When labour contracts with foreigners end, revoking the employee’s work permit and temporary residence card is an important process, that needs to be carried out in compliance with regulations. This also ensures the rights of both employees and employers. In this article, we will learn about revoking work permits and temporary residence cards when terminating a labor contract.
1. In what cases should the work permit or temporary residence card be revoked?
The company needs to revoke the work permit and temporary residence card of a foreigner when that person’s work permit expires according to regulations, specifically in the following cases:
- The foreigner’s working term expires according to the provisions of the issued work permit, or the foreigner’s labor contract with the Company is terminated.
- The parent company stopped sending foreign workers to work in Vietnam.
- The company dissolves or goes bankrupt.
- Contracts in these fields are the basis for expired or terminated work permits.
For example: The company signs a construction cooperation contract with a partner, which hires many foreign experts to supervise to ensure the quality of this project. Accordingly, the company has applied for a work permit for foreign experts to carry out the above contract. When the construction is completed, the Company needs to revoke the foreign expert’s work permit.
- There is a request or decision from a competent state agency to revoke the work permit (Usually stemming from the Company’s violation of regulations on using foreign workers or foreigners violating Vietnamese Law).
2. Procedure for revocation of work permit
When the work permit expires, the Company needs to quickly revoke it work permit of the foreigner and return it to the competent authority that issued the work permit to that foreigner within 15 days from the expiration of the work permit.
Along with the revoked work permit and returned to the competent authority, the Company sends an attached document clearly stating the reason for the revocation according to section 1 mentioned above. The competent authority mentioned above will receive documents and record the revocation of the Company’s work permit, and at the same time issue a document confirming the revocation of the work permit. This process usually takes about 5 to 7 working days.
Additionally, in a case when the work permit is damaged, lost during the revocation process; or for other reasons the Company cannot revoke the work permit, the company still needs to make the above notification. It clearly states the case of revocation of the work permit and the reason why it cannot be revoked.
3. Revocation of temporary residence card
The temporary residence card issued to the Company’s foreign employees is a temporary residence document in Vietnam that has the value of replacing a visa and is associated with the labor purpose of the foreigner in this case. Therefore, when the work permit expires, the temporary residence card may also lose its value.
According to regulations, companies using foreign workers must notify the immigration management agency that foreigners are issued valid documents for entry, exit, and residence. The residence is valid, but there is no longer a need for sponsorship during the temporary stay in Vietnam and coordination with the authorities to request foreigners to leave the country.
Therefore, when the work permit expires, in addition to revoking the work permit, the Company is responsible for revoking the employee’s temporary residence card to return it to the immigration management agency and at the same time apply for a visa. Normally, this visa will be issued for a period of 15 days.
In reality, there are many cases where foreign workers, after ending their labour relations with companies in Vietnam and returning their work permits and temporary residence cards, do not leave Vietnam. Then there will usually be two following possibilities:
- Intentionally staying: In this case, foreigners will be handled according to the Law.
- Sponsored by another company: At this time, they will carry out the procedures for applying for a visa, work permit, and temporary residence card and be sponsored by the new company.
The company using foreign employees has fulfilled its responsibilities, so it will no longer have anything to do with foreigners. Foreign workers will be responsible for their own legal violations.
If the foreigner does not cooperate and does not return the temporary residence card, resulting in the enterprise being unable to revoke the temporary residence card, the enterprise should send a notice to the Immigration Department, explaining the reason or not. Temporary residence card revoked. This may be a basis for exemption from liability related to foreigners. For foreigners, they will be administratively fined for illegal residence.
4. Significance of revoking work permits and temporary residence cards
Returning work permits and temporary residence cards is not only a legal regulation but also has important implications for both employees and employers. Below are some reasons why it is necessary to revoke work permits and temporary residence cards according to regulations:
- Legal compliance: Return of work permit and temporary residence card demonstrates compliance with labour laws and laws on entry and exit. This helps maintain transparency and order in labor and residence management.
- Protecting rights: Proper reimbursement helps protect workers’ rights, as well as ensure the right to return to work or the right to find a new job for foreign employees after the end of the labor contract.
Moreover, returning work permits helps enterprises avoid many hassles and other procedures in the future. According to regulations on foreign labor management, every 6 months, enterprises will have to report to state agencies once. Returning the work permit will serve as a notice, terminating the labor relationship with them. Enterprises no longer need to periodically report on the use of foreign workers.
When returning the temporary residence card, the enterprise will also terminate its guarantee responsibility. After the temporary residence card has been revoked, enterprises will normally carry out procedures to apply for exit visas for foreigners. At that time, the enterprise’s guarantee responsibility will also end when the foreigner exits Vietnam or is received and guaranteed by another unit.
5. Conclusion
In short, enterprises need to revoke work permits and temporary residence cards when terminating labor contracts in accordance with the law. Hopefully, the information shared above will help enterprises understand more about revoking work permits and temporary residence cards of foreigners to support foreign workers after the end of the labor relationship.
