Vietnam's food trade industry is one of the most dynamic sectors in the country. Fueled by an expanding middle class, rising disposable incomes, and shifting consumer preferences, the increasing demand for high-quality food products is undeniable. From bustling markets in Ho Chi Minh City to modern supermarkets in other major cities, the opportunity for both […]
Vietnam's food trade industry is one of the most dynamic sectors in the country. Fueled by an expanding middle class, rising disposable incomes, and shifting consumer preferences, the increasing demand for high-quality food products is undeniable. From bustling markets in Ho Chi Minh City to modern supermarkets in other major cities, the opportunity for both […]
In this article, we will give information about the average salary in Singapore, it may be useful for those who are seeking knowledge related to the salary there. Let’s keep reading this article!
General Information About The Labor Market in Singapore
The employment market in Singapore is developing and showing cautious optimism. Also, the demand for skilled professionals continues to grow.
According to the Ministry of Manpower, employment rebounded in 2019 compared to the previous year, expanding by 55.000 jobs. Service sector jobs made up nearly three-quarters (72%) of the job growth, while other sectors more modest gains.
The digitisation is expected to drive many job opportunities in Singapore, particularly within cyber-security and fintech. Many business owners are shifting their services and operations into digital, so there is an increasing demand for talent with project management and technology skills to facilitate such change.
The companies must also focus on professional development on internal staff and hiring staff with the right skill sets. It is to adapt to the rising tide of economics and prepare for the digital transformation.
The combination of constant change, ongoing technological developments, and skills shortages eventually have led Singaporean businesses to proactively hire the required skill sets and also invest in upskilling initiatives.
In order to have a skilled workforce, a business owner has to look at very detailed salary information, as well as the job seekers usually do. Hiring a skilled workforce for a specific job might need a little higher salary than the other.
That is why, in this article, you will be given information about the general average salary in Singapore, salary comparison by education, by experience, and by industry. Thus, you will know what is the best for you!
General Information About the Average Salary in Singapore
The average monthly household income measures the combined incomes of all the people living under the same roof. It includes every form of income such as salaries, employer’s CPF wage contributions, and investment returns.
However, the median household income from work per household member is $2.792. In 2017, the median household was $9.023 and it was indicating a 3% increment in the year of 2018.
The top 10% of Singaporeans bring home $13.581 per month per household member, while 12.1% of Singapore’s household is without monthly income from work. These are households with no working people.
Median monthly household income from work increased over the last 10 years. From 2009 to 2014, the median monthly household income from work rose by 18% cumulatively or 3.4% per annum. For the next years from 2014 to 2019, it continued to record healthy real growth of 13% cumulatively or 2.5% per annum.
Furthermore, when you work in Singapore, you can get additional payments, such as overtime, bonus, Annual Wage Supplement (AWS), productivity incentive payments, and allowances for travel, food, and housing. However, it depends on your company or industry that you will be working for.
Average Salary in Singapore: Comparison by Experience
The most important factor in determining salary is the level of experience. When you expect a certain amount of salary, you will need a higher experience too, because naturally the more years of experience the higher the wage.
For instance, an employee who is having experience from 2 to 5 years earns on average 32% more than a fresh graduate and junior across all industries and disciplines. A professional with 5-year experience tends to earn on average 36% more than those 5 years or less of work experience.
On the other hand, when you hit the 10 years mark, you will get salary increases by 21% and an additional 14% for those who have crossed the 15 years mark. Those figures are presented as guidelines only, as the numbers will become more significant if you consider one job title at a time.
Salary Comparison by Education
It is well known that higher education equals a bigger salary, and getting to know if it’s true or not, let’s find the comparison below.
Workers with a certificate or diploma earn on average 17% more than their peers who only reached the high school level. Employees who earned a Bachelor’s Degree earn 24% more than those who only managed to obtain a certificate or diploma.
Meanwhile, professionals who attained a Master’s Degree are awarded salaries that are 29% more than those with a Bachelor’s Degree. Finally, Ph.D. holders earn 23% more than Master’s Degree holders on average while doing the same job.
Salary Comparison by Industry
The companies in thriving industries tend to provide higher and more frequent raises, but the situation of any company is closely related to the economic situation in the country or region. This fact tends to change frequently, however, we will give you a top 5 highest paying job for each industry. Let’s see if your dream industry is listed below or not!
Accounting and Finance (Commercial Business)
According to the report, the accounting and finance sector has always been prominent and remains prime for growth. The government is planning to create 2.000 new jobs in the sector by 2020.
Accounting and Finance (Financial Service)
Same as above, many people are looking for accounting and finance (financial service) as their main jobs. As the government will create new jobs this year, so people will have a chance to get the job for themselves.
HR
The report predicts that there will be heavy expectations on HR professionals these days. They are here to aid and advise employees in identifying relevant and in-demand skill sets, and also provide the means for employees to acquire them.
Marketing
Many people are looking for jobs in the marketing sector too, and their main job description is to bring the businesses to more consumers. Those working in marketing would also need to keep the industry developments, so they are able to implement great strategies across various marketing channels.
Banking Operations
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) revealed in 2017 that they plan to create 3.000 jobs in the financial industry each year, with an additional 1.000 jobs per year expected to come from the fintech sector. MAS is also said to be working on the adoption of technology including blockchain and artificial intelligence to strengthen Singapore’s digital transformation.
All the information above about the average salary in Singapore will help you to decide whether you want to take a job in Singapore or not, but the necessary thing is you need to prepare and know what is the industry that you really want. In conclusion, the salary might interest you in deciding a job, but you need to gain your experience and skillset if you want to get a certain amount of salary! Viettonkin able to help you to set up any payroll and salary for the company around South East Asia.
Singapore is a promising country to live and work, as the country ranks second as the most globalized economy in the world. The global competitiveness report 2014-2015 named Singapore as the world’s second prospering economy.
You may ask questions about why Singapore is so popular for getting a job, because it has high wages, low unemployment rate, excellent work conditions, and nourishing business development and also an investment climate. It also made the country competitive as the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of its productivity.
