Recruitment and study-abroad consultancy · Resolution 23/2026 and applicable investment rules
What this means for you
- Distinguish direct recruitment to your US campus from a Vietnamese study-abroad consultancy and from teaching a joint degree.
- For a local consultancy in the specified notification regime, ask for business registration, advance notification and public disclosures. Notification is not a quality endorsement.
- Agree who controls admissions claims, fees, student data, refunds and complaints. Recruitment arrangements do not guarantee a visa or authorize degree delivery.
Questions about how this applies to your institution? Talk it through with a USVN senior advisor.
The detail
Last verified: 2026-10-21. Not legal advice.
The first design question is what the Vietnam-side organization actually does: introduces prospective students, runs a study-abroad consulting business, teaches a local course, or operates an approved joint degree program. This page addresses study-abroad consulting; it does not treat a recruitment contract as authorization to teach a foreign degree in Vietnam.
The current change to check
Resolution 23/2026/NQ-CP, Annex VI(A), discontinues the certificate application, resumption, and amendment/renewal procedures previously specified in Articles 116–118 of Decree 125/2024. Instead, the consulting organization must notify the local Department of Education and Training in writing at least five working days before operating, update changed information or closure, disclose information, report and accept oversight. The notification includes the organization's registration details, head, consulting staff and proposed activity. Official Annex VI, both pages · Final official Gazette record. Last verified: 2026-10-21.
Article 6(2) ties these consulting changes to the effective date of Annex IV of the 2025 Investment Law, rather than the resolution's general April 29 date. A provincial implementation decision expressly applies the three discontinued consulting procedures from July 1, 2026, with a March 1, 2027 endpoint. Resolution 23, Article 6; Quang Ngai implementation decision, Article 3. Last verified: 2026-10-21.
What to agree before appointing a recruiting partner
Recommended contract provisions, rather than a claim that every item is legally mandated: who may make admissions statements; who receives applications and money; fee and commission disclosures; refunds; student complaints; permitted use of institutional marks; data handling; subcontractors; and termination. Keep the institution's admission decision and the student's visa decision separate from the recruiter's promises.
For local consulting, request the organization's business-registration evidence, its notification and current public disclosure. The notification regime still carries reporting and legal responsibility; it is not a quality endorsement by the department. Annex VI(A)(1)–(2). Last verified: 2026-10-21.
Before you act
Classify direct recruitment, paid introductions, representative-office activity and local consultancy according to the actual arrangement. Law 143/2025 Article 51(2) and (4) now directly confirms July 1, 2026 for the new Article 7/Annex IV business-condition list and the end of the earlier list. Any later replacement of the temporary consultancy regime still needs checking. Do not assume that all recruiters need the old consulting certificate, or that all recruitment is unregulated. Agree the setup timetable and commercial terms for the actual arrangement. Last checked: 2026-10-22. Policy Library: procedure reform.
Related: 2+2/3+1; joint programs.
For general information only, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with qualified counsel and the relevant Vietnamese authorities before acting.