they are entitled to use the first class tickets;

c) Health insurance for the examination and treatment of diseases in foreign countries according to current regulations;

d) Daily subsistence allowances when going for missions inside the local country or in other countries as stipulated in the regulations.

2. Officials working on the tenure basis in Vietnamese agencies based in foreign countries are entitled to import tax remission for assets and personal effects brought back to the country after finishing their working tenure as stipulated in the laws (except those applied to cars; current regulations should be applied for each period of time).

Article 9. Stipulations on the diplomatic spouse status

1. Officials working on the tenure basis in Vietnamese agencies based in foreign countries with the title of at least First Secretary, chief representative of Vietnamese agencies in foreign countries without diplomatic status and officials enjoying the rate of subsistence expenses equivalent to that of at least First Secretaries can be given the diplomatic spouse status funded by the State Budget.

2. Spouses of the Ambassadors get 125% of the minimum rate of subsistence expenses; spouses of the Ministers, charge d’affaires, Minister Counselors, and Chief representative of Vietnamese agencies overseas without the diplomatic status get 110% of that; spouses of the First Secretaries and officials having the rate of subsistence expenses equivalent to the First Secretary’s get 80% of that.

3. Spouses of the Ambassadors and chief Representatives of Vietnamese agencies when arriving in the local country to undertake the mission and when finishing the tasks and come back to Vietnam by airlines, enjoy the business class airfares. If they go by train, they can use the first class tickets.

4. Spouses of the officials have health insurance benefits: their health can be examined or treated as officials working in Vietnamese agencies overseas and others (costumes, air tickets, luggage costs…) according to current regulations. Besides, the female spouses get monthly allowance of 5% of the minimum rate of subsistence expenses; this is stipulated in Term 5 of Article 7 of this Decree.

5. Spouses who are officers working for the government and who are paid by the State Budget will get 40% of the salary they receive inside Vietnam and get social insurance during the time they enjoy the spouse status in Vietnamese agencies based in foreign countries.

6. Spouses who are not governmental officers but have paid compulsory social insurance fee before going to foreign countries can continue paying for social insurance according to national laws on social insurance.

7. Spouses who are governmental officers when finishing the mission in foreign countries are accepted to be back to work and get salary raised inside the country of Vietnam according to general regulations of the government.

Chapter III

EXECUTION PROVISIONS

Article 10. Execution effectiveness

1. This Decree will come into effect after 15 days since the day it is posted onto official gazette.

Terms stipulated in this Decree start to take effect from January 1st 2006. 2. This Decree will replace Decree No. 105/CP dated June 22nd 1965 by the Cabinet Council stipulating treatment regulations for officials working in foreign countries.

Stipulations in previous legal documents which go contrary to this Decree’s content are abrogated.

Article 11. The responsible of guiding and execution

1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs are in charge of providing guidance for the implementation of this Decree.

2. Ministers and Heads of Ministry’s equivalents, Heads of governmental agencies, Heads of Vietnamese agencies based in foreign countries are responsible for the implementation of this Decree./.