As the economy is booming, Singapore companies are eager to acquire overseas specialists, offering top salaries, good benefits packages to attract highly-skilled workers and talents. For example, with a median salary of S$3.500 per month, software engineers can earn up to S$72.000 annually, although general practitioners usually receive around S$80.000 per year.
The businesses in Singapore offer their employees a variety of benefits, such as transport, health care, retirement, disability, education, and childcare schemes. You can even have flexible benefits, which allow you to trade off salary for benefits and the other way around.
The career opportunities in Singapore are much evolving, that is why many foreigners are in job hunting there. The diversity of industries in the country also means there are a million possibilities for employees across a wide variety of sectors and levels of seniority.
One thing that you need to remember is after securing a job offer in Singapore, you need to obtain a work permit. It is relatively straightforward and can be completed online. The work permits are also issued for entrepreneurs wishing to start their own businesses.
In this article, you will find the information about the requirements that you need to prepare, and the steps to get a work permit in Singapore. Let’s read the article until its end!
The Requirements For Work Permit in Singapore
Both employers and workers have to comply with the Conditions of Work Permits. If you are an employer and you want to employ foreign workers, you must meet the following requirements:
Only employ foreign workers who have a valid work pass
Pay your workers the fixed monthly salary that you declare
Pay workers their salaries and the cost of their maintenance, including the cost of medical treatment.
Ensure foreign workers have proper housing
Buy and maintain medical insurance for each worker to cover in-patient care and surgery costs.
Send your workers for a medical examination by a Singapore-registered doctor. If they are certified medically unfit, their Work Permit will be revoked.
Pay the monthly foreign worker levy for each worker.
Buy a security bond for each non-Malaysian worker.
Not demand or receive any sum or other benefit from an employment agency or any other person in connection with the employment or change in employment of a foreign worker.
If you are a foreign worker, you must meet the following requirements:
Work only in the occupation and for the employer specified in the Work Permit card.
Not take part in any other business or start their own business.
Reside only at the address set by the employer at the start of employment. They must inform you, if they are to change their address.
Carry their original Work Permit at all times and produce it for inspection on demand by any public officer.
Not marry a Singapore citizen or Permanent Resident in or outside Singapore without approval from MOM. This applies even after their Work Permit is expired, cancelled or revoked.
Not get pregnant or deliver a child in Singapore during the validity of their Work Permit unless they are already married to a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident with the approval of MOM. This applies even after their Work Permit is expired, cancelled or revoked.
Apply for a Work Permit in Singapore
Generally, the one who applies for a work permit in Singapore is the employer, so we will give the information below for those who hire foreign workers. But, it’s not limited to employers too, as a foreign worker you can understand how to get a work permit and prepare everything. Below are the steps for applying:
1. Submit a Work Permit Application
Get a written consent from the foreign worker to apply for Work Permit.
It takes around 1 week to process the application. It may take longer if additional information is required.
View the outcome online. If your application is approved, you need to log in to WP Online to print.
2. Prepare For Worker’s Arrival
As an employer, you need to buy your foreign workers a security bond and medical insurance.
Within 2 weeks of arrival, send them for medical examination by a Singapore-registered doctor.
Lastly is print and complete the Security Bond form.
3. Get The Work Permit Issued
Register the worker’s residential address and mobile number using OFWAS.
Wait for at least an hour before logging in to WP Online to request a Work Permit to be issued.
Log in to WP Online to request for Work Permit to be issued.
Provide an address, where the card will be delivered.
Nominate up to 3 authorized recipients to receive the card, and provide their NRIC, FIN or passport number, mobile numbers, and email address.
Pay $35 for each Work Permit issued. You can pay by GIRO, VISA, MasterCard or eNETS debit.
After the Work Permit is issued, print the notification letter and give it to the foreign workers. It allows them to travel in and out of Singapore while waiting for the Work Permit card.
4. Register Fingerprints and Photo
You need to register the foreign workers’ fingerprints and photos within 1 week after the pass is issued.
Ask the workers to bring: Original passport, appointment letter, notification letter, and documents listed in the notification letter.
5. Receive The Card
The Work Permit card will be sent to the given address in 4 working days after the workers register and get the documents verified.
For workers who do not need to register, the card will be delivered in 4 working days after verifying their documents
The authorized recipients will get SMS or email with the delivery details at least 1 working day before delivery.
You can check the card delivery details in WP Online.
Getting a work permit in Singapore might be easy, as long as you fulfil the requirements and have your documents well-prepared. If not, it would be taking a longer time than you expect and might end up in rejection as well. However, if you are a foreign worker and need to get a work permit in Singapore, you can contact us below. Viettonkin will always assist you!
This article focuses on getting a Resident Card or well known as Permanent Resident in Singapore. It may be useful for those who are planning to stay in Singapore for a long term. Let’s keep reading the article!
General Information About Resident Card in Singapore
Singapore has a population of approximately 4.7 million and currently ranked the 5th least corrupt country in the world. Also, the country is highly interested in acquiring new residence and skilled labour to boost its economy.
The government is well known for conducting open and fair policy towards constantly introducing new laws, tax relieves and regulations to enhance the countries’ business environment even more.
It is no surprise that many people are pursuing their dream jobs in the country, as it becomes the safest country, fair regulations, and very competitive salaries.
Before staying and working in Singapore for a long time, you will need a Permanent Residence (PR). It will enable foreign employees and entrepreneurs to stay in the country indefinitely, so you can have the perks and benefits that Singaporean citizens have.
Once you obtain a Singapore PR, you will be given a Blue Card which serves as an identity document. You can live, enter and leave Singapore without applying for a separate visa to travel or work.
The other benefit of having a PR is you can have the opportunity to change jobs without having to re-apply for a Singapore work permit. Being a Singapore PR can be provided financial and tax benefit through the country’s Central Provident Fund or known as CPF.
In addition, Singapore PRs have better chances of getting various loans approved, such as housing loans. They are also eligible to purchase second-hand units of government HDB flats. After a certain number of years, Singapore PRs are qualified to apply for full Singaporean citizenship and have the same rights as locally-born citizens.
If you are interested in getting a resident card or well known as PR in Singapore, it’s better to keep reading the article, because you will be given information about the types of PR schemes, the requirements, the documents that you need to prepare, and fee!
