3 cases are exempted from foreign language exam when recruiting civil servants

The Government has just issued Decree No. 116/2024/ND-CP dated September 17, 2024 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 138/2020/ND-CP dated November 27, 2020 regulating the recruitment, use and management of civil servants and Decree No. 06/2023/ND-CP dated February 21, 2023 regulating the quality assessment of civil servant input.

Accordingly, from September 17, 2024, there will be 3 cases exempted from foreign language exams when taking civil service exams.

Civil service exam through 2 rounds

According to new regulations, civil servant recruitment exams are conducted in 2 rounds.

Round 1: Multiple choice test on computer on general knowledge about the political system, organization of the Party, State... and foreign language for each job position, except for positions that do not require foreign language proficiency.

The results of round 1 are determined by the number of correct answers for each part of the exam; if the candidate answers 50% or more of the questions correctly for each part of the exam, he/she will be allowed to participate in round 2.

In case the results of the civil servant input quality assessment have been passed according to the provisions of Decree No. 06/2023/ND-CP dated February 21, 2023 regulating the civil servant input quality assessment, and the results of the civil servant input quality assessment are still within the time limit calculated by the deadline for receiving the application form and meet the requirements on the scoring scale according to the provisions of Point d, Clause 2, Article 3 of this Decree (if any), then there is no need to take the first round exam.

Round 2 is a written exam or a combination of writing and interview.

The written test tests the knowledge of the Party's guidelines and policies, laws on the recruitment industry and field; professional and technical capacity; and public service performance skills of the candidate according to the requirements of the job position to be recruited.

The interview focuses on assessing abilities: thinking, communication, situational judgment, learning, development, expression, attitude and other abilities as required by the job position.

In the same recruitment exam, if there are job positions requiring different expertise and skills, the Recruitment Council must organize the development of different specialized professional exam questions corresponding to the requirements of the job positions to be recruited.

In case the competent authority recruiting civil servants has specific requirements on the content and time of specialized professional exams higher than those prescribed in this clause, it must be specifically determined in the Recruitment Plan.

Cases of exemption from foreign language test

Decree No. 116/2024/ND-CP stipulates exemption from the foreign language test specified in Part II, Round 1 for 3 cases:

One is to have a foreign language major diploma in accordance with the foreign language requirements of the job position, at the same level of training or at a higher level of training than the professional and technical training required by the job position being recruited.

Second, have a diploma of the same training level or at a higher training level than the professional training level required for the job position, study abroad in a foreign language as required for the job position or study in a foreign language as required for the job position in Vietnam, recognized by a competent authority or automatically recognized according to the provisions of law.

Third, having a certificate of ethnic minority language applying for a job position directly related to ethnic minorities or a job position working in an ethnic minority area; being an ethnic minority applying for a job position directly related to ethnic minorities or a job position working in an ethnic minority area.

Determine the winner

According to Decree No. 116, candidates who pass the civil service exam must have a score of 50 points or higher in the second round. In case of a combined written and interview exam, they must take both exams (written and interview) and have a score of 50% or higher in each exam.

In addition, the successful candidate must have a higher score in round 2 plus priority points (if any) taken in descending order of points in the recruitment quota of each job position, including for jobs recruited jointly by many different civil service agencies.

In case there are 2 or more people with the same total score calculated according to the provisions in Point b, Clause 1 of this Article in the final quota, the determination of the successful candidate will be carried out in the following order of priority: : The person with the higher score in the second round; the person with the higher score in the written test in the second round in case of choosing the combined form of writing and interview; the person who passes the civil servant input quality assessment and is exempted from the first round; the person with the higher result in the civil servant input quality assessment in case of both being exempted from the first round; the person with the higher number of correct answers in the general knowledge subject in the first round in case of both taking the first round.

In case the successful candidate has not been determined according to the order of priority specified in this clause, the head of the competent authority for recruiting civil servants shall decide on the successful candidate.

For job positions recruited jointly by many different civil service agencies, the determination of the successful civil service agency is carried out according to the order of priority selected in the application form of the successful candidate.

In case the number of successful candidates applying for recruitment to a civil service employing agency is greater than the recruitment quota of that civil service employing agency, priority will be given to selecting candidates with higher recruitment results.

In case there are 2 or more people with equal recruitment results in the final quota of the agency using that civil servant, selection shall be made according to the order of priority specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Those who fail the civil service exam will not have their exam results saved for future exams.