Due to globalization and integration, the number of migrant workers has increased. The scramble for economic development and the shortage of labor resources are the main drivers of migration. Hence, every country has reformed its legal framework for better the management and protection of migrant workers. Vietnam exports labor and accepts many foreign professionals with high technical skills. Therefore, the management of foreign workers has gained a considerable amount of attention from the government.
Currently, foreign workers in Vietnam are facing many difficulties in applying for visas, work permits, residence registration, and social insurance. They cannot change their visa purpose in Vietnam; thus, they must reapply for visas again, which is considered a challenge. In addition, foreign workers must also submit a lot of documents to obtain work permits only after arriving in Vietnam. It would be difficult for the employer if the foreigner cannot get a work permit after signing the contract. The employment of foreign workers is closely related to immigration, labour resources, and social protection issues. Under international standards, foreign workers are required to be protected by law to prevent discrimination and exploitation. To protect the rights of foreign workers and promote the quality of state management of foreign workers in Vietnam, this article proposes some recommendations to change the current regulations related to visa, work permits, and social insurance:
– It is essential to revise related regulations on changing working purposes to ensure that foreign workers are permitted to change their entry purpose within Vietnam, especially during emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.
– The requirements on procedures for the issuance of work permits also need to be simplified to ensure that foreign workers can obtain work permits before arriving in Vietnam. It is essential to ensure consistency of the application of the law at the local level. The required documents for application for work permits, such as the criminal records and certificates of work experience, should be simplified. The law should determine the responsibility of employers as the guarantee of foreign workers in the application of work permits and visas.
– The Ministry of Labour-Invalid and Social Affairs must closely cooperate with the Ministry of Public Security to issue certificates of eligibility to ensure that foreign workers can start working soon after landing in Vietnam. Currently, it takes around 2 months to complete all procedures for a work permit.
– There should be a revision of the law on social insurance, which does not define all types of social insurance that are compulsory for foreign workers. Foreign workers should have the right to choose the country (home country or working country) for social insurance, excluding health insurance.
– Regulations for part-time workers should be developed to ensure that foreign workers who have student visas or independent visas are eligible to work in Vietnam. It is important to protect the rights of all workers under international standards, be-cause, without legal protection, part-time workers may face difficulties and exploitation.
– Support systems, including language teaching, legal aid, and counselling should be developed to ensure that foreign workers can have access to basic services while living in Vietnam.
In brief, the management of foreign workers is one of the most important tasks in the process of promoting economic development in Vietnam. Vietnam only aims at accepting highly skilled professionals. However, it is facing many challenges in the management and protection of foreign workers. Hence, the current legal framework on the management of foreign workers in Vietnam is in urgent need of reform, especially considering that Vietnam is a member of the ASEAN Economic Community and that free flow of skilled labour is one of the important commitments of the member countries. Hence, Vietnam needs to reform the current regulations on visa application, work per-mits, and social insurance to ensure that foreign workers can exercise their rights effectively in Vietnam.
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1. Luật sư Vũ Thị Phương Thanh, Giám đốc Công ty Luật TNHH TLA, Đoàn Luật sư Hà Nội, email: vtpthanh@tlalaw.vn;
2. Luật sư Trần Mỹ Lê, Chủ tịch HĐTV Công ty Luật TNHH TLA, Đoàn Luật sư Hà Nội; email: tmle@tlalaw.vn
_Nguyễn Anh Phương_