Vietnamese guest workers will face fines up to US$4,800 in case they illegally stay in the host country after the labor contract or visa expires and in some other cases, according to a new government decree.

>> Vietnamese workers to be sent to RoK again>> $4,800 fine proposed for workers illegally staying abroad >> Laborers must pay $4,800 deposit to be sent to S. Korea>> South Korea stops receiving Vietnamese workers The fines are provided for in Article 35 of Decree 95/2013 dated August 22, 2013 by the Government on penalties for administrative violations against regulations on labor, social insurance, and overseas manpower supply.

Under the Decree, which will take effect on October 10, 2013, Vietnamese guest workers who fail to register individual contracts with competent authorities shall carry a fine of from VND2 million to VND5 million ($240). Meanwhile, much heavier fines, from VND80 million to VND100 million ($4,800), are set for the following violations committed by Vietnamese guest workers: illegally staying in the host country after the labor contract or visa expires; illegally leaving the contractual workplace; failing to go to the contractual workplace after being admitted by the host country; and enticing, forcing, deceiving Vietnamese workers into staying in the host country illegally.

In addition to paying such fines, violators will be forced to repatriate or will be suspended from working abroad for two or five years, depending on types of violation.

Under current regulations in Decree 144/2007, such violations are subject to much lower fines, ranging from VND1 to VND5 million. As previously reported, under a special agreement signed on September 9 between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea, the sending of Vietnamese workers to South Korea will be resumed soon, after a year-long suspension due to the large number of runaway Vietnamese workers who overstayed their visas to work illegally in the RoK. Accordingly, the nearly 12,000 Vietnamese workers who had worked in the RoK in compliance with their work contracts and returned to Vietnam on schedule, and passed the Employment Permit System (EPS) - TOPIK test in December 2011 and August 2012, will be the first candidates chosen by South Korean employers. South Korea is among the countries that receives the highest numbers of Vietnamese workers, and offers them salary rates that are high compared to other Asian countries, said the Department of Overseas Labor Management.