Under Article 43 of Employment Law No. 38/2013/QH13, Subjects required to participate in unemployment insurance:

1. Employees must participate in unemployment insurance when working under a labor contract or employment contract as follows:

a) Labor contract or working contract of indefinite term;

b) Labor contract or fixed-term working contract;

c) Seasonal or job-based working contracts with a term of between full three months and under 12 months.

In case a worker has signed and is performing more than one labor contract, the worker and the employer under the labor contract signed first shall participate in unemployment insurance.

2. Workers mentioned above who are currently on pension or doing housework are not required to participate in unemployment insurance.

In addition, based on the provisions of Article 3 of the Employment Law 2013, the applicable employees of the Employment Law are a Vietnamese citizen who is full 15 years or older, has the ability to work and seeks employment. (Clause 1, Article 3 of the Employment Law 2013).

Thus, although foreign workers have signed the labor contract with the employer, foreign workers are not subject to regulation by the 2013 Employment Law, so foreign workers are not subject to unemployment insurance according to regulations.

From January 1, 2022, foreigners participate in the following types of compulsory social insurance:

Employer:

• 14% to retirement and death fund
• 3% to the sickness and maternity fund;
• 0.5% to the labor accident and occupational disease fund;
• 3% to the Health Insurance fund

Employees:

• 8% to retirement and death fund
• 1.5% into the Health Insurance fund

Therefore, whether signing a short or long-term labor contract, foreign workers do not have to participate in unemployment insurance.

Reference source:

• Employment Law 2013 No. 38/2013/QH13 dated November 16, 2013

• Law on Social Insurance No. 58/2014/QH13 dated November 20, 2014

• Decree 143/2018/ND-CP dated October 15, 2018

Quynh Do – Social Insurance – Salary Department