Question: I would like to ask, according to the law, does a person who is studying at university but has a military call-up letter have to do military service?

Reply:

Do you have to do military service while studying in college?

According to Clause 1, Article 41, Law on Military Service 2015 (amended in 2019), the following citizens are temporarily suspended from military service:

- Not healthy enough to serve on active duty according to the conclusion of the Health Examination Council;

- Being the only worker who must directly take care of relatives who are no longer able to work or have not yet reached working age; in a family that has suffered serious loss of life and property due to accidents, natural disasters, or dangerous epidemics as confirmed by the commune-level People's Committee;

- A child of a sick soldier who was infected with Agent Orange and whose working capacity was reduced from 61% to 80%;

- Have a sibling who is a non-commissioned officer or soldier serving on active duty; non-commissioned officers and soldiers performing their duty to join the People's Police;

- People who are eligible to immigrate or relax in the first 3 years to communes with special difficulties according to the State's socio-economic development project decided by the People's Committee of the province or higher;

- Cadres, civil servants, public employees, and youth volunteers are mobilized to work in areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions according to the provisions of law;

- Currently studying at a general education institution; are being trained at a full-time university level at a higher education institution, or at a full-time college level at a vocational education institution during a training course of a training level.

- Standing militia.

Thus, those who are studying full-time at university will be temporarily postponed from military service during a training course of a training level.

Who is exempt from military service?

Specifically, Clause 2, Article 41, Law on Military Service 2015 stipulates exemption from military service for the following citizens:

- Children of martyrs, children of first-class wounded soldiers;

- An older or younger brother of a martyr;

- One child of a second-class invalid; a child of a sick soldier whose working capacity has been reduced by 81% or more; A child of a person infected with Agent Orange has a reduced working capacity of 81% or more;

- Persons doing cipher work are not military personnel or People's Police;

- Cadres, civil servants, public employees, and youth volunteers are mobilized to work in areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions according to the provisions of law for 24 months or more.

Cases of recognized completion of military service

Pursuant to Clause 4, Article 4, Military Service Law 2015 (amended 2019) stipulates that citizens in one of the following cases are recognized for completing active military service in peacetime:

- Standing militiamen with at least 24 months of service will be recognized as having completed active military service in peacetime, decided by the Commander of the District Military Command at the request of the Chairman of the People's Committee. Commune level or village head where there is no commune-level administrative unit, head of agency or organization;

- Complete the task of continuously participating in the Commune Police for 36 months or more;

- Cadres, civil servants, public employees, university graduates or higher, have been trained and awarded the rank of reserve officers;

- Young people who have graduated from university, college, or intermediate school volunteer to serve in the economic and defense delegation for 24 months or more according to the Project decided by the Prime Minister;

- Citizens serving on fishery surveillance ships for 24 months or more.