Current household registration system outdated in Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) – The household registration system no longer conforms to the current social management in Vietnam, which is undergoing big changes towards international integration, Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Dang Nguyen Anh said.

This system should be replaced with a more modern and scientific tool which is more convenient for people’s lives, he noted at a workshop to unveil a report on Vietnam’s household registration system in Hanoi on June 16.

Achim Fock, the World Bank’s Acting Country Director for Vietnam, said the household registration system needs to be strongly reformed to ensure migrants’ access to public education and health care services and employment.

That will encourage migration to cities and help fuel economic growth and restructuring in Vietnam, he added.

The report, compiled by the World Bank Group and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, shows that Vietnam can improve migrants’ access to public services and employment by reducing the time and requirements needed to have permanent residence status.

It also suggests measures for eliminating differences in access to public services and employment between permanent and temporary registrants.

It says at least 5.6 million people lack permanent registration in their places of residence (and have only temporary registrant status), including 36 percent of the population in Ho Chi Minh City and 18 percent of the population in Hanoi.

Those without permanent registration work overwhelmingly in the private sector, mostly in manufacturing, and make up three-fourths of all employees in foreign firms in the surveyed areas (HCM City, Hanoi, Da Nang city, Binh Duong province and Dak Nong province).

They face limitations in service access, particularly with regard to public schools, health insurance for young children, and basic procedures like registering a motorcycle, the report notes.-VNA