From December 15, 2025, a new decree issued by the Vietnamese government introduces administrative fines for a broader range of abusive behaviors within families - marking the first time that forcing children to study excessively is officially punishable by law.

According to Decree No. 282/2025, individuals who prevent family members from meeting loved ones, discriminate based on appearance, gender, or ability, or force household members - particularly children - to study beyond their physical or mental capacity will be fined between 5 and 10 million VND (approximately $200–400).

If the victim of domestic violence requests it, the offender is also legally obliged to make a public apology.

The decree further increases the penalty to 10–20 million VND (around $400–800) for anyone who forces family members to witness physical abuse of people or animals, or subjects them to sounds, images, or content that incites violence. This aims to address sustained psychological pressure in domestic environments.

Another significant addition appears in Article 38: any individual who neglects to educate a child in the family; or fails to care for pregnant women, mothers nursing children under 36 months, persons with disabilities, the elderly or the ill - will be fined 10–20 million VND.

Also newly penalized is the act of verbally abusing, belittling, or deliberately insulting the dignity of a family member, with fines ranging from 5–10 million VND.

A maximum fine of 20 million VND is applied for disclosing or spreading private or family-related information with intent to shame or defame, or for coercing family members to consume pornographic materials or sexually explicit content.

New fines for expired ID card misuse, unregistered well drilling, and exam misconduct

Alongside the domestic violence provisions, Decree 282 also introduces fines of 8–10 million VND for using expired national ID cards to commit illegal acts. Violators will have materials and tools confiscated and must return any illicit profits obtained.

Anyone failing to renew their expired citizen ID will face a warning or a fine between 500,000–1 million VND.

In accommodation-related matters, lodging facilities that fail to register temporary stays or falsify information for foreign nationals on digital platforms could face fines from 3 to 20 million VND, depending on the severity.

Separately, Decree 279/2025 establishes a Road Traffic Accident Damage Reduction Fund, with a charter capital of 500 billion VND from the central government. This fund, overseen by the Ministry of Public Security, will support traffic accident victims and those who help them - providing up to 5 million VND for individuals and 10 million VND per organization or incident.

Under Decree 290/2025, drilling underground wells without a license may be fined up to 250 million VND (approx. $10,000), depending on the number of wells and extraction volume (up to 12,000 m³ per day/night).

Three exam violations that lead to disqualification

According to Circular 22/2025 from the Ministry of Home Affairs, taking effect on December 10, civil service candidates may be disqualified for:

Repeating offenses after a warning.
Bringing unauthorized materials or devices into the exam room (e.g., mobile phones, recorders, computers).
Disrupting order and safety in the exam setting.
Disqualified candidates will have their exam results invalidated and may not sit for remaining tests.

Tran Thuong