A foreign teacher at her English class in a centre in Vinh City, the central province of Nghệ An. — VNA/VNS Photo Bích Huệ

The first is allowing the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in provinces and cities to manage foreign labourers working in the localities, including granting work permits while the second option is assigning the provincial People’s Committee to manage foreign workers in the localities.

The proposal came after the ministry submitted the draft Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 152/2020/NĐ-CP featuring regulations on foreigners working in Việt Nam and the recruitment and management of Vietnamese working for foreign organisations and individuals in Việt Nam.

The proposal is expected to create favourable conditions for agencies, organisations and enterprises to recruit foreign workers with high professional and technical qualifications as well as experience to positions that Vietnamese workers have not been able to undertake and meet the needs of high-qualified human resource development.

The ministry assessed that the advantage of the first option is to ensure unified State management and promote decentralisation so that employers have only to go to one agency in a locality to apply for foreign workers’ work permits.

It will also ensure compliance with the provisions of the Law on Organisation of Local Government, which regulated that specialised agencies under the People's Committee at the provincial and district levels, is the advisory agency helping the committee perform the function of State management.

The second option is assigning the provincial People’s Committee to manage foreign labourers.

The ministry said the advantage of this option is allowing the provincial People's Committee to authorise a local specialised agency to manage foreign workers.

However, it may not unify the State management of recruitment and management of foreign workers if the committee wants to authorise another agency to manage foreign workers instead of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Currently, depending on their jobs, foreign workers who want to apply for work permit in Viêt Nam have to register with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs where they work.

Lê Thị Hồng Minh, a representative of Coway Vina Co. Ltd., talked to Lao động (Labour) online newspaper that she favoured the first option.

She said the assignment of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to manage foreign workers in a province or city will help to unify regulations and being convenient for work permit application, saving both time and costs for foreign workers.

Trịnh Thị Thu, a recruitment specialist of Sumi-Hanel Wiring Company Limited, also voted the first option.

She said that if the second option is chosen, meaning that the provincial People's Committee authorises will be able to authorise another agency in the province to manage foreign workers instead of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, it will not ensure the unified State management of foreign workers in the country.

Foreign workers’ university degree regulations loosen

For foreign experts, the draft decree proposed that a foreign expert only needs relevant experience and a university degree to be granted a work permit. He or she is not required a university degree related to their work position in Việt Nam.

For foreign technical workers, they only need to have appropriate experience and be trained for at least one year to be granted work permit in Việt Nam.

The draft decree also said the foreign experts and technical workers are recommended to use their already-issued work permits to demonstrate experience.

Foreign labourers working in multiple locations in the country only need one work permit, the draft decree said.​

Statistics of the ministry showed that, as of June 2023, there are 121,288 foreign workers working in Việt Nam. — VNS