Foreign workers not obliged to buy health and social insurance

Question (VietLand Auditing-Consulting Company): The company is employing three foreign auditors working under term labor contracts. Does the company have to pay health and social insurance for them?

Answer: Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance ratified by Việt Nam’s National Assembly on June 29, 2006 stipulates that social insurance buyers must be Vietnamese citizens.

Item 1, Article 3 of the Health Insurance Statues issued attached to the Government's Decree 63/2005/NĐ-CP, compulsory buyers of health insurance are Vietnamese laborers.

So, foreign employees working in Việt Nam are  not obliged to buy health and social insurance. To guarantee their interests, the employer include insurance fees in their salary or pay for other types of optional insurance.