Immigration to Vietnam is the process by which people migrate to become Vietnamese residents. After the declaration of independence in 1945, immigration laws were modified to give the central government some control over immigrant workers arriving from nearby South Asian countries such as China (including Hong Kong), Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, and Thailand. The Vietnam Immigration Department recently relaxed the strict controls on immigrant workers under Decree 21/2001/ND-CP, 34/2008/NĐ-CP and 46/2011/NĐ-CP. [1]
During the French rule of Vietnam between 1925 and 1933, nearly 600,000 Chinese emigrated to North Vietnam, and in the Second Sino-Japanese war that took place from 1937 to 1941, many Chinese left for South Vietnam. Tensions between newly reunified Vietnam and China led to a mass exodus in 1978, when 150,000 ethnic Chinese fled Northern Vietnam for China due to fears of imminent war and Vietnamese persecution. [2] In the aftermath of the subsequent 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War, the Vietnamese government made considerable efforts to drive out remaining ethnic Chinese residents, but many remained in the country; resulting in large Chinese communities in Vietnam that persists today. [3]
Many of the recent immigrants are Vietnamese who had left the country in the 1970s [4] and are returning to Vietnam due to more favorable political and economic conditions.
In the late 20th century, the majority of legal immigrants were males, but by the early 21st century, women accounted for nearly one-third of all legal immigrants. Over the last decade, many immigrants have been attracted to the urbanized areas of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Danang, and the Central Highlands. [5] Neighboring provinces such as Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu, Đồng Nai, and Bình Phước also witnessed an increase in immigration. [6] The majority of immigrants moving to Vietnam in the last few years are much younger, with many between the ages of 15 and 34. Since the expansion of Decree No. 21/2001/ND-CP on 30 September 1992, the state has liberalized its visa policy with France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Phú Quốc island, and APEC Business Travel Card holders. [7] This policy change led to an increase in the number of immigrants from these countries.
There are restrictions on the benefits that members of APEC Business Travel Card holders can claim, which are covered under Decree 34/2008/ND-CP. [8] It overruled existing immigration laws and exercised new temporary immigration control for foreigners working in Vietnam. However, the Government announced that the same rules would not apply to nationals of France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Phú Quốc Island. The Government exercised Decree 46/2011/NĐ-CP for the management of foreign employees in Vietnam, known as Managed Migration for all legal labor and student migration from outside South Asia. This area of immigration is managed and administrated by the Vietnam Ministry of Police. [9] Immigration applications are made at Vietnamese embassies or by consulates, and depend on the type of visa or permit required. [10]
In 2012, Vietnam saw a significant increase in immigration, with nearly 200,000 immigrants entering the country during that year. [11]
Foreigners attempting to obtain a work permit in Vietnam are required to be of at least 18 years of age, have educational experience relevant to the job they are attempting to acquire, provide medical records, disclose any criminal record they may have, and be sponsored by a company that is registered in Vietnam.[ citation needed ] However, a work permit is not required if the worker's stay is under three months time. Standard work permits have a validity of 24 months. The Department of Labor, Invalids, and Society is responsible for issuing work permits. [12]
Illegal immigrants in Vietnam are mostly individuals who have worked or studied on a tourist visa/non-immigrant visa waiver, persons who entered the country without proper authority, and persons who overstayed their visas or entered with false documents. Many immigrants emigrated out of Vietnam during 1970s to 1980s by taking dangerous boat journey.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese government started a crackdown on illegal immigration, as the virus resurfaced in Vietnam, citing an "increasing number of illegal entries from neighbouring countries, mainly China". Since March 2020, there has been no legal route into Vietnam for foreigners, with only few exceptions. [13] [14]
Vietnam offers overstaying visas to foreigners who entered the country on a tourist visa. They are required to pay a fine before they then can request a visa extension. They are required to contact their local Immigration Office and pay for overstaying Vietnam Visa. [15] There are two types of financial prerequisites for overstaying in Vietnam: a fine fee, and an extension fee, but in case the extension request is declined, the foreigner has to pay an exit visa fee and will be forced to leave the country. [16] If foreigners have overstayed for a maximum of 2 days, they can pay their fine for overstaying at the airport.
Country | Population | Year | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
Laos | 290,000 | 2019 | [17] |
Taiwan | 99,350 | 2012 | [18] |
Japan | 18,949 | 2023 | [19] |
South Korea | 16,900 | 2018 | [20] |
France | 12,145 | 2016 | [21] |
United Kingdom | 3,800 | 2006 | [22] [23] |
United States | 3,000 | 2014 | [24] |
Ukraine | 2,000 | 2017 | [25] [26] |
India | 1,000 | 2001 | [27] |
Brazil | 333 | 2020 | [28] |
Mexico | 95 | 2020 | [29] |
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, from poorer to richer countries. Illegal residence in another country creates the risk of detention, deportation, and/or other persecutions.