The Types of Permanent Resident
In this part, we will let you know about there are 3 types schemes to obtain a PR in Singapore:
Scheme 1 : Foreign Professionals, Technicians, and Skilled Workers.
This scheme suits for individuals who are currently working in Singapore for a certain period of time. The longer a foreigner has worked and contributed to the Singapore economy, the better it looks on paper when an application is sent for processing.
Therefore, when the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) assesses you for your candidacy, it will be based on your personal and professional merits you have acquired and built over the years while working in Singapore.
If you are a professional worker, and currently holding an Employment Pass or S Pass and planning to apply for a PR visa in the future, you need to plan and build an excellent employment profile.
Scheme 2: Investors or Global Investor Programme.
This suits for foreign investors who are willing to invest at least S$2.5 million into a new Singaporean business start up, existing business, or a GIP-approved fund. The entrepreneurs are required to have a good entrepreneurial background, a good track record of your business, and an investment plan prepared.
Scheme 3: Foreign Artist with an Effort to Become More of an Artistic Hub in Southeast Asia.
The government has created a special scheme for foreign artists who want to move to Singapore. The scheme helps professionals who are working in the arts, music, dance, photography industries. Those who work in the literature, theatre or cinematography specialization can also move to the country.
Artists who wish to apply for this scheme should take a note that their only requirement is that they should be fairly established internationally.
Spouse of a Singapore Citizen (SC) or Singapore Permanent Resident (PR).
Unmarried child aged below 21 born within the context of a legal marriage to, or have been legally adopted by a SC or PR.
Aged parent of a SC.
Holder of an Employment Pass or S Pass.
Student who is studying in Singapore.
Foreign investor in Singapore (over S$2.5 million in Singapore).
When applying for a Singaporean PR, you will also need to prepare the supporting documents. You can read through the notes below and it depends on your status right now!
If you are a spouse of a SC or PR, or child of a SC or PR who is unmarried and aged under 21
You need to submit Explanatory Notes and Document List (spouse with/without accompanying child or children)
Submit an Explanatory notes and Document List (child or children only)
Aged Parent of a SC
Explanatory Notes and Document List
Holder of an Employment Pass or S Pass
Explanatory Notes and Document List
Student Who is Studying in Singapore
Explanatory Notes and Document List
If you are a foreign investor in Singapore, you can apply for PR at the Singapore Economic Development Board under the Global Investor Programme.
After providing the required documents, you need to pay a $100 non-refundable processing fee for each applicant at the point of submission of the PR application. If your application is successful, you need to pay the following fees, such as:
S$100 for Entry Permit (for PR applications submitted before 18 December 2017)
S$20 for Entry Permit (for PR applications submitted from 18 December 2017 onwards)
S$50 for a 5-year Re-Entry Permit
S$50 for Identity Card
S$30 per Entry Visa (foreigners that are requiring a visa)
In general, the processing time for a PR application if it's submitted with the correct documents, is 4 to 6 months. However, some applications may take longer to process.
Getting a Resident Card or Permanent Resident in Singapore is difficult, but it’s possible to have one and enjoy the benefits that will be granted to you. As long as you have enough time to prepare everything, you will be alright! If you have any unsure things, you can contact us below as Viettonkin will always help you!
Opening bank account- “The world is flat” - a famous book analyzing globalization in the 21st century as well as a typical metaphor illustrating the equal opportunities for all people around the world. People travel across countries nowadays not only to visit somewhere else but also to do business and even settle down in a foreign country.
Since the open policy, Vietnam gradually becomes a dragon of Southeast Asia attracting a lot of foreign investors in numerous economic development projects. Many foreign people have the intention of working or even settle down in Vietnam. If your long-term plan of life and work is in Vietnam, you should consider opening a bank account to help you have secure financial management.
This article provides you with procedures to open a bank account and some recommendations of banks that you should work with. The article will be written under Q&A form.
Can I open a bank account as a foreigner in Vietnam?
Answer: Definitely YES. The government provides ex-pats with opportunities to open an account while working and living in our country. No matter who you are, what your nationality is, following the regulation helps you have a bank account in Vietnam.
What is the process of activating a personal bank account in Vietnam?
Answer: Opening a bank account in Vietnam, it can be said that, is pretty simpler than the process in other countries. First, you need to bring these documents to the bank that you want to open an account:
Your passport
Your valid Vietnam visa or visa exemption
An application form (you can fill the form at the bank)
Minimum deposit (which depends on each bank’s regulation)
Work contract and work permit if you enter Vietnam with a working visa
Residential address in Vietnam (Some banks may require you to prove your residential address).
Furthermore, most banks in Vietnam allow you to create a bank account online provided that you submit correct and valid documents. International banks such as HSBC, Citibank, and ANZ have a strong presence in two major cities (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city). Hence, it is convenient for you to link your existing account with your account set up in Vietnam if you have already had one account in those banks.
Another option that foreigners can consider is to set up an international bank account at those banks before leaving the home country so that the account is already set up with the international bank upon arrival.
How to set up a business bank account?
Actually, setting up a business bank account will help foreign businesses proceed with payment methods easier with their partners. Two types of accounts that foreign companies must register are: Investment capital account and transactional account. The former is used for receiving and sending investment amount and the latter is used for conducting daily transactions in Vietnam.
The process of opening a business account is more complicated than that of a personal account. Your business needs to prepare these following documents:
Application form for opening an account for a foreign company in Vietnam. In general, this form consists of the following information: information about your company (name, headquarter, address…), information about the legal representative of the company, information of Chief Accountant, the signature of an account holder, the signature of legal representative.
Documents providing that foreign company was established in Vietnam including: establishment decision of the company, operation license of the company, business registration certificate.
Documents providing for legal representative or authorized representative company with his/ her valid Identity Card/ passport.
Some additional documents are authorization decision and Identity Card of chief accountant or person in charge of accounting work.
What banking fees are involved for opening bank account?
Banks in Vietnam will have their own set of fees that you have to pay through each transaction. Common fee types include:
ATM fees
When you use a different bank’s ATM to withdraw or transfer your money, the transaction will cost you a fee and that fee varies from banks to banks. The fee for foreign debit cards will range from VND 20,000 to VND 55,000. Besides, the maximum amount of money per withdrawal is not relatively low (VND 2,000,000) then the transaction fee of ATM may increase depending on how many times you do your transaction at the ATM.
