Two new rare-earth – alkali – tellurium oxide halides were synthesized by a salt flux technique and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structures of the new compounds Cs7Sm11[TeO3]12Cl16 (I) and Rb7Nd11[TeO3]12Br16 (II) (both tetragonal, space group I4/mcm) correspond to the sequence of [MLn11(TeO3)12] and [M6X16] layers and bear very strong similarities to those of known selenite analogs. We discuss the trends in similarities and differences in compositions and structural details between the Se and Te compounds; more members of the family are predicted.