Legislation helps foreign employees to avoid the nightmares of relocation

With globalisation comes an increase of cross-border investment and expansion into new markets. Employees with professional skills and experiences are no longer limited to serve in any given territory.

Le Thi Hong Tham, Indochine Counsel

Laws have been updated to handle foreign employees and working overseas is no longer the challenge it once was.

Many expatriates moving to a new country have stories of culture shock and integration. The complaints made by unhappy newcomers after days spent stuck in arranging their new lives make up the tales of expatriates nightmares. These nightmares can be avoided by relying on a reputable consultant/assistant acting in the field of relocation.

Using relocation services, the expatriate can obtain the following services: relocation needs analysis and arrival briefing, orientation /familiarisation tours, home search, school search and education consultation, removals management, destination information packs for relocating employees, settling-in support and assistance for expatriates and their families, temporary accommodation co-ordination, partner career assistance, cross-cultural briefings, domestic housing differential reports.

Legally, relocation services when introduced into Viet Nam must be registered to operate as enterprises/institutions with detailed business lines/objectives as coded under the Viet Nam Standard Industrial Classification.

We suggest that the following classifications be included in the business lines/objectives of a relocation services company.

1. Market research services: This includes researching information for expatriates and foreign clients, i.e. home search; school search; hospital and other facilities reports; etc.

2. Management consulting services: General management consulting assignments may deal with one or a combination of the following: policy formulation, determination of the organisational structure (decision-making system) that will most effectively meet the objectives of the organisation, legal organisation, strategic business plans, defining a management information system, development of management reports and controls, business turnaround plans, management audits, development of profit improvement programs and other matters that are of particular interest to the higher management of an organisation.

3. Real estate consulting and brokering services: These support the expatriate with a thorough view on lease costs in Viet Nam; these allow the business to be a broker and facilitate searching for homes and other relevant activities; they also allow for the support of the expatriate to negotiate and contract correctly and to avoid risk, barriers of language or culture.

4. Services of searching information on basis of cost and contract: This allows businesses to search and collect information on the basic cost and contract agreed with clients. Such information is limited to relocation purposes, such as: home search, school search, hospital search, etc. for the purpose of accommodation, working, training and entertainment of expatriates and their families when moving to Viet Nam to living.

5. Other types of assistance services (unclassified business services for individuals): These allow the business to facilitate and smooth the expatriates and their families' settlement in Viet Nam, the business can provide various domestic assistance services in relation to payment of utility invoices, management of household chores, and introduction to Vietnamese culture.

Applying these business lines to the company at the time of incorporation will provide the company with the basic licensing and support to provide relocation services to expats. According to WTO commitments, foreign investors are allowed to invest in such services.— Indochine Counsel