SUMMARY OF DECREE 143/2018/ND-CP
Regarding mandatory social insurance for foreign workers employed in Vietnam.
On October 15, 2018, the Government issued Decree 143/2018/ND-CP detailing the Law on Social Insurance and the Law on Occupational Safety and Health regarding compulsory social insurance for foreign workers in Vietnam. This Decree came into effect on December 1, 2018.
Download Decree 143/2018/ND-CP: https://expertis.vn/nghi-dinh-143-2018-nd-cp/
Instructions for paying social insurance for foreigners.
1. Participants
Foreign workers employed in Vietnam are subject to mandatory social insurance if they possess a work permit, professional certificate, or professional license issued by a competent Vietnamese authority and have an indefinite-term employment contract or a fixed-term employment contract of at least one year with an employer in Vietnam. The following individuals are exempt from mandatory social insurance:
- Internal company transfers
- Workers who have reached the legally prescribed retirement age.
2. Contribution rates and salary levels used as the basis for social insurance contributions.
Social insurance contribution rates and application periods:
The monthly salary used for social insurance contributions is defined as the salary, salary allowances, and other supplementary payments as stipulated by labor laws and recorded in the labor contract. The maximum salary for social insurance contributions is 20 times the basic salary as stipulated by the Government.
3. Social insurance scheme and lump-sum social insurance payment
Foreign workers have full rights to social insurance benefits such as sickness, maternity, occupational accident insurance, occupational disease insurance, retirement, and death benefits.
Foreign workers are entitled to a lump-sum social insurance payment in the following cases:
- Having reached the retirement age as stipulated by law but not yet having contributed to social insurance for 20 years.
- Individuals suffering from one of the life-threatening diseases as defined by the Ministry of Health.
- Workers who are eligible for a pension but do not continue to reside in Vietnam.
- Workers whose employment contracts are terminated or whose work permits, professional certificates, or professional licenses expire without being renewed.
According to the Social Insurance Law of 2014, for each year of social insurance contributions, foreign workers are entitled to 02 months' average monthly salary used for social insurance contributions.
In case of a discrepancy between the provisions of this Decree and an international treaty to which Vietnam is a party on the same matter, the provisions of the international treaty shall apply.