Normal bank fees
You do not need to pay a fee when opening a new bank account as the Vietnamese banking system is on the large growth phase and Vietnamese banks are encouraging people to use their service. Nevertheless, you should have a minimum balance to maintain your account. The minimum balance can be VND 100,000.
Fees for international transfers
When you transfer your money internationally between banks, it will charge you a fee so, make sure that you understand the mid-market exchange rate. If you would like to transfer your money from your foreign to Vietnamese bank account, you had better use Transferwise, Xoom, or SWIFT transfer to get the real exchange rate without adding a markup.
Can you suggest some banks that foreigners should open a bank account in Vietnam?
There are more than 40 state-owned, private and international banks. You can choose to open an account in any bank in Vietnam providing that your transaction is done conveniently and you find it reasonable regarding bank relevant fees.
You can visit bank’s websites to search for information with regard to account for foreigners before deciding to open an account.
How to transfer money from Vietnamese to a foreign bank account?
In order to transfer money from Vietnam to a foreign account, you have to provide some documents to show the legality of your money source. If the money has already in your country, it is legal incomes and you have the right to decide about the transaction.
In case you would like to send in cash, it is required to provide relevant documents. For instance, that amount of money is from your salary, you need to submit your work permit, labour contracts, payslips and your passport.
All in all, opening a bank account in Vietnam is fairly easy. For a personal account, you have to submit required documents to prove that you have rights of using bank services like Vietnamese residents. For a business account, the process is more complex and requires more legal documents. Furthermore, foreigners should be aware of transaction fees and some other elements for their decisions to a bank account activation.
You can always contact us if you need any help for setting up you bank account whether it is for personal or business bank account.
In the previous article, you have known about the procedure of applying and necessary documents for getting work permit for foreigner in Vietnam. In the second part of this article which assists foreigners in having profound knowledge about the Vietnamese working environment, you are provided with salary standards, allowances, and benefits if you are members of any Vietnamese enterprises.
Vietnam certainly creates a fair and dynamic business environment, hence you will be supported allowances like Vietnamese employees.
Salary standard and work permit for foreigner in Vietnam
The minimum wage for foreign workers is the same as the minimum wage for Vietnamese workers. From January 2020, minimum salaries will be increased as follows:
- Region I: VND 4,420,000 (increase of 5.7% from VND 4,180,000)
- Region II: VND 3,920,000 (increase of 5.7% from VND 3,710,000)
- Region III: VND 3,430,000 (increase of 5.5% from VND 3,250,000)
- Region IV: VND 3,070,000 (increase of 5.1% from VND 2,920,000)
Besides, overtime payment is also applied for foreigners. According to Article 98 of the Labour Code, an employee who works overtime will be paid an amount based on the piece rate or actual salary as follows:
- On normal days: at least 150%;
- On weekly days off: at least 200%;
- During public holidays, paid leave, at least 300%, not including the daily salary during the public holidays or paid leave for employees receiving daily salaries.
Allowances and benefits for foreigners after getting the work permit
The government has issued labor regulations for foreigners while working in Vietnam with a view to ensuring benefits for overseas employees.
Insurance for foreigners after getting the work permit
Foreigners are eligible for health insurance and social insurance. Foreigners are required to participate in social insurance when they obtain work permits, practising licenses issued by the authorities in Vietnam, indefinite-term employment contracts or employment contracts valid for at least one year with employers in Vietnam. Social insurance for foreign workers includes sickness, maternity, occupational accident, disease, retirement, and funeral allowance benefits.
Tax exemptions
The tax paid by foreign workers can be reduced under circumstances:
- One-off relocation allowance for foreigners to relocate to Vietnam;
- Round-trip airfares paid once a year by employers for foreign employees who are on annual leave; and
- General education school fees or tuition paid by the employer for the expatriates’ children studying in Vietnam.
- Employee housing costs exceeding 15 percent of the total taxable income (excluding housing benefit from employers);
- Expenses for means of transportation for a group of employees to and from work;
- Training fee for employees relevant to employees’ profession and/or in accordance with the employers’ plan;
- Mid-shift meal allowances if the employers directly cater such meals for their employees;
- Presumptive expenditures for telephone, stationery, per diem, working outfit, etc. are not subject to tax if the amounts are within the levels set out under relevant regulations.
Severance Allowance
In case an employment contract is terminated as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10, Article 34 of the Labor Code, the employer is responsible for paying severance allowance to the employee who has worked on a regular basis for a period of at least 12 months. Each year of work will be worth half a month’s salary, except for the cases in which the employee is entitled to receive a retirement pension.
Job-loss Allowance
According to Article 49 of the Labor Code 2012, the employer is responsible to give the redundancy pay to the dismissed regular employees that have worked for 12 months or more as prescribed in Article 44 and 45 of this Code. 1-month salary is paid for each working year but must not be lower than the salary of 02 months.
Work permit: Salary allowance (applied for State-owned company)
Allowance for workers in harmful or dangerous environments
According to Article 11 Circular 17/2015 / TT-BLĐTBXH, this allowance is applicable to employees working in jobs that involve heavy, hazardous, dangerous or extremely heavy, toxic or dangerous labor conditions. The company reviews and classifies working conditions as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular, comparing the severity, severity and danger of occupations and jobs with normal working conditions to determine the allowance level.
This allowance is calculated at the same time as the monthly salary paid according to the actual time of doing heavy, hazardous and dangerous jobs. Working less than 4 hours a day is counted as 1/2 day, working from 4 hours or more, it is calculated all day.
Responsibility allowance
Responsibility allowance is applied to employees who do some work under management (such as team leader, deputy leader and similar title) or the job requires a higher responsibility than the responsibility calculated in the salary payroll (such as treasurer, storekeeper, cashier and similar titles). It is calculated in the same period of the monthly salary. When the job is not performed for more than 1 month, the responsibility allowance is not applied.
