Question: "I am a young person who has just completed military service and I wish to borrow funds from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to create self-employment or open a small business establishment. To receive a support loan, what conditions must I satisfy, what is the maximum loan amount and loan term, how is interest calculated, and when is collateral required. I also want to know what dossier must be prepared and how long the submission, appraisal, and disbursement procedures take."
Answer:
1. Are young persons who have completed military service eligible to borrow funds
Young persons who have completed military service fall within the group of workers who are young persons eligible for employment support, including the right to access support loans for job creation and for maintaining and expanding employment in accordance with the Law on Employment 2025.
To borrow funds as a worker, the following must be satisfied concurrently:
- Having full civil act capacity.
- Having a plan for the use of the loan capital to create jobs, maintain employment, or expand employment
(Based on Article 9 and Article 12 of the Law on Employment 2025).
2. Loan amount, loan term, interest rate, and conditions for collateral
- The maximum loan amount for a worker is VND 200,000,000;
- The maximum loan term is 120 months. The specific term shall be considered by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies based on the funding source and the borrower’s repayment capacity in order to agree with the borrower;
- The loan interest rate is equal to 127% of the lending interest rate for poor households, as prescribed from time to time by the Prime Minister. The overdue debt interest rate is equal to 130% of the loan interest rate. (Currently posted at 7.9248% per year under the interest rate schedule published by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, being the lending interest rate applicable to workers under this program);
- For workers, the maximum loan amount is VND 200,000,000;
- In addition, the regulations on collateral for loans exceeding VND 200,000,000 shall be applied in accordance with law to cases arising under the program’s provisions and the related lending mechanism.
(Based on Article 5, Article 6, Clause 1 and Clause 3 Article 7, and Article 8 of Decree No. 338/2025/ND-CP).
3. Dossier and procedures for borrowing from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies
The loan dossier for a worker includes:
- A plan for the use of the loan capital in the form of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.
- Documents proving eligibility for preferential interest rate loans under Points b, c, and d, Clause 3 Article 9 of the Law on Employment 2025, which may be submitted as a copy issued from the original register or a copy together with the original for comparison, including one of the following documents:
- Documents proving ethnicity, residence, and poor household status (if the worker is an ethnic minority person in a poor household or a Kinh person in a poor household residing in an area with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions as prescribed by the Government). If the person has Level 02 electronic identification, the receiving officer shall compare ethnicity and residence information in accordance with the guidance of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.
- Certificate of disability (for a worker who is a person with disabilities).
- Certificate of disability or decision on monthly support for care and nurturing for a person with extremely severe disabilities, together with documents proving household membership and residence of the worker who is directly providing such care. If the person has Level 02 electronic identification, comparison shall be made in accordance with the guidance of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.
- Decision on support or decision on receipt of monthly care and nurturing for a person with extremely severe disabilities (for a worker who is receiving nurturing and care for a person with extremely severe disabilities).
4. Implementation procedures:
- The borrower submits the loan dossier to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (usually where the borrower currently resides).
- Within 07 working days from the date of receipt of a complete loan dossier, the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies notifies the loan approval result and provides instructions on the subsequent steps in accordance with its internal regulations.
Note: The handling of risky debts in relation to loans supporting job creation and the maintenance and expansion of employment shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations on handling risky debts at the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.
(Based on Article 10 and Article 11 of Decree No. 338/2025/ND-CP).
