The National Assembly has passed the Population Law with 8 chapters and 30 articles. The new law will take effect from July 1, 2026. New highlights of the Population Law passed by the National Assembly on December 10, 2025:
Women who have two children are given priority to buy social housing
One of the outstanding policies stipulated in Article 13 of the Population Law is to support and encourage the maintenance of replacement fertility rates. In particular, the law firm has added a priority mechanism for buying or renting social housing in the following cases:
Women have 2 children;
The man had 2 children but had no wife or his wife had passed away.
This regulation aims to create social security conditions and reduce the economic burden for young families, especially in the context of very low birth rates in many large cities.
Female workers with second child are given 7 months of maternity leave
Another important change directly related to female workers' rights is the increase in maternity leave when giving birth to a second child.
According to the 2019 Labor Code, maternity leave is 6 months. However, the Population Law supplements the regulation:
Female workers with second children will have an additional month's leave, bringing the total maternity leave to 7 months.
This adjustment is expected to contribute to supporting the health of mothers and children, while encouraging couples to have 2 children according to the national population policy orientation.
Adding many policies to support maintaining replacement fertility
In addition to the two outstanding new points above, Article 13 of the Law also stipulates other support measures, including:
Increase parents' time off when giving birth to a second child:
Women have an extra month off.
Men are given an additional 5 working days off when their wives give birth.
Financial support for:
Ethnic minority women when giving birth;
Women give birth to 2 children before the age of 35;
Local women have low fertility rates.
Empower localities to self-regulate additional measures and support levels, ensuring that they are not lower than those issued by the Government.
These policies are being developed in the context that many provinces and cities are facing a sharp decline in GDP, affecting the population structure and human resources in the future.
The new Population Law passed on December 10, 2025 has added many policies of practical encouragement and support to maintain replacement fertility and improve population quality. New points such as prioritizing the purchase of social housing for women who have two children or increasing maternity leave for mothers who have a second child are expected to have a positive impact, contributing to stabilizing demography and promoting sustainable development in the coming period.