Traveling allowance
Mobile allowances are applicable to workers who have to frequently change working places and places of residence, such as constructing construction works; prospecting, searching and drilling minerals; topographic survey and measurement, cadastral survey, specialized construction survey, repair and maintenance of road and railway; dredging waterways works and jobs with similar conditions. Allowance is calculated at the same time as the monthly salary payment based on the actual number of working days.
Attraction allowance
Attracting allowances are applicable to workers who come to work in new economic zones, areas with exceptionally difficult living conditions, and works that need to be speeded up. Attraction allowance is calculated in the same period of monthly salary. The duration of implementation is from 3 to 5 years, depending on the conditions of the working area or the job and job applied.
Region allowance
Region allowance is applicable to employees working in areas where the State stipulates that officials and public employees working in this area are entitled to regional allowances. The list of geographical areas enjoying regional allowances is made in the Appendix attached to Joint Circular No. 11/2005 / TTLT-BNV-BLDTBXH-BTC-UBDT. It is determined by the employee's workplace and calculated to be paid in the same period of the monthly salary. When not working at a region-based allowance for 1 month or more, no regional allowance is payable.
Position allowance
Position allowances are applied to the Head, Deputy Head in case the company prescribes the Head, Deputy Headto receive the professional salary, plus position allowance. It is paid in the same period of monthly salary payment. When the employee does not hold the position from 01 month or more, no position allowance is payable.
Other allowance with the work permit
The company can provide additional allowances, such as incentive allowances for employees to ensure time and labor norms, improve job performance skills, and long-term working with. company and other allowances in accordance with the characteristics, labor nature and actual requirements of the company after agreement with the owner.
Holiday leave
An employee shall be entitled to have days off fully paid on the following public holidays:
- Calendar New Year Holiday: one day (the first day of January of each calendar year);
- Lunar New Year Holidays: Five days
- Victory Day: 01 day (the 30th of April of each calendar year);
- International Labor Day: one day (the first day of May of each calendar year);
- National Day: 01 day (the second day of September of each calendar year).
- Hung Kings Commemoration Day (the 10th of March of each Lunar year)
In conclusion, this article provides you with the insight of salary standards and allowances and getting the work permit foreigner in Vietnam. If you have the intention of contributing your talent to our country, this article will help you be clear about your concern regarding your procedure, your salary, and your allowances. Hope that you will find helpful information in these two articles.
In an integrated global economy, English is an almost imperative language to communicate and perform all jobs. Currently, in Vietnam, the number of foreign language teaching centres is increasing as the result of the increasing demand for learning foreign languages. Working at a language centre is a common choice for many foreigners who want to settle down in Vietnam, but requires the work permit.
However, with strict regulations on foreign workers, many English centres and foreigners themselves face difficulties in labour procedures. In this article, Viettonkin will assist you with the detailed process of getting a work permit for teaching English in Vietnam.
The increasing demand for learning and teaching English in Vietnam
Today there are more than one billion people who speak English worldwide. English has become a bridge for those who want to gain knowledge and access to modern science and technology in the world. Good at English is one of the advantages for you to be recruited by the employer. Thus, parents nowadays are focusing on giving their children to English centers and students are also finding English communication centers to improve their English skills as well.
To meet the needs of English learners of the majority of Vietnamese people, many foreign-invested and domestic English language centers have been established with a variety of training methods fitting each targeted group of trainees. As a result, the demand for foreign teachers is getting higher and higher.
A teacher is teaching English for Vietnamese students.
Vietnam also becomes an attractive land for foreigners to work English teachers. Acknowledging the high demand for learning English in Vietnam, more and more foreigners who are proficient in English come to Vietnam and become teachers at English centers.
With a decent salary for foreign teachers, Vietnam is considered an attractive place for foreign job seekers. However, under the rigid regulations, foreign teachers may find it challenging to legally teach English in Vietnam. But getting work permits will be easier if foreigners follow the specific requirements under the Vietnamese labor law.
How to get a work permit for teaching English in Vietnam?
Under Vietnamese labor law, a foreigner has to apply for and obtain a work permit in order to legally work in Vietnam and to renew business visas. The application needs to be submitted within a reasonable amount of time or you may be requested to leave Vietnam when your visa expires.
There are 2 steps to obtain a Vietnam work permit:
Step 1: Applying for Business Visa
Step 2: Applying for Vietnam Work Permit
To apply for a Working Visa for Vietnam you will need:
Either a University degree or higher degree. For some fields you can also use a professional skills certificate.
A work contract.
Support from your employer to get the work permit.
What paperwork are you required to provide?
Work permit application form – from Judicial Department of the city in Vietnam where you are going to stay or: Ho Chi Minh City: the address: 141 – 143 Pasteur street, ward 6, District 3, HCM city. You can apply for a work permit when you have a work contract, either when you are here, or if you have someone in Vietnam can do it on your behalf, ideally the school should help.
Work permission application letter -ask for a template
Criminal record: If you have stayed in Vietnam for more than 6 months, you will have to get the criminal record that is issued by the Judiciary Department of the city where you are living. In case you are not in Vietnam or you have stayed here for less than 6 months, you will have to get that criminal record from your Authority Government.
A copy of your certificate or degree: This can be: university degree, higher degree or a special professional skills certificate ex. accountant certificate. This paperwork will then be translated into Vietnamese and certified by a Vietnamese Government agency to prove that this translated version has the same meaning as the original one and can be used legally in Vietnam. You will also need to get it “authenticated” -Your degree will need to be certified by the Notary Public department in your country.
Health check: There is a list of hospitals that has the authority to give you a health check in Vietnam and only the hospitals on this list are qualified to prove your health for the work permit application. You will get this list with the first 2 templates for paperwork; the Work permit application form and Work permission application form. In case, you are not in Vietnam, you can get a health check from any hospital in the country that you are staying. This health check is valid for 6 months.
Curriculum vitae with a passport photo
3 new passport photos: Your passport photo will have to follow the standards of passport photos in Vietnam.
Personal documents teachers must have for a work permit
Basically, to apply for a work permit in Vietnam, foreign teachers have to prepare and submit some following kinds of documents:
A university or college degree;
A teaching certificate (Certificate in TESOL, Certificate in TFSOL, etc.)
