Landlords and apartment service operators in Ho Chi Minh City that fail to register temporary residence for foreign tenants will be subject to fines, as part of the municipal police department’s campaign to inspect all lodging facilities housing foreigners starting from Tuesday.

The move is aimed at raising public awareness about temporary residence declaration requirements for foreigners and preventing illegal activities linked to the foreign citizens.

The southern metropolis is home to the largest number of foreigners in Vietnam, at around 100,000 individuals residing in roughly 80,000 hotels, dorms, houses for lease, industrial parks, and private houses, according to data from the Immigration Division under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Security.

A large number of lodging establishment operators fail to comply with regulations on temporary residence declaration for foreigners, paving the way for the latter to commit illegal acts.

In the past two years, the municipal police have examined and detected over 5,300 cases in which 23 organizations and 5,645 foreigners committed administrative and criminal violations.

Most of these violators live in apartment buildings, isolated residential areas, or private houses in uncrowded locations.

They were also found to have been involved in illegal entry, tech scams, betting, and loan shark rings via the Internet.

They opted to rent isolated houses or apartments with slack management by landlords in order to organize illegal activities.

Police officers revealed that they busted some cases, in which 40-50 suspects gathered in one house, installed technology equipment on a large scale, and maintained their unlawful operations for a long time while the landlord knew nothing about it.

The municipal police have been working with relevant agencies, landlords, and management boards of apartment buildings and villa areas to call on them to declare temporary residence in their buildings by foreigners, as well as to raise awareness about fighting against criminals and spotting signs of crimes linked to foreigners.

The Immigration Division asked landlords and their foreign tenants to strictly comply with regulations on making temporary declarations for foreigners.

Last week, the municipal police cracked down on a prostitution ring led by South Korean people in District 1 that offered sex services to foreigners only.

Three South Koreans and four Vietnamese involved in the racket were detained for alleged prostitution brokerage and asset misappropriation.

The South Koreans were identified as Kim Tae Hyung, 48, Cha Jin Young, 46, and Lee Hyun Jun, 25, while the arrested Vietnamese were Nguyen Thi Ngoc Loan, Le Tan Thanh, Bui Thi Phuong Dung, and Bui Duy Ha, aged between 34 and 48.

Police officers discovered Gallery Restaurant located on Bui Thi Xuan Street in Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1 offering prostitution brokerage to foreigners.

Kim and Cha owