Job Discussion Forums

[rico4444]

If the school applies for and receives a WP for you to teach at their school, I assume the WP is in your name, but does the school "own" it and control your ability to work in the country?

What happens if you decide to blow off the contract and leave for another job in VN?

Do you have to leave the country and then return to VN and subsequently go your new school and apply for a new WP?

Can you "transfer" the WP to another school?

What about the CBC..........if you need a new WP, does that mean you need to get a new, updated CBC?

I would appreciate your help in getting these questions answered. Thanks

[CThomas]

The Labor Department owns your WP. They keep it there in a drawer and your school or workplace can't have it.

What your new school or workplace must do is re-apply for the work permit so that it's basically updated to show that you're working at the new place.

So the answers are

If the school applies for and receives a WP for you to teach at their school, I assume the WP is in your name,

[rico4444]

Thanks CThomas...........that was incredibly helpful information.

[Jbhughes]

Are you sure about the in the drawer of the labour department thing CThomas?

If the w.p. is the blue, folded document with the picture and information on the left inside page and the extension stamps on the right inside page, then 'my' w.p. has been in my possession at times and also the school's, never really the labour department.

Having said that, I wonder if what the school and I have is simply one of 2 or more copies of the same document, or a document that is for the employer/employee with another document being at the labour department. It's also possible that the labour department in the province I work in have made up a different rule or just don't even know what they are doing (the final one being highly possible in my experience.)

Further point worth checking - can one 'transfer' ones w.p. to a new employer in a different province? I know there are some posters on here that have lived in both HCM and HN - did you transfer the w.p. when you changed cities?

Oh, one thing worth noting regarding the leaving the country bit. If you get your employer to help you with a temporary residency card, then the w.p. will be used to get the card. If you naff off from that employer, the employer should, could and might tell the labour department, who should, could and might cancel your w.p. (obviously, if you have already got a w.p. in the name of a new employer then that is fine). The labour department should, could and miiiiiiiiiiiight inform the immigration department who should, could and miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight cancel your residency card. Experienced posters on here have stated that this doesn't happen in practice in HCMC.

w.p.s what a pain

[CThomas]

[TimkinMS]

[rico4444]

Thanks TimkinMS.......and also everyone else who contributed. I suppose everything I've heard about VN is true, i.e. the rules and laws change daily according to whomever is doing the interpretation. That's OK......I can deal with it. It can't be a whole lot worse than Thailand or Korea.

TimkinMS......question for you.........you advised NOT to get a WP if possible. If the employer insists, then do you as a teacher say "yes" and go with the flow? and why would you NOT want a WP?

And secondly, if for some reason one can avoid getting a WP, what's the alternative? I assume you're going to say "work w/out one" and get paid under the table, but then doesn't that create other problems e.g. having to leave the country every 30 or 60 or 90 days.

Thanks again

[TimkinMS]

[CThomas]

Weird. I transferred from 1 place to another no problem and I got a temporary residence card. And I know others with temp residence cards.

Just to confuse things more, now that I think about it, and hopefully productively, I DO know a guy that said he'd get me a WP and that it would be MINE. The same guy got one for a buddy of mine (long story) this way and it was the case. But this was for someone who opened his own business here. So, it may follow that a school could keep it.

This is definitely a first, to hear someone who'd rather not have a WP. I'm not questioning the judgement, just saying wow.

Rico, you say "The Labor Department says one thing, then another. Vietnamese and foreign lawyers at an AMCHAM meeting this year could not even agree. " Are there any minutes or records or an article about this meeting?

[rico4444]

TimkinMS and CThomas.......thanks so much for all that you've shared. I understand everything you've both said and I have a much clearer picture of what it might be like to work in VN. I'm not deterred by anything you've said and I'll be there on 27 September.

BTW, off the subject for a minute...........I was offered a contract by VMG (VN American English Group) and was asked to work in Bien Hoa. Do either of you know what life is like in BH, and even better, do you know anything about this school? (thye have brances in BH, HCMC, and Danang). If the pace is MUCH slower than HCMC, that suits me fine. Lack of western amenities is not a big deal for me. Anything you can contribute would be appreciated.

Thanks again

[TimkinMS]

[LettersAthruZ]

[Belgrove]

[generalgiap]

My experience is the following:

CT wrote-The Labor Department owns your WP. They keep it there in a drawer and your school or workplace can't have it.


The school or company has the original work permit and the labour dept.
does not keep it in a drawer. Now that's funny! I have my original work permit.

Some schools and companies will give you the original or a photocopy.
This is not about control, it's about the employee losing it and if that happens the company/school has to get a replacement. Paperwork more money etc.

If you have the temp residence card and you leave your company, in theory, you are supposed to turn it into immigration immediately. However, most people keep it and continue to use it as their visa or take it home as a souvenir. Lets not forget that these govt agencies are extremely disorganised and most of the employees are very lazy.

In fact, I had two RP at the same time, each for 3 years because I changed company. At immigration at airport i decide to use my old RP just to see what would happen, guess what, nothing, had no problem.

[Belgrove]