A letter of working experience confirmation from former employers at least 3 years in the relevant position
Foreign Police Clearance Certificate or Vietnam Criminal Record
How to legalize the foreign documents for use in Vietnam
A lot of documents are required during a lengthy process. You may get your documents notarized and legalized in the wrong way or you may forget to prepare some documents which result in work permit rejection. These documents must be legalized via 2 options below:
Option 1: Legalized by native Ministry Foreign Affair and Vietnamese embassy or consulate overseas of the country where the expat is a resident “RECOMMEND”
Option 2: Certified by home country embassy or consulate in Vietnam then legalized by Ministry of Foreign Affair in Vietnam
It sounds like such a lot of complicated procedures to successfully achieve a work permit in Vietnam for teaching English in particular. But if you spend time fulfilling your files with all the relevant required documents, your plan to work as English teachers in Vietnam would be easier to conduct. We hope that this article may be helpful with you and everything you need to be assisted, Viettonkin is always ready and you can contact us anytime.
Dubbed as the smokeless industry, the hospitality industry has gradually proved its position in the structure of the economy as it continuously grows over the years and has provided plenty of opportunities for job seekers. In spite of high demand, it causes many obstacles for restaurants and hotels to find talented personnel because the supply is not enough to meet. Thus, how to make your restaurant and hotel impress the good candidates and make them dedicate their abilities to your unit? The following article will be helpful to you on this issue.
About Hospitality in Vietnam
In recent years, Vietnam's tourism is on the pace of growth with impressive growth figures. According to the latest statistics of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in 2017, Vietnam ranked 6th among the 10 fastest-growing tourist destinations in the world and ranked first among Southeast Asian countries. Each year, the average tourism industry in Vietnam welcomes more than 14 million international visitors. As a result, hospitality in Vietnam has also achieved remarkable performance. According to the 2018 Asia-Pacific (STR) hotel performance report, revenue per total number of rooms (RevPER) in Ho Chi Minh City increased by 5.1% to approximately USD 82.06. Along with the rapid growth of the service industry, the hospitality and tourism system in Vietnam is increasingly receiving long-term investments from leading local and international corporations, which has demonstrated the strong potential of the hotel industry to prepare for leaps in the near future. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese hospitality is on the edge of the shortage of workforce. This issue requires hotels’ owners to have specific strategies to attract and retain employees, ensuring the quality of hospitality service is as good as possible.
Essential strategies to attract and retain staffs in the hospitality industry
1.Building a professional working environment in your hospitality business
a.Recruitment and Training process
First and foremost, the professional work environment that leaders hope to show has to be shown in the recruitment process. Strict and apparent recruitment can boost the value of the hotel itself and make the candidates aware that they have to try their best with new roles. The total recruitment process is summarized in the following image:
Professionalism comes from well-training for new employees. Staff would feel like they're being cared for, seeing the high security of the job. Several tips are recommended for the purpose of training and development: developing a roadmap for career development or personal development and training; allowing training ideas from low to high as well as from the management level down; researching training methods, whether from business or outsourcing.
b. Hospitality management system
A smart hospitality management system is also a factor that shows professionalism. There is currently a variety of management software that can support you with a large number of jobs during the operation of a hotel. If staff can approach that software, they will find it more comfortable and put all of their passion to work.
2.Creating opportunities for personal growth
No employee likes to do a job and stay in the same positional these years. Everyone wants to be devoted and recognized with the ability to advance in their careers. As a result, managers in hotels should provide candidates with promotion opportunities so they determine the goals and positions they will achieve in the future if done well and endeavor to pursue them. In this way, everyone has a goal to strive to help the performance and quality of work become better. In order to obtain this purpose, hotels’ leaders should build a complete evaluation system to exactly assess the employees’ abilities. Since then, leaders can determine the appropriate development directions that satisfy their staff.
3.Strengthening the promotion of the hotel image when posting job vacancies
Not only restaurants, hotels, but most other businesses when posting job postings only focus on job descriptions and salaries but forget that candidates are attracted to many other factors. Meanwhile, most candidates tend to choose their ideal working environment as a specific reputation and position in the market. In addition, the attractive factors are the event activities at restaurants, hotels, culture in the working environment, bonuses, ... So when posting a job recruitment, you should wrap up the job description and spend a small part to promote the image as well as the operation of the hotel to show candidates that the environment here is really good for candidates to attract them.
4.Providing reasonable treatment
a.Regular recompense
Of course, if staff only work and receive monthly income, it certainly leads to the day they find the job so boring and the owner likely pays no attention to their contribution to the hotel’s operation. When employees strongly perceive that managers support them, they often express greater satisfaction with their job and exhibit a greater commitment to the organization. Thus, the owner should never ignore the value of recompense and encouragement. Do you know what employees often talk about their companies? These are salaries and perfect treatment that leaders give them. It can be denied that recompense is the core factor in the strategies of retaining staff.
b.Making a good relationship with staff
In any work environment, the relationship between leaders and their subordinates is absolutely important to the success of the whole team. No one can endure an atmosphere of intense pressure work or constant reprimand. Particularly, the characteristics of hospitality staff is to always show a friendly and polite attitude towards guests. Therefore, in order to ask employees to show a professional and caring working attitude, the leaders themselves also need to show fairness, create an enjoyable working atmosphere to avoid putting pressure on employees.
In addition, you can understand about the hospitality in Vietnam by reading through this article. To sum up, facing the challenges of the shortage of workforce in hospitality, the hotels’ leaders may consider these strategies above and build up your own strategies to attract and retain talented employees. For Vietnam with abundant human resources, this is actually a potential market creating an opportunity for hospitality leaders to develop a strong workforce.
Vietnam is attracting plenty of foreign investment in many sectors thanks to new achievements in technological evolution. The advancement of technology, as well as the higher requirements of some fields, has created essential sets of skills that job seekers should have in order to boost their value and own competitive advantages with other candidates. Hence what are career prospects and skill trends in Vietnam? The article will help you find out the answer.