Immigration to South Korea is low due to restrictive immigration policies resulting from strong opposition to immigrants from the general Korean public. However, in recent years with the loosening of the law, influx of immigrants into South Korea has been on the rise, with foreign residents accounting for 4.9% of the total population in 2019. Between 1990 and 2020, South Korea's migrant population has grown 3.896%, second highest level of growth in the world.
Immigration to Greece percentage of foreign populations in Greece is 7.1% in proportion to the total population of the country. Moreover, between 9 and 11% of the registered Greek labor force of 4.4 million are foreigners. Migrants additionally make up 25% of wage and salary earners.
Immigration to Peru involves the movement of immigrants to Peru from another country. Peru is a multiethnic nation formed by the combination of different groups over five centuries. Amerindians inhabited Peruvian territory for several millennia before Spanish Conquest in the 16th century. Spaniards and Africans arrived in large numbers under the Viceroyalty. Many people from European backgrounds mixed with the Amerindians or Asians creating an entirely new demographic group called "mestizos".
South Africa experiences a relatively high influx of immigration annually. As of 2019, the number of immigrants entering the country continues to increase, the majority of whom are working residents and hold great influence over the continued presence of several sectors throughout South Africa. The demographic background of these migrant groups is very diverse, with many of the countries of origin belonging to nations throughout sub-saharan Africa. A portion of them have qualified as refugees since the 1990s.
Immigration to the People's Republic of China is the international movement of non-Chinese nationals in order to reside permanently in the country.
Visa requirements for Chinese citizens are administrative entry restrictions imposed on citizens of China residing in the Mainland by the authorities of other states.
Visa requirements for Mexican citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Mexico
Visa requirements for Australian passport holders are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Australia entering with an Australian passport.
Visa requirements for Costa Rican citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Costa Rica.
As of 2024, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport holders have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 170 countries and territories, ranking the passport 18th in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.It is ranked 16th by the Global Passport Power Rank.
Visa requirements for New Zealand citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of New Zealand.
The State Migration Service of Azerbaijan Republic is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of regulation of activities the sphere of migration taking in consideration issues of national security and stable social-economic and demographic development in Azerbaijan Republic. The committee is headed by Vusal Huseynov.
Azerbaijan though not a popular destination for immigrants, has recently experienced waves of immigration with the collapse of the Soviet Union, especially from ethnic Azerbaijanis mostly from Armenia, Russia and the rest of the former Soviet Union. Meskhetian Turks were also relocated to Azerbaijan from Central Asia before and after the end of the Soviet Union. With the booming petroleum industry, immigration from Turkey has also followed. In 2010, every eighth resident in Azerbaijan was a migrant, of whom more than 90% of them are Azerbaijanis and 70% are internally displaced persons from the territories occupied by Armenia.
Visitors to Thailand must obtain a visa from one of the Thai diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries, or citizens who may obtain a visa on arrival, or citizens eligible for an e-Visa.
Visitors to Vietnam must obtain either an e-Visa or a visa in advance, unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries.
Illegal immigration to China is the process of migrating into China in violation of Chinese immigration laws. The Chinese government has instituted policies against illegal immigration, particularly from North Korean refugees and defectors, workers and refugees from Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos and Africans in Guangzhou.
Since 1991, Korea has experienced a large influx of foreign workers, and the government has utilized trainee programs since 1992. About 10,000 Asian workers came to Korea under this program in 1992, and there were about 57,000 trainees in Korea in June 1996. However, the trainee program experienced problems: the trainees became undocumented workers due to a difference in wages and since they were not classified as laborers, they were not protected by the Labor Standard Law. The Employment Permit Program for foreigners is a product achieved by a decade of interaction between Korean citizens and foreign migrant workers. However, these issues have more details to be resolved. On the legal front, the Korean state still allows foreigners to apply for low-wage jobs and excludes them from social benefits. The social dimension of nationhood is shown by public-opinion polls of Korean citizens' attitudes towards foreign workers, which demonstrate discrimination.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Justice, the number of foreign residents in Japan has steadily increased in the post Second World War period, and the number of foreign residents was more than 2.76 million at the end of 2022. Being a country with a total estimated population of 125.57 million in 2020, the resident foreign population in Japan amounts to approximately 2.29% of the total population.
Immigration to Russia involves foreign citizens seeking permanent residence in the territory of the Russian Federation. Historically, Russian empire was one of the World's leading destination for immigrants starting with the reign of Peter I in ca. 1700, and especially after the ascension of Catherine II to the Russian throne in 1762, until the October Revolution in 1917. Some regions, such as Novorossiya, Slavo-Serbia, Volga Germans' territory and Bessarabia were specifically designated for resettlement of immigrants.