Terms and conditions

Terms and Conditions of the Goethe-Institut Vietnam, hereinafter: Goethe-Institut

A. GENERAL

1. OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTICIPANTS

1.1 Course participants and examination candidates and are obliged to accept and comply with the course, examination, and study place regulations at the Goethe-Institut. The regulations are available on the institute’s website and in the registration office.

1.2 If a participant acts in a way that disrupts the lessons/examinations, the teachers, or other participants; or impedes the regular course or examination operation, Goethe-Institut has the right to terminate the contract. The termination shall be preceded by a warning with a reasonable deadline. The paid fees shall not be refunded.
 
1.3 Course participants and examination candidates are required to provide accurate and complete personal information when registering for exams and courses.

2. LIABILITY

2.1 Goethe-Institut shall only be liable for damages - irrespective of the legal grounds - in the event of intent or gross negligence.

2.2 Goethe-Institut shall also be liable in the event of simple negligence for damages arising from injury to life, limb, or health as well as for damages arising from the culpable breach of a material contractual obligation.

2.3 Further contractual and tortious claims of the participants are excluded.

3. FORCE MAJEURE

3.1 Goethe-Institut shall not be liable, either for the institute or for its employees, for the non-fulfillment of contractual obligations or damages, insofar as these are due to force majeure, reasons beyond the responsibility and influence of Goethe-Institut.

3.2. In the serious, extraordinary circumstances or events, or a change to such circumstances or events which are beyond the control of the Goethe-Institut (e.g. riots, armed or terrorist conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics, etc.), we reserve the right to offer course participants changes of the course (e.g. in terms of time or location). In this case, we will send a new offer with a deadline and ask course participants to indicate whether they wish to accept the modified offer or withdraw the contract. If they withdraw the contract, we will reimburse them for any payments made (if applicable, on a pro-rata basis according to the status of service provision).

4. VALIDITY

The current version of the General Terms and Conditions is published on the website of Goethe-Institut.
This current version replaces all previous versions of the General Terms and Conditions. The print version is also available at all business premises of the Goethe-Institut.

5. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE

Should parts or individual formulations of these conditions of participation be invalid, the remaining parts shall remain unaffected in their content and validity. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a legally permissible provision that comes as close as possible to the invalid provision in terms of content and economic effect.

6. LANGUAGE VERSIONS

In case of doubt, the wording of the German language version shall apply to all translations.

B. FOR LANGGUAGE COURSE PARTICIPANTS AT THE GOETHE-INSTITUT

1. PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

The minimum age for participation in courses of the Goethe-Institut is 12 years (for children's courses: 8 years).

2. PLACEMENT TEST

2.1 For new students with previous knowledge of the language, a placement test will be given at the time of enrollment so that a course can be offered that is appropriate to the level of proficiency. The placement test consists of a multiple-choice test and a speaking test.

2.2 The following participants do not need to take a placement test:
Participants who present a certificate from the Goethe-Institut that is not older than one year and participants who have successfully attended a course at the Goethe-Institut within six months.

3. FEES AND METHOD OF PAYMENT

3.1 Personal registration at the language office: You pay the course fee in cash or by card.

3.2 Registration via Webshop: You pay the course fee by bank transfer.

3.3 You are responsible for the accuracy of the personal information provided during registration.
 
3.4 All fees are based on the prices in the current course and examination prospectus of Goethe-Institut valid at the time of registration. The course fee includes the cost of teaching materials.
 
3.5. In case the payments are made outside of Vietnam, the fee must be transferred in Euros to the German bank account of the Goethe-Institut following the transfer rate announced by Goethe-Institut. All transfer costs, sender as well as recipient costs, shall be borne by the participants. It shall apply in the same way to transfers in VND within Vietnam to the Vietnamese bank account of the Goethe-Institut.

3.6. If teachers recommend that a student must repeat a course level, the student will receive a 20% discount for the repeated course within 3 months.

4. WITHDRAWAL, CHANGE, AND CANCELLATION OF COURSES

If course participants register via the webshop, they have the right to withdraw from the registration within fourteen days without giving any reason. To do that, they must inform us of their decision to by sending an email to kurse-hanoi@goethe.de. After the 14-day right to withdrawal has expired, the following fees for withdrawing from a course apply (This fee applies both for courses that are booked through the webshop and in the language course office).:
- Cancellation up to 4 weeks before the start of the course: 10% of the course fee.
- Cancellation up to 1 week before the beginning of the course: 20% of the
course fee
- Cancellation up to 1 day before the beginning of the course: 30% of the course fee
- Cancellation until after the beginning of the course: 100% of the course fee
The cancellation is effective by the time Goethe-Institut receives the announcement from students.
- Rebooking of a course (e.g. change of course date) is only possible in exceptional cases and with the consent of the Goethe-Institut. Unless there are exceptional agreements, an administrative feeof 5% shall be due for each rebooking.