Vietnam current labour workforce and demand situation
Vietnam is a country that has a young workforce. Nevertheless, according to research conducted by Navigos (2018), international companies found it difficult to hire competent employees in Vietnam. There was a mismatch between the skill level of employees and employers’ requirements. The shortage of qualified workers was the biggest hurdle. Under the circumstances of the lack of skilful employees, the remaining talented candidates tend to seek for vacancies in foreign businesses, which is another drawback for domestic companies. Hence, it is required that Vietnamese enterprises need to change their policies to attract and retain talents. Vietnam’s quality of human resources was 3.76 out of 10, ranking the 11th out of twelve Asian countries.
Human resources quality remains challenges
Chung Ngoc Que Chi of Ho Chi Minh City Technical and Economic College has said that Vietnamese workers are not only lacking in quantity but also quality as well. The level of foreign languages, IT skills and the ability to utilize technology do not meet the requirement. Nguyen Xuan Binh, head of Central Economic, has stated that it is essential for Vietnam to make a significant change in the awareness of human resource quality to achieve practical results. Prime Minister Nguyên Xuân Phúc pointed out three things that Vietnam should focus on improving human resource capabilities. First of all, vocational education had better follow market trends. Moreover, policies should be enacted to promote the connections between two entities to encourage cooperation and contribution to training. Second, vocational training should meet international standards so that students can be equipped with the most updated knowledge, necessary technical and soft skills. The last point is that we should predict the demands of businesses and the economy.
Factors that influence the labor market in 2020
According to a report by HR insider, the two most influential factors are technological and socio-economic factors. It is forecasted that in the next five years, robots and automation will have a strong impact on the labor market, followed by mobile internet, cloud technology, big data and the internet of things. These sections are believed to have higher demands of workers, hence investing in these skills is beneficial for students. The changes in the nature of work, flexible work, the increase in elite labor and young demographic will influence greatly the labor market in 2020 with 66%, 55%, and 54% respectively.
Trending skills for employees and HR specialists
When the labor market changes, which are sets of skills essential for employees and HR specialists?
Trending skills for employees
In the next five years, technology is believed to be applied in a lot of fields in the economy. For instance, the application of automatic machines in car manufacturing or farming. Besides, the competition among candidates become more fierce, candidates who have better abilities will have chances to work in desired enterprises. So what are the abilities and basic skills needed in the future? Regarding to abilities, problem-solving skills, creativity, cognitive flexibility, and logical reasoning are the four most important skills. Problem sensitivity is ranked the most needed skills with 86%, followed by creativity with 86% and logical reasoning with 51%. Meanwhile, physical abilities and mathematical reasoning are considered not to be essential. The development of technology may be a vital cause. In terms of basic skills, active learning is the most significant skill (87%) then ICT learning, monitoring self and others and critical thinking. Moreover, people do not work alone, but they work in a team. Consequently, cross-functional skills are also vital. To have a teamwork spirit and express yourself, coopering with others, people management, emotional intelligence, decision making and complex problem solving are highlighted. These sets of skills are skills that robots or technology are unable to assist people in working.
Trending skills for HR specialists and employers
1. Employee experience over employee engagement
By focusing on the experience you provide to your employees, they will find the meaningfulness in their work. This personalized experience can be gamified, challenges, learning or upskilling to help them improve their skills.
2. Evidence-based working
Employers can have a fair assessment to employees by using solid metrics and analytics thanks to digital tools. The capabilities of analyzing, assigning work and measuring the work efficiency with the assistance of analytics allow employees to be free of bias and subjective working.
3. Invest in team and business growth
When you help your employees develop skills and train the skills that are needed in their work, staffs will feel motivated because they are learned and willing to contributing to your business more.
Information technology is considered as a top priority of Vietnam’s economic development. The demand for experiencing and applying technology in daily life and work has made IT become a field for Vietnamese young talents to study and pursue.
Vietnam, it can be said that, becomes a pool of IT talents, which attracts plenty of foreign investors. If investors would like to run an IT business in Vietnam, looking for a salary standard in IT is an essential thing.
Tech talents expectation for their job
Due to digital transformation, vacancies of digital products or UX have been sought by a lot of business owners. The need for better IT infrastructure is increasing to improve the product quality and user experience.
Candidates are predicted to consider factors when choosing their boss such as flexible working hours, insurance, remote working space and opportunities to learn or self-development. Besides, tech experts are keen on training workshops, courses on technical skills, cross-functional project involvement as well as the soft-skill course.
Factors that affect the salary of tech talents
Before having an overview of salary in IT sector, we should acknowledge factors that will affect the salary increase. Four factors are years of experience, technical background, gender, and location.
First of all, IT employees’ salaries depend much on years of experience. Those having more hand-on experience are certainly got a higher payment. For example, Glassdoor - a platform offering hot jobs worldwide - estimates that a web developer from one to three years of experience can earn $63,805 while senior web developers with more than 10 years of experience can earn $87,160.
Second, the technical background can also impact on the tech talents’ salary. Your salary can be offered based on your mastery of programming languages (namely HTML, CSS or Javascript), regarding to developers. Besides, the educational background will not affect 100% of your salary. It does not mean that you can not earn top-dollar salary if you only have a bachelor’s degree. (Xanax) Your salary will increase when you have more years of experience and self-study to improve your skills day by day.
Third, gender. In fact, gender should not have affected the salary, however, Vietnamese women account for a minority in the IT industry compared to their counterparts. Hence, the salary for women in the IT sector might be lower than that of male tech talents.
Another factor that influences tech staffs is location. Obviously, companies in big cities will need and pay more for tech talents because of the high demand for using the Internet as well as trying new and high-quality service.
Overview salary in Vietnam technology
The table below will show you salaries on a monthly basis for some positions in the IT sector. Job titles are mentioned including CTO (Chief Technology Officier), Architect, Project/ Program Manager, Developer, Quality Assurance (QA)/ Quality Control (QC), Data Scientist.
Monthly Salaries in Tech in Vietnam
Monthly salaries in tech vary among positions and required skills. In the chart, CTO takes charge of more duties and requires both senior technical skills and management skills, then the monthly salary for CTO is highest, range from $6,000 to $12,000, following by architect, program manager, developer, and quality control. In particular, the initial salary of Data Scientist starts at $1,500, which is higher than that of quality control and developers.
