Foreign workers in Vietnam can join trade unions from July 1

This reform places foreign employees on a more equal footing with their Vietnamese counterparts in terms of labor rights and collective representation. It also marks a significant step toward aligning Vietnam’s labor laws with international labor standards.

Alongside this, the 2024 Social Insurance Law, also effective from July 1, 2025, stipulates that foreign nationals working in Vietnam under fixed-term contracts of 12 months or more are subject to mandatory social insurance, with several exceptions:

• Workers transferred internally within the same enterprise under Vietnam’s foreign labor regulations.

• Individuals who have already reached retirement age at the time of signing their contract.

• Cases covered differently by international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

Compared to the previous framework under the 2014 Social Insurance Law and Decree 143/2018, the new law no longer requires foreign employees on indefinite-term contracts to participate in mandatory social insurance. Instead, it clarifies that if an international treaty provides otherwise, such workers will be exempt.

Once covered by Vietnam’s compulsory social insurance, foreign employees are entitled to the same benefits as Vietnamese workers, including sickness, maternity, occupational accident and disease insurance, and retirement pensions.

This legislative shift strengthens protection for foreign labor while ensuring fairness and consistency in Vietnam’s labor relations system. It also signals Vietnam’s commitment to improving its labor environment in line with global practices.