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Foreign nationals working in Viet Nam can avail of several insurance schemes, in which the participation of the enterprises they work for has been made mandatory.

Mandatory social insurance embodies plans for sickness, maternity, labour accidents, occupational disease, pension and survivorship allowance. Health insurance includes medical care supported by the Health Insurance Fund. Unemployment insurance comprises of unemployment allowance; job counselling and recommendation; vocational training support and skills training, fostering and improving support. Under the 2013 Law on Employment, foreign employees are not obliged to participate in unemployment insurance.

Social insurance

In accordance with the 2006 Law on Social Insurance, foreign employees in Viet Nam are not obliged to participate in mandatory or voluntary social insurance. However, under the new provisions of the 2014 Law on Social Insurance, which will come into effect on January 1, 2016, foreign employees whose work permits, practice licenses or certificates were granted by competent Vietnamese authorises are subject to mandatory social insurance.

Health insurance

Foreign employees (including paid enterprise managers), who work under indefinite labour contracts or definite contracts for a term of three full months or more in Viet Nam are obligated to participate in health insurance under the current regulations. Foreign employees pay a third and employers pay two-thirds of the insurance premiums with the maximum rate fixed at 6 per cent of the monthly salary.

Foreign employees' salary, which acts as the base for calculating health insurance premiums is the salary stated in their labour contracts and mandated to be calculated in dong (in case the salary in the labour contracts is in foreign currency). The foreign exchange rate is based on the average rate of the interbank foreign currency market quoted by the State Bank of Viet Nam on January 2 for the first six months and July 1 for the last six months of the year. The foreign employees' insurance premiums are deducted from salary and paid to the Health Insurance Fund by the employers on a monthly, quarterly or biannual basis in case the enterprise is operating in the field of agriculture, forestry, fishery and the salt industry (manufacturing and processing salt). The level of health insurance enjoyed by the foreign employees is 80 per cent of the health care fees. — PFL – LAWFIRM