Policies take effect from July

Under the Residence Law 2020 which took effect from July 1, 2021, and replaces the Residence Law 2006 and the Amended Residence Law 2013, new household books and/or temporary residence books are not issued to citizens registering for permanent and/or temporary residence.

The residence registry will update information about the new temporary and/or permanent residence and temporary residing term of the registered to database of residence.

All changes in citizens’ permanent and temporary residence would be updated by residence registration and administration agencies on the national population database and residence database that are connected and shared among related ministries, sectors, agencies and units.

Household registration books and temporary residence books will no longer be used in Viet Nam after 2022.

High standard level of social assistance 

Decree 20/2021/ND-CP providing social support policies for those entitled to social protection sets out that the standard level of social assistance shall increase from VND270,000 to VND360,000 (US$ 16) per month since July 1, 2021.

The decree defines six forms of urgent support including food support, support for seriously injured people, support for funeral costs, support for house building and repair, urgent support to children when their parents die or are missing due to natural disasters, fire or other unforeseen reasons and support for job and production development.

More diverse subjects get cost-free health insurance cards 

Under Decree 20, since July 1, more subjects are granted free health insurance cards including:

- People in the category of poor households, near-poor households who have not yet been married or have no wife; has had a husband or wife who is dead or missing as prescribed by law and is raising a child under 16 years old or is raising a child aged between 16 and 22 years old and that child is studying culture, vocational training, professional secondary school , college or university with the first degree.  

- Elderly people from full 75 years old to 80 years old who belong to poor households or near-poor households that are not specified at Point a of this Clause are living in typical ethnic minority and mountainous communes and villages;

– Children under 3 years old from poor households, near-poor households other than those specified in Clauses 1, 3 and 6, Article 5 of Decree 20/2021/ND-CP living in communes and villages in lowland areas, ethnic minorities and mountainous areas where the living conditions are extremely difficult.

– People living with HIV/AIDS in poor households do not have a stable monthly income source such as salary, wages, pension, social insurance allowance, monthly social allowance.

Notification of new positive HIV test results

Under the revised Law on Prevention and Control of HIV Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) 2020 which took effect from July 1, 2021, people living with HIV are responsible for notifying the positive HIV tests to wife, husband or to-be-married partner, cohabitant as husband/wife. 

The new law also adds subjects prioritized for access to information, education, and communication about HIV/AIDS prevention and control including transgender; prisoners, temporary prisoners, compulsory training inmates, trainees of educational camps, and trainees of drug detoxification, ethnics, people living in mountainous, remote, island, and border regions and regions of specially difficult socio-economic conditions and people from the ages of 13-30.

Law on International agreements 2020

The Law on International agreements No. 70/2020/QH14 came into force from July 1, 2021. 

An international agreement must have a Vietnamese copy. If there is other agreement between the parties, the Vietnamese party shall be responsible for translating this international agreement into Vietnamese.

A foreign contracting party, except for agencies and organizations of foreign state and governments, signatories also include foreign individuals, organizations and legal entities established under the foreign law or other international organization./.

By Khanh Phuong