The number increased from more than 12,600 in 2004 to more than 83,500 in 2015, the ministry has said.
Chinese workers make up 30.9 percent of Vietnam’s foreign workforce, with 25,700 people, the ministry reported at a recent workshop held in Hanoi.
Republic of Koreans number over 15,300, Taiwanese more than 10,700 and Japanese over 7,900.
HCM City is home to the largest number of foreign workers, with more than 20,300 people, accounting for 24.3 percent, followed by neighbouring Binh Duong province with more than 12,000 people (14.4 percent), Ha Tinh 7,000 people (8.4 percent), Hanoi 6,386 people (7.6 percent) and Dong Nai 6,205 people (7.4 percent).
The increasing number of foreign workers in Vietnam requires the improvement of the legal system to ensure the rights of migrant workers, especially social security.
Social insurance authorities in Vietnam are developing 'a compulsory social insurance scheme for foreign workers' in the country, citing the need to follow international practices as the country deepens integration.
The 2014 Law on Social Insurance requires compulsory enrollment of foreign workers in the social insurance scheme, starting in 2018, to ensure their equality and welfare.
Tran Hai Nam from the MoLISA’s Department of Social Insurance said employees who are foreign citizens with work permits or practice certificates granted by a competent Vietnamese agency shall be entitled to compulsory social insurance in compliance with State laws.
The ministry’s draft decree proposed requiring foreign workers to take part in all five social insurance programmes – pension and insurance for sickness, maternity, vocational injuries, disease, and death.
