Job Discussion Forums

[garo]

I asked questions on another thread about the current visa problems with renewing.

I am being told to go to Phnom Penh or Bangkok and try to get a 3 month visa. I don't even know if is this is a B2, B3, or tourist visa.

Who else is planning on going outside of the country to renew their visa?

Is anyone getting around this, and able to renew inside the country?


Any info or advice is appreciated.


-garo

[ajc19810]

Some info would be great guys about this.

Can a 6 month visa still be obtained outside of Vietnam?

[Tanker]

[that other guy]

[inky]

Two weeks ago a colleague of mine received a 6-month visa extension in Bangkok.

[lucreziaborgia]

But the issue is that your colleague won't be working legally.

[inky]

He is in the midst of the Work Permit approval process, and will have it completed soon. He has been paying taxes and isn't working illegally.

Your point is well-taken, however; a different issue is regarding the person who isn't able to get a WP, how many times can that person leave VN and get a visa renewal, and what is the duration of that visa? And, yes, I guess technically that person would then be working illegally.

[lucreziaborgia]

If anyone is working without a Work Permit, they are working illegally.
Anyone who is in the process of having a Work Permit processed should have a C2 Visa. It used to be a B2 Visa. It doesn't matter if taxes are being paid. That doesn't give you legal standing.
Schools are making promises to full-time and part-time teachers that their Work Permits are in the process of being processed and nothing eventuates. This is a cynical measure to keep staff; and not to secure Work Permits.
The 'Visa run' thing is pathetic and insulting and I suggest that anyone who has to subject themselves to that scenario should find work in another country. If anyone has been advised to take this course of action, and pay the travel costs, pay for a Visa - and - pay tax is effectively running a Charity without the benefits.

[Danaa]

[sg9015]

[lucreziaborgia]

An individual has to apply for his/her own Work Permit - not employers. Employers merely facilitate the process - in an ideal world. Some employers are NOT legally entitled to offer contracts therefore are unable to faciliate the Work Permit process. Logic applies here.
The individual is assigned the Work Permit; not the school.
Hence, many teachers are being given incorrect information by the schools they work for. I think the reason for this misleading information is easy to work out.

[snollygoster]

Quite so Lucretia: Just yesterday, I received a call from a school offering me a "better" job, and I asked "Why better?".

"Because", says the gurly, "if you come and work for us, we will get you a Work Permit so you can stay in Vietnam".

"What makes you think I dont already have one?"

"Most foreigners don't, and we are prepared to offer you this because we want a good teacher here-Its just something extra we can do for you if you will sign a 12 month contract with us".

"So are you saying its the schools that decide who gets a Work Permit?"
"Of course"

Looks like this may become one of the new incentives as a few schools that have a real thinker at the top realize the situation, and are prepared to capitalize on it.

Of course the bit about the WP being issued to the SCHOOL is either misleading, or they really think this is the case.

Enjoy your trip Lucretia.

[Phinaes Gage]

I know that this information is a little dated, but I believe that the circulars have not changed since 2005 regarding WPs.
http://news.vnanet.vn/vietnamlaw/Service.asp?CATEGORY_ID=12&SUBCATEGORY_ID=4&NEWS_ID=985

As you can see from this link, it clearly states that the individual must submit certain documents to the employer, and it is the employer's responsibility to send these documents to the office of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Services. I take this to mean that it is the individual's responsibility to get the documents but the employers responsibility to get the WP.

That's how it was at the place where I work and that is how it has been for everyone I've talked to who has successfully received a WP.

[lucreziaborgia]

Phineas Gage, This is correct in professional recruitment contexts however it is important to understand that the school facilitates the process for you - if it wants you. The WP belongs to you AND is assigned to you; not your employer. The reputable schools offer this as a service to you because they have established relationships with the relevant authotities and pay the associated fees as part of your conditions of employment as described in your contract.
However, as pointed out by Lizzar Doctor in an earlier thread, you can do it yourself if you have all the necessary paperwork.
Reputable schools will also get you a "Green Paper' which is/or was also a legal requirement for working here. Very few schools bothered with it and the ones I was employed by did, I am happy to say.
It is also important to accept that not all schools' contracts are legal because they do not have the legal standing to offer them.
Most part-time contracts are not worth the paper they are written on. Even reputable employers are offering them and irrespective of their undertakings to facilitate a WP; they will not and have no intention of doing so.
Why would a school invest money and time in a part-time teacher?
I don't understand the reason for all this confusion. All countries have legal working requirements that apply to non-citizens. Vietnam is the same. A non-citizen cannot work legally in the USA, Australia, the UK, Canada, Thailand, Korea, the KSA, Laos etc without the appropriate Visa that is granted once the requisite paperwork is presented and endorsed by the appropriate government department.
These Visa runs over the border for a Visa extension will NOT enable a person to work here legally. It will enable people to stay here but not work legally. If you are caught doing this you will pay the consequences.

[lucreziaborgia]

Thanks Snollygoster, Email me.