Vietnam labour policies to blame for expat skills shortages

Although Vietnam’s expat labour policies were relaxed slightly in 2016, the process necessary to get a visa and work permit is still a matter of persistence mixed with a large dose of luck.

Small and medium sized businesses wanting to hire expat talent are flummoxed by the paperwork necessary and the time taken to get a reply from Vietnam’s immigration office. The education sector encounters the most difficulties, leaving frustrated employers and the expats involved to resort to inconvenient visa runs to neighbouring countries. Given that Vietnam seems to want and need foreign talent, surely a system offering transparent laws and smooth operation should be in place?

The issue is urgent nowadays, as there’s an exodus of skilled Vietnamese seeking new opportunities outside the home country via the ASEAN ruling that workers from countries in the bloc are allowed free movement in much the same way as the EU. Vietnam’s growing brain drain is likely to be further exacerbated, as states such as the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are now joining the search for expat talent.

Saigon’s announcement last week that, according to its 2018-2022 Talent Attraction Policy, expatriates are welcome to Vietnam is an unprecedented shift for both policymakers as it introduces a new labour force into the country. Unfortunately, several other Southeast Asian countries are ahead on points, with Japan in particular loosening up its visa programmes in order to support its dwindling workforce. One major problem in Vietnam, both for employers and prospective employees, is the horrendous amount of time it takes to get visas and work permits or, in many cases, to get them at all.

The education sector is the hardest hit by Saigon’s reluctance to integrate with anything and anyone outside its own borders. Many much-needed teachers are forced to work without permits or do frequent border runs, with signing temporary contracts or working without contracts the only way around the problem and effectively illegal. The issue doesn’t just affect expat workers, as the same official tardiness applies to event organisers who give up rather than face interminable waits for visa and permits. If Vietnam is genuine about needing foreign talent, developing a work environment which includes transparent labour policies is essential.