Vietnam’s new rules on work permits trouble foreign teachers

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs issued Circular 03/2014, which was released to guide the implementation of Decree No. 102/2013/ND-CP dated September 5, 2013 of the government that focuses on some articles of the labor code on foreign workers in Vietnam.

Under the circular, foreigners who are to be recruited as teachers must follow the same regulations applied for experts, in which they need a document that proves they have at least a university degree and five years or more of experience in the field that they are expected to teach in Vietnam.

Many foreign teachers as well as local employers are now unable to submit the required papers to officials.

According to Nguyen Van Phuc, principal of the Eastern International University located in the southern province of Binh Duong, there are 85 foreigners among the university’s 190 lecturers.

Many of them have 20 years of teaching experience in Vietnam but are still unable to obtain the correct papers following Circular 03/2014.

“We don’t know where to get that type of paper as even the consulate doesn’t grant it. This paper is unfamiliar with the foreign academic style,” he explained.

“Unlike Vietnam, in some Western countries, such as a university in Germany, the requirement to become a teacher is that you must have 10 years of experience working in the industry,” C.O., an Australian lecturer at an international university in Ho Chi Minh City, asserted.

In addition, a university representative who wished to remain anonymous emphasized that the administrative procedures for granting work permits to foreigners last a lot longer than before since the release of the new regulation.

“Previously, foreign workers could not apply for a work permit themselves and the recruitment agencies had to do this procedure. Now we have to submit the papers that present the workload and explain why we want to hire a foreigner for a position,” he said.

Phuc said that some clauses of the new regulations and the government’s objective create a clear regulatory framework for foreigners to work, especially in a sector in which the country does not specialize.

“I have nearly five years of experience teaching in Vietnam and consider the country my second home. I appreciate the fact that Vietnam wants to find qualified people and protect local workers as they also deserve jobs, but it (the regulation) might stop many talented foreigners who want to contribute to the development of Vietnam,” J.B., an Australian lecturer in Ho Chi Minh City, shared.

M.F., a Malaysian currently teaching at a university in the city, asserted that although he really loves Vietnam, he is uncertain of the government, which seems to change laws often and arbitrarily.

“Our team has a new teacher who arrived in early June and expected to start working as soon as possible. However, he is not allowed to teach as he has not yet submitted the required documents. We faced a lot of difficulties trying to arrange the workload and the new hire is tired of waiting for the officials’ approval,” the teacher said.