The Vietnam authorities have provided guidance pertaining to:
- the issuance and receipt of certificates of social insurance for workers overseas (“dispatched workers”2) and locally-hired workers;
- the suspension of compulsory social insurance payments by Vietnamese workers working in South Korea.
1. Dispatched Workers
The Vietnamese Social Insurance departments issue Social Insurance Certificates for Vietnamese workers participating in Social Insurance according to Vietnamese law. These certificates indicate the period of validity for the certificate and serve as a basis for Vietnamese workers to be exempt from participating in Social Insurance under the laws of South Korea. Similarly, the National Pension Service of South Korea issues certificates for Korean workers under Korean law, stating the period of validity of this certificate, thereby exempting them from Social Insurance in Vietnam.
The period of the individual’s overseas work lasts for the initial 60 months from the date he or she is sent, extendable by up to an additional 36 months if the worker remains with the sending employer. If a worker returns to his or her home country, for example, due to assignment termination, but gets sent overseas again, this will be deemed a new/different overseas work period, resulting in a recalculation of the exemption period. For those workers who were sent overseas before the Agreement's effective date, the exemption period begins from the Agreement’s effective date.
2. Locally-Hired Workers
For Vietnamese citizens working in South Korea, the National Pension Law of South Korea shall apply. For Korean workers working in Vietnam, the National Pension Law of South Korea shall still apply during the employment period, but is not to exceed 60 months, provided that this person is subject to South Korean law.
3. Vietnamese Workers Working in South Korea under Contracts
From 1 January 2024, Vietnamese workers in South Korea, under contracts covered by mandatory Social Insurance regulations, will no longer be obligated to contribute to Social Insurance in Vietnam. Instead, they will adhere to South Korean Social Insurance laws. This includes workers under contracts with companies sending employees abroad, those participating in skill-enhancement internships, and those under personal contracts.