Foreign workers exempted from health insurance requirement

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Question: Are foreign workers who are internally reassigned within a company in Viet Nam required to participate in compulsory health insurance?

Answer: 

Decree 11/2016/ND-CP (Decree 11) on detailed regulations on implementing a number of articles of the labor code regarding foreign workers in Viet Nam stipulates types of foreign workers in Viet Nam.  

Accordingly, foreign workers are foreign citizens moving to Viet Nam for employment for the purposes of executing labor contracts; complying with the company’s internal reassignments; enforcing contracts or agreements on business, commerce, finance, banking, insurance, science and technology, culture, sports, education, vocational training and health; providing services under contracts; offering services; working for foreign non-governmental organizations or international organizations in Viet Nam that have been granted with operating licenses in accordance with the Viet Nam law; working as volunteers; taking charge of establishing the commercial presence; working as managers, chief executive officers, experts, technicians; and participating in the execution of bid contracts and projects in Viet Nam.

Foreign workers internally reassigned in the company are the managers, chief executive officers, experts and technicians of a foreign enterprise which has established a commercial presence in Viet Nam, are temporarily reassigned within the same enterprise to its commercial presence in Viet Nam and have been employed by the foreign enterprise for at least 12 months. 

Under Point 1, Article 3 of Decree 11, foreign workers internally reassigned in a company are not subjected to health insurance.  

Under the Law on Health Insurance (Law 25/2008/QH12), the law applies to domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in Viet Nam that are involved in health insurance. However, foreign workers who are internally reassigned in the company are not requested to participate in health insurance in accordance with Article 12. 

In addition, Decree 146/2018/ND-CP, dated October 17, 2018 elaborating and providing guidance on measures to implement certain articles of the Law on health insurance has yet specified application mechanism on foreign workers who are internally resigned in the company./.