Safeguarding international schools in Vietnam: country guide

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current law with local counsel and the relevant authority. If a child is in immediate danger, call 113 for police or 115 for an ambulance first.

The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) is the national education ministry, and it publishes an English site.

Which office licenses and inspects your campus depends on how the school is set up. Ask your board or local counsel, and write that office's name in your child protection policy.

Many schools also hold voluntary accreditation or authorisation. UNIS Hanoi's website names the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the International Baccalaureate (IB). The member list of the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA) also includes schools in Vietnam.

The CIS child protection page describes the International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) and a set of standards agreed by accreditation and inspection bodies. The ITFCP says its work rests on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

An accreditation team may ask how your procedure works in practice, and local law is part of that answer.

The main law is the Law on Children (Law No. 102/2016/QH13), passed on 5 April 2016. It has applied since 1 June 2017. Article 47 sets three levels of child protection: prevention, assistance and intervention.

Article 1 defines a child as a person under 16. Article 44 says the State must provide a safe, healthy and friendly education environment and work to prevent school violence. Article 6 bans violence and abuse against children, and it also bans hiding information about abused children.

The Criminal Code covers criminal offences. ICMEC's 2018 summary shows that many of its child sexual offence rules name persons under 16. Ask counsel what protects your 16 and 17 year old students.

The National Assembly's 2026 programme lists one combined law that amends the Law on Children and four other laws. Resolution 11/2026/UBTVQH16 schedules it for the October 2026 session. Check whether it has passed, and what it changes, before you finalise your procedure.

Article 51 of the Law on Children names educational institutions among those who must report. Families and individuals are named too. The duty covers a child who is abused or at risk of violence, exploitation or abandonment, and the report goes to the competent authorities.

Article 51 says labour, war invalids and social affairs agencies, public security agencies at all levels and commune-level People's Committees receive these reports. Article 6 also bans hiding information about abused children. The article sets no deadline, so treat every concern as a same-day matter.

The wording covers individuals as well as institutions, so the duty may not sit with the school alone. Ask counsel how it applies to your teachers, your designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and your foreign staff. Article 51 uses the office names from 2016, so confirm which office takes reports in your area today.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 113 for police or 115 for an ambulance first. Then follow your school's child protection procedure and tell your DSL the same day. Keep the numbers below where staff and students can see them.

The UK government says these emergency lines operate in Vietnamese only. Agree in advance who makes the call for your school, and keep a short Vietnamese script beside the phone.

Article 51 tells the Government to set up a national phone line for abuse reports. The 111 site says the hotline was set up under the Law on Children. It takes reports and also counsels children.

Ask counsel whether a call to 111 meets your duty under Article 51, or whether you must also report to the police or the commune.

• 111: the National Child Protection Hotline. Its site says calls are free and the line runs around the clock.
• Child Helpline International lists 111 with phone, SMS and webchat services, in Vietnamese.
• Immediate danger: call 113 for police or 115 for an ambulance. Fire is 114. All three are listed in the UK government's travel advice.
• Your DSL: tell them the same day, every time.

Age is the first gap. The Law on Children says a child is under 16, while the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the base of ITFCP's work, says under 18. Your policy should cover every student under 18.

Reporting routes are the second gap. Article 51 asks institutions and individuals to report to the authorities, while a school procedure usually starts with the DSL. Write one route: staff tell the DSL the same day, and the DSL decides on any outside report with the Head and counsel that day.

Legal force is the third gap. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England, so it has no legal force in Vietnam. Say in your policy that you use it as a model, and read which parts of KCSIE travel abroad.

Article 6 also bans revealing a child's private life or secrets without consent. The consent must come from the child, from age 7, and from parents or guardians. Share safeguarding details only with people who need them, and ask counsel how this rule fits your duty to report.

For a wider view, see mandatory reporting laws for international schools.

The Law on Personal Data Protection (Law No. 91/2025/QH15) was passed on 26 June 2025 and took effect on 1 January 2026. Decree 356/2025/ND-CP, issued on 31 December 2025, guides it. Article 1 of the law text applies it to foreign organisations and individuals in Vietnam.

Article 24 says a child's legal representative exercises the child's data rights. For a child aged 7 or older, it also asks for the child's consent when private life details are published or disclosed.

A safeguarding file can hold health, family and abuse details. Ask counsel whether Decree 356 treats those as sensitive data.

Article 23 asks a data controller to notify the personal data protection agency within 72 hours of detecting a violation. This applies to violations that could harm a person's life, health, honour, dignity or property, or national security or public order.

The agency sits under the Ministry of Public Security, and LuatVietnam names A05, its cybersecurity and high-tech crime bureau, as the unit that inspects compliance. Ask counsel which incidents meet the 72-hour bar.

Article 20 treats moving data to systems outside Vietnam, or using platforms outside Vietnam to process data collected in Vietnam, as a cross-border transfer. It asks for an impact assessment within 60 days of the first transfer. So treat a server or cloud platform outside Vietnam as a transfer until counsel says otherwise.

Article 20 sets rules for transfers. It does not set a general rule that all personal data must stay in Vietnam. Ask each supplier where your records sit, and ask counsel whether any other Vietnamese law adds local storage duties.

The emergency lines and the 111 hotline work in Vietnamese. Check that every staff member, including support staff, can follow your procedure in a language they read well. Read more on translation and localisation of safeguarding training.

The End Corporal Punishment country report for Viet Nam, updated in November 2024, says corporal punishment is unlawful in schools. It finds no explicit ban at home. UNICEF Viet Nam says nearly three-quarters of children experience violent discipline at home.

Your code of conduct should ban all physical punishment by staff. Some parents may see discipline differently, so agree in advance what staff say and who they tell.

For safer recruitment, ask for police certificates from every country a candidate has lived in. UK government guidance describes a Justice Record Check for Vietnam, requested from provincial justice departments.

That entry describes the route for Vietnamese citizens and does not mention foreign nationals, so ask counsel how foreign staff get a Vietnamese certificate. See safer recruitment steps for international schools.

This checklist is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current law with local counsel and the relevant authority. The legal points were checked on 19 October 2026, and the Law on Children may change soon.

• Ask your board which authority licensed the school, and name it in your policy.
• Post 111, 113 and 115 where staff can see them, with a Vietnamese script and the name of the caller.
• Write the under 16 and under 18 difference into your policy, using counsel's wording.
• Write one reporting route: tell the DSL the same day, and the DSL decides on outside reports the same day.
• Ask counsel if a call to 111 meets Article 51, or if you must also report to the police or the commune.
• Ask each software and cloud supplier where records sit, and add the 72-hour breach clock to your incident plan.
• Check whether the Law on Children amendment has passed, and note the date you checked.