Belgium will coordinate with Nghe An to prevent illegal exit.

At the meeting, Ms. Ann Weltjens - Consular Officer of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium said that currently, there are many workers from Nghe An in particular and Vietnam in general who voluntarily or through brokers go abroad to work without a labor contract and reside illegally. Most of these cases illegally exit the country through unofficial channels, for tourism or to visit relatives.

In addition, every year there are still many cases of fake documents and fake visas to go to Belgium. Of these, about 4-5% are Nghe An workers who apply for visas but are refused because their documents are not complete and legal.

A working delegation from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium led by Ambassador Jehanne Roccas visited the People's Committee of Nghi Thuy Ward, Cua Lo Town to learn about the situation of illegal exit. Photo: Phuong Thuy

Some Vietnamese citizens who illegally leave the country are exploited by foreign companies and do not enjoy insurance benefits, forcing them to work hard to pay brokers. This is also considered an illegal human trafficking problem that is happening in Europe.

Nghe An workers register for immigration procedures. Photo courtesy

Faced with that situation, Ms. Ann Weltjens hopes that the locality will coordinate to find measures to prevent illegal exit and eliminate illegal labor brokerage networks to avoid multi-faceted damage to workers.

At the same time, this Consular officer also said that he will closely coordinate with local focal agencies to appraise and verify documents when Vietnamese citizens want to go to Belgium to work.

“We will do our best to coordinate effectively with local authorities where people leave the country to verify documents and accurate background when issuing visas to workers. At the same time, when illegal workers are deported back to their home country, the local authorities need to have financial support measures to help them reintegrate into the community…”.

Mrs. Ann Weltjens

At the meeting, Mr. Vo Van Ly - Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghi Thuy Ward, Cua Lo Town provided information that the whole ward currently has over 600 workers working abroad through official labor export channels.

In addition, there are about 40 people illegally leaving the country to countries such as Laos, Thailand, China, etc. Of these, only 2-3 people are poor households, the rest are families with average economic conditions.

According to Mr. Ly's analysis, the reason for illegal emigration of workers is that a part of the population has a difficult life, does not have stable jobs; lacks understanding of the State's policies and regulations on labor export as well as the laws on immigration.

Mr. Vo Van Thuong - Deputy Head of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, People's Committee of Cua Lo Town spoke at the meeting. Photo: Phuong Thuy

To raise people's awareness, prevent illegal immigration brokerage and fake documents, Mr. Vo Van Thuong - Deputy Head of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, People's Committee of Cua Lo Town said: Currently, the locality is actively informing, propagating and mobilizing families with children who illegally immigrated to return home.

Mr. Thuong affirmed that when workers are deported back to the country, Cua Lo Town will organize free vocational training, create conditions for them to borrow capital from policy banks to produce and do business on their own; or introduce suitable jobs at domestic enterprises with the aim of helping these subjects quickly reintegrate into the community.