The reason lies in the hot trend of big data and artificial intelligence in the IT sector. In 2019, data science vacancies augmented 137% compared to the first half of 2017. More and more companies are keen on data science and willing to pouring money as data science will help employers analyze and make an appropriate decision.
To give a deeper view of the salary in the IT sector, the next part of this article will cover some factors that affect the developer’s salary.
This table demonstrates the annual salaries of developers based on years of experience. Obviously, senior developers with more than 4 years of experience will earn approximately $25,000 and fresh developers can earn around $8,000 per year. The annual salary will increase when developers work longer.
By educational background
Programmers who acquire higher education will easily earn more. From the table, a developer with a certificate from vocational institutions gets a lower salary than those obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree.
Master’s Degree can help developers receive the salary up to $13,000, much higher than those having a Bachelor’s Degree and Certificates. Moreover, developers obtaining a Master’s Degree also have better chances to be promoted to become leaders.
Programmer salaries also vary from different locations. Two biggest cities (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city) usually offer higher salaríe for developers than other places because they are two major centers that attract a lot of youngsters and provide plenty of job opportunities, though the gap is not too large. Developers working at HCMC can earn up to approximately $16,000 per year, $2000 higher than those working at Hanoi. Developers at Hue and Da Nang also get good salaries.
Data Analyst Average Salary in Vietnam
What do data analysts do? The main role of a data analyst is to gather data and use it to help companies to make better decisions.
How much can data analyst make? It also varies depending on factors namely experience and education. A data analyst salaries in Vietnam range from 7,650,000 VND (minimum salary) to 25,700,000 VND (maximum salary).
Average Salary By years of experience
Data analyst salaries change by experience
A data analyst with less than 2 years experience is offered around 8,830,000 VND, then the salary will be increased gradually when the analyst work in this field longer. For example, after 5 years of working as a data analyst, the salary can rise to 38%, to approximately 12,200,000 VND.
By education
Salaries of a data analyst also change based on the education level. Those obtaining certificates or diplomas can earn an average salary of 10,500,000 VND, while students with Bachelor’s Degree earn 16,700,700 VND, which is 58% higher than the former.
UX designer average salary in Vietnam
Another field in the tech sector that worth mentioning is UX/UI designer. The salary of UX designers varies depending on years of experience. According to UX designer salaries, UX designers can earn around $12,938 per year with less than 3 years of experience. From 4 to 7 years of experience, the annual salary can increase to $14,000.
Besides, you can look up for further information related to FDI guide or digital transformation at Viettonkin's blog. To sum up, Vietnam is a promising market for foreign investors with a pool of tech talents. Besides an attractive salary, Vietnamese tech talents also wish to develop themselves further via training workshops, get insurance and offer flexible working hours. This article hopes to help you understand basic insight into the salary standards in the Vietnam IT sector. (more…)
With the drastic economy increase, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) has become Vietnam economic center and a hotbed of economic development. International corporations and local SME and startups in every industry choose this city to be their invest destination. Therefore, the demand of human resources keeps increasing while the offer struggles to follow. Recruiting young graduates is no exception to this situation and companies struggle to hire motivated and skilled interns. Here are a few tips from Viettonkin Manpower experts on how to hire interns in HCMC.
Part 1: Where to find interns in HCMC ?
In HCMC, interns can be freelancers, job seekers or new graduates. They all look to gain practical experience and networking opportunities. In particular areas, there are some renowned universities you can consider to look for your talent candidates. These universities can be divided into five categories, all based in HCMC:
The students from the above-mentioned universities are known as creative and dynamic individuals. Their training combines specialist knowledge and soft skills.
Part 2: Design a stategy
Pinpoint your requirement for the intern’s qualification
The qualifications depend on each specific position. However, in general, there are some skills that an intern should have if they want to build a professional working relationship with your company. We recommend this excellent article to narrow down the skills you need from your interns : https://www.wayup.com/guide/top-10-skills-employers-want-intern/
The industries’ requirements change fast. Consequently, HCMC students are more proactive to gain skills and networking. However, in the past years, several companies mentioned that more needs to be done in language skills and critical thinking. Therefore, some mini-tests in advance are necessary to ensure you hire the right interns.
Design a specific program
But, a comprehensive internship program for college students should include information on:
learning objectives and goals
short- and long-term projects
daily responsibilities
supervisor assignments
evaluation procedures, policies and expectations
orientation and off-boarding processes
salary or compensation
There is no specific regulation to hire interns in HCMC, whether regionally or in Vietnam Labor Code Law: working tine, basic wage... Nevertheless, common practices are to:
do part-time or flexible time,
offer an allowance for transportation,
pay a reasonable compensation for their dedication.
Select a start day and determine the duration
Concretely, employers start recruiting interns an average of three months before the beginning. If that much time isn’t realistic for you, try to give at least two months for recruiting and onboarding candidates. Generally, the duration of an internship is about three months to one year in HCMC.
Part 3: Where to publicize to hire interns in HCMC
Post the position
At least, the position post should include a few the information about the job and your company. In particular, it is common to present a job description, company profile and benefits offered. Then, you can post this internship on scores of job search sites (Vietnamworks, Ybox). Also, social media are widely used: Linkedin, Facebook. Moreover, your company can contact with the universities to send your available position to student emails.
Value your candidates
Finally, select the CVs by devising a system for evaluating resumes and submissions to decide which prospective interns you will interview.
So this is useful tips your company can simply follow to recruit appropriate interns with fresh perspective and no wasting of time. Viettonkin Consulting stands by your side with international know-how and local knowledge, all from a single source, allowing you to expand your business successfully in a potential market like Vietnam. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via email: info@viettonkin.com.vn or hotline: +84 918 866 858.
About Us
Founded in 2009, Viettonkin Consulting is a multi-disciplinary group of consulting firms headquartered in Hanoi, Vietnam with offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Bangkok, Singapore, and Hong Kong and a strong presence through strategic alliances throughout Southeast Asia. Our firm’s guiding mission is aimed towards facilitating intra-ASEAN investments and connecting investors in Southeast Asia with the rest of the world, thus promoting international business relationships and strengthening inter-nation connections.
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