Czech Republic stops issuing work visas for Vietnamese nationals

By Nguyen Quy   July 22, 2018 | 11:10 pm PT
Czech Republic stops issuing work visas for Vietnamese nationals
More than 90,000 Vietnamese workers leave the country each year, according to the labor ministry.
The Czech Republic has decided to stop issuing work visas for Vietnamese laborers, citing "overloading” and security concerns.

Vietnamese citizens can no longer apply for visas for long-term residential purposes or engage in business activities in the Czech Republic.

The number of work visa requests submitted by Vietnamese citizens to the Czech Embassy in Hanoi was overwhelming and showed no signs of abating, and this could develop into security risks, Vietnam News Agency said, quoting Jan Hamacek, Czech Interior Minister and acting Foreign Minister.

At the present, the Czech Embassy in Vietnam will only accord priority to those wishing to apply for family reunion visas, the report said.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Ho Minh Tuan, said Vietnam was trying to implement measures to address the issue through diplomatic negotiations.

In 2008, the Czech government halted the issuance of entry visas for Vietnamese citizens, citing increasing crime rates in the Eastern European country, but canceled the decision a year later.

More than 65,000 Vietnamese live in the Czech Republic now, making it the third biggest minority group in the country.

According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalid and Social Affairs, around 500,000 Vietnamese citizens are living and working overseas. On average, more than 90,000 Vietnamese workers leave the country each year, mainly for labor-intensive and low-skilled jobs. Vietnam's total workforce is around 50 million.

 
 
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