Circular 65/2026/TT-BGDĐT · Foreign-degree recognition
What this means for you
- Vietnam's new recognition rules took effect September 26, 2026.
- US accreditation alone isn't enough. Programs taught in Vietnam must meet the Vietnamese authorization requirements and have run lawfully.
- Online degrees need program permission from the competent education authority where the student lives and studies, including Vietnam for students based there.
- Results normally come within 20 working days after a complete application, or up to 30 if extra checking is needed.
- There is no general exemption for approved joint programs under the new rules; specific earlier cases keep their transition protections.
Questions about how this applies to your institution? Talk it through with a USVN senior advisor.
The detail
1. The rule and its status
Vietnam recognizes eligible foreign qualifications through a national procedure that checks the awarding institution, the program and where and how the learner studied. In force: issued August 11, 2026; effective September 26, 2026. Article 10 replaces Circulars 13/2021, 07/2024 and vocational-recognition Circular 34/2017, subject to Article 9 transitions. Official signed text, Articles 1–10.
2. Who it affects and what it means for a US school
This matters when graduates intend to use a US qualification in Vietnam, including graduates of programs delivered in Vietnam. US accreditation alone does not establish every Vietnamese condition. Article 3(1) sets alternative home-country authorization/quality conditions; Article 3(3) additionally requires Vietnam-based training to have operated lawfully, including program approval, admission and duration requirements at the time of delivery. A later recognition application cannot substitute for lawful operation.
Recognition is provided on request; it is not a requirement that every foreign graduate obtain a certificate for every use. The Director General of MOET's Quality Management Department recognizes higher-education qualifications under Article 4. Vietnamese institutions may evaluate qualifications for their own internal training activities under Article 7(2), with records and reporting; that internal assessment is distinct from a national recognition certificate.
3. What to do, by partnership model
- Recruitment to the US: retain evidence of the institution's authorization/accreditation, the award, transcript and study history. Do not promise an automatic Vietnamese level equivalence: Articles 2 and 6 allow recognition information without a Vietnam Qualifications Framework equivalence where the basis is insufficient.
- 2+2/3+1: document both locations, credited study and the lawful Vietnamese component. Classify the actual arrangement against Article 3, rather than treating every transfer graduate as a student who studied entirely at US headquarters.
- Dual degree or joint program: keep each issuer's authorization and each cohort's Vietnamese approval, extensions, changes, agreement and graduation list. Article 7(3) requires cooperating institutions to supply these records to the recognition authority.
- Online or blended: Article 3(5) requires the program to be permitted by the competent education authority in the country where the learner resides and studies, in addition to Article 3(1). A permitted delivery percentage under Circular 07/2025 does not itself prove this recognition condition.
- Branch campus: verify lawful Vietnamese establishment and operation as well as the issuer's home-country conditions under Article 3(3). A branch label creates no blanket recognition exemption.
Article 5 generally provides a 20-working-day result period after a complete application, up to 30 working days where foreign verification or clarification is needed. It provides digital submission and specified authentication/translation routes; English-language documents have a translation exception in Article 5(3)(b). Check the actual dossier rather than requiring translations indiscriminately. Article 6(4)'s procedural exemptions concern applicable recognition treaties/agreements and specified state-budget study sent and received by MOET. It retains no general exemption for approved foreign-linked programs or programs with at most 30% online workload. Circular 07's 30% category is a delivery classification, not recognition clearance; qualification legality/validity checks still apply to procedural exemptions.
4. Change history
Article 9(1) preserves the former rules for applications submitted before September 26. Article 9(2) preserves the former procedure for the specified overseas in-person doctorate with field research elsewhere where the program recruited before that date. Earlier inspection/competent-authority conclusions on linked programs continue under Article 9(3). These are specific savings, not a general preservation of the old joint-program exemption for new applications. The former rules are Circular 13/2021 as amended by 07/2024, official consolidation. Do not apply the old exemption text to a new cohort without a transition basis.
5. Sources and verification
Official Vietnamese signed PDF · Government publication and explanation · Government register
Last verified: 2026-10-30. English explanation; the official Vietnamese text controls.
6. Related pages
Online/blended rules · Joint-program rules · Troy case · Keuka case · University Atlas. Case inclusion is not a finding that every cohort satisfies this circular.
7. Briefing and legal note
Not legal advice. Before promising recognition, map the issuer, mode, locations, recruitment date and approval history for the actual cohort. Prepare a Vietnam Partnership Briefing with a USVN senior advisor to identify the evidence and questions to take to qualified Vietnamese counsel.
For general information only, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with qualified counsel and the relevant Vietnamese authorities before acting.