4.5 Course fees will not be refunded after the course has started. However, if a course is discontinued for health reasons and the necessity of the course discontinuation is proven by a medical certificate, the pro-rata course fee will be refunded or, upon request, credited for another course.
- If the number of participants for a course is too low, Goethe-Institut reserves the right to cancel this course. In this case, the participant will receive a full refund of all fees paid.

5. CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPANT

Course participants will receive a certificate of attendance for the course attended if the following requirements are met:
- Regular attendance (at least 80% of the course dates)
- Completion of at least 75% of the exercises on the learning platform.
- Active participation in at least 3 group tasks (forum/participant forum, blogs or padlet)
- Positive evaluation from your teacher about your participation in class
Confirmation of participation will be sent to course participants by email at the end of the course.

C. FOR EXAM PARTICIPANTS

1. PARTICIPATION

1.1 The examinations of the Goethe-Institut are open to all those interested in taking the examination, regardless of whether they have reached a minimum age. Please refer to paragraph 3.1 of the examination regulations of the Goethe-Institut for age recommendations for the respective examinations.

1.2 Exam participants are required to present a valid photo identification document (passport or ID card, driver's license as a substitute if the examinee does not yet have a passport) prior to the examination. Otherwise, access to the examination will be prohibited.

1.3 Exam participants with specific needs may take the test under certain conditions, provided that the specific need is already proven by appropriate evidence at the time of registration.

2. REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT

2.1 A registration deadline is set for each examination date and is announced on the website. Registration may end prior to the registration deadline if all exam slots are fully booked.

2.2 For all exam candidates, registration for all exams is only available online.

2.3 Payment of exam fees must be made within 24 hours after exam participants have received a registration confirmation at goethe.de email from Goethe-Institut. Late payments will not be considered and registrants will receive a cancellation notice from Goethe-Institut approximately three working days after the payment deadline.

2.4 Only candidates who have registered on time are entitled to take part in the examinations.

2.5 For examinations, the prices are listed on the website at the time of registration apply. All bank charges incurred in connection with the payment of the examination fees shall be borne by the candidates.

3. EXAM SCHEDULE NOTIFICATION

At the latest two working days before the examination, candidates will receive information about the examination schedule by e-mail.

4. RESULTS AND CERTIFICATES

4.1 Examination results are released at mein.goethe.de no later than three working days after the end of the examination. Participants can retrieve their exam results there themselves.
Notification of examination results via e-mail or telephone is not available.

4.2 Certificates will only be issued in person at the reception of the Goethe-Institut from Monday to Friday from 8.30-12.00 and 13.00-18.00 (except on public holidays) after a prior identity check. When picking up the certificate by proxy, the following documents are required:
  • A letter of authorization with the signature of the exam participants).
  • Passport or passport copy of the exam participants
  • Passport or identity card of the authorized representative(s)
  • Passport copy or copy of the identity card of the authorized person(s).
4.3 On request, the certificates of the examinees can be sent to them by the post office, against payment of the postage costs. The certificates will be sent by mail to the address provided. Goethe-Institut does not take any responsibility for the possible loss of certificates in the post office.

4.4 In case of certificate loss, a replacement certificate can be issued within ten years. The issuance of a replacement certificate currently costs VND 100,000.

4.5 Those who do not pass can receive a certificate of attendance upon request.

4.6. Goethe-Institut does not take any responsibility for incorrectly entered personal data of exam candidates. If a certificate needs to be reprinted due to incorrect information, the examinee must pay the cost of the second certificate issue (currently 100,000 VND). The certificate with incorrect data must be returned to the Goethe Institute Vietnam for destruction.

5. RIGHT OF REVOCATION AND WITHDRAWAL

5.1 After successfully registering for an examination online via the webshop, examination participants have a right to withdraw within 14 days from the date of booking. After this cancellation period has expired, the entire examination fee will be forfeited if you withdraw. A refund is therefore excluded after the cancellation period has expired.

5.2 A revocation or withdrawal must be communicated by e-mail pruefungen-hanoi@goethe.de or by handing over the declaration in person at the registered office. The date on which the letter is received at the enrollment office is decisive for a revocation.

5.3 In the event that a candidate fails to notify the withdrawal or revocation, the candidate will be deemed to have dropped out and the examination fee will not be refunded.

5.4. If the examination has not taken place and the candidate is unable to take the exam due to illness, the candidate must notify the Goethe-Institut by email to pruefungen-hanoi@goethe.de before the examination and must submit a relevant Certificate from the doctor. In this case, the exam fee will be carried over to another exam. The exam registration change procedure fee is 20% of the original exam fee. The transfer of the exam needs to be done directly at the Admissions Office - Goethe-Institut.