Permits compulsory for foreign workers

The Decree 102, which will take effect as of November 1, 2013, states that work permits issued to foreign workers in Vietnam should be effective for no longer than two years.

It encompasses provisions on the granting of work permits to foreign workers in Vietnam and deportation of those without work permits.

The decree offers detailed guidelines for the implementation of a number of articles from the 2012 Labour Code on employment of foreign workers in Vietnam.

Vietnamese and foreign teachers at a Hanoi City-based English Center prepare their lesson plans

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), the decree specifies four new types of workers who are eligible to work in Vietnam: volunteers, those responsible for forming a commercial presence in a foreign organisation in Vietnam, those who work as managers, executives, specialists, technical workers for companies, and people participating in projects based in Vietnam.

The decree also states that employers in Vietnam are not allowed to employ foreigners for tasks that local workers are able to perform, especially unskilled labour.

The decree regulates that annually, employers (except contractors) must determine the demand for overseas labour for the positions that local employees are unable to perform and report to the People's Committee of the city or province where the employer is headquartered.

The Chairman of the People's Committee will then consider the report and approve the recruitment of foreign workers where relevant.

The decree was issued last week following relevant State agencies' growing concerns over the situation of workers coming to Vietnam to live and work illegally over the past few years.

At a recent meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Deputy Minister of Public Security Bui Van Nam said many foreign visitors have taken advantage of Vietnam's Ordinance on exit, entry and residency for foreigners.

Under the ordinance, foreigners are allowed to change their entry purposes after entering the country.

Many foreigners, therefore, have entered Vietnam as tourists but then change their registered purposes to stay in the country to work. Some even worked illegally, or were involved in criminal acts, causing concerns for local authorities.

In response to the situation, a new draft Law on exit, entry and residency of foreigners has been developed to replace the existing ordinance.

The MoLISA reports that the total number of foreign workers in Vietnam has so far reached over 71,000 people, of which, nearly 24,000 (37%) were not granted work permits.

The Ministry also announced a breakdown in the figures on foreign workers, from over 60 countries, of which roughly 58% are from Asia (mostly mainland China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan) and 28.5% from Europe. Nearly 90% of foreign workers are men, and 86% of them are over 30 years old.