Vietnam in 2022 needs to re-open to work after 2 years of complete lockdown March-2020 to March 2022. Post-Covid, there are 3 sectors that need urgent attention with the help of experienced Expats. Work permits and long-term business visas are more important now than ever.
Vietnam work permits and business visas expose short history of blind-eye and abuses
A quick history of investor, business and work permit visa issuance:
- 1990-2000: desperately need hard currency from investment and trade
- 2000-2010: fuel Vietnamese businesses and workers with foreigner skills
- 2010-2020: All Vietnam businesses needs to be elevated by foreigners
All those needs for work permit or long-term Visa in Vietnam for any business – from the 100% foreign owned, joint-ventures or Vietnamese companies – were left to Vietnam embassies, travel and visa agencies to alleviate the workload of the Vietnam Immigration department. Business was good for all ‘stakeholders’!
The visa-run, by loads of buses round trip Vietnam-Cambodia in 4 hours, is now famous for renewing à 90-day tourist visa – as an alternative to legit work permit and TRC Temporary Resident Card – to continue working in Vietnam
Business visas and work permits delivery in Vietnam pre-Covid
Embassies, travel & visa agencies and immigration were in charge for travel visas to Vietnam. In a market economy, efficiency, speed, safety and growth has a price to the visitors, why would anyone would ‘rock-the-boat’. A niche economy thrived as all in the food chain were well fed. A blind eye resulted in lax control of work permits, business visas and renewals of tourist visas.
Now is time for Immigration and Ministry of Interior to clearly figure out:
- Internally: who is doing what to issue visa
- Foreigner: who is a legit expat worker and who is an illegal migrant
Investor and Expert Visa during 2 years of Covid
Then came the ‘clear and present danger’ of Covid19, fear of pandemics and lack of hospitals ICU Intensive Care Units, made the lockdown imperative for survival.
Nevertheless, Vietnam needs a bright future for its people and the post-Covid. Thus, an exception was made for Investors and Experts. The bar was raised though: Investor minimum $150,000 and Experts with at least 10-years of establishing production factories or starting up services and facilities in any country.
Exit the managers, teachers and lower technical foreign workers by not renewing visas. Obviously illegal and legit ‘workers’ went out the door: the outflow pace was 40% of foreigners in 2020 and another 30% in 2021: total 70% foreigners left Vietnam Foreign embassies residents census 2020-2021 & Vietnam Office for population and family
Why business visas and work permits need controls
The problem is that Covid Investors and Expert visas were not controlled. In a desperate economic situation many Vietnamese companies together with visa agents ‘invited and sponsored’ a lot of Investors and Experts to make ends meet by just making up a story.
Why is it important now?
Without knowing how many investors, experts, managers and foreign workers: Vietnamese government can not accurately forecast investment money and employment rate, which in Vietnam is a priority for political stability.
The government vision becomes a guess not based on facts if investment, production, exports and income tax amounts are based on quicksand foreign investor projects count. Worse is if the promise of a bright future post-Covid after 2-long years of lockdown is not met, the people’s disappointment may end up in political turmoil and dwindling trust in the authorities.
Why post-Covid investor visas, business visas and work permits are so important?
Opaque, corruption and red tape in the Vietnam administration is the first thing coming to visitors. It could have lasted for years as pre-Covid visitors were queuing up at a pace of 1,500,000 VND/month. Due to Covid it was down to 0-zero in 2020 and 2021 and 2022 is currently 50,000 going up.
The problem is those 50,000 most are Investors, business decision makers, Experts and die-hard tourists lovers of Vietnam… just the ones you surely don’t want to mess around with, but also you want to get loyalty by transparency and ‘easy-to-work-with’ label.
The perfect storm for investor visas, business visas and work permits needs in Vietnam
The recent geo strategic and political events in Asia, are perfect to bring long term investments and growth, over China, if in the 2022 opening-up, Vietnam can facilitate to investors and businessmen visas and work permits to rebuild the economy. These events are:
- Hospitality industry had zero income for à loooooong 2 years period 2020-2021 Vietnam lockdown
- Office space rental has changed with WFH
- China US trade and technology fight
- Europe and developed countries can not really on only-China supplier
- China + 1 country to source from: Vietnam? Indonesia?
- China Supply chain disruption
- China still closed
- Myanmar military coup
- Vietnam Covid19 2020-2021: Top of the World Covid fight for a 100 Mio people
- Vaccination efficiency from laggard to best-in-class in à 3-month catch-up
- Vietnam wants to score higher marks on CSR, inclusion and Green development as they can clearly see China becoming unattractive due to pollution, minority rights and inclusion
- Site set to be the LEGO Group’s first carbon neutral run factory.
- Investment of more than US $1billion to create up to 4,000 jobs.
- 1 of 6 Lego factory in the world and the 2nd in Asia
- New factory is set to start production in 2024.
KISS: Keep It Simple, Sustainable…
Lego: Dec 8, 2021
On 8-dec-2021, the result of such a ‘perfect storm’ of opportunity, sees Lego announcing the building of its 2nd factory in Asia on 44-ha land near Ho Chi Minh City for US$1Bn investment.
Investors and businesses need transparency… starting with Visa entry to Vietnam
When you come for the first time into a country to invest and work, you need to get a visa in the most efficient and transparent way. In doing so, Vietnam builds:
- Trust in the future of the foreign investor and worker
- Feel good and willingness to make efforts for your host country
- … and willingly contribute to taxes and charity for the people
Work permits need transparency too for the Vietnamese laborers and the taxman
Abuses in foreign laborers’ work permit grants into Vietnam can cause upheavals when it comes to Chinese factory workers not so crucial to developing the economy.
But worse, illegal dealers of illegal trades may increase criminality but also waive and ban the efforts of Vietnam to integrate the developed country club by lack of compliance and transparency.
Any developing country needs huge infrastructure investments that can only come from the taxes collected by the Vietnamese government: illegal trade and undeclared workers creates an underground economy that does not contribute to the people of Vietnam.
The Working visa procedure is simple and quick provided your employer sponsor is serious about recruiting you for your skills as long as you contribute and grow together with the company.
Vietnam work permit visa.
Conclusion
Because Vietnam needs 3 things to develop:
- jobs to cater for 100 million people,
- move up the labor intensive factory work and continuous growth for its people,
- making sure that business people and investors are the real deal.
It is very important for political stability, happiness of the Vietnamese and the future of Vietnam into the new world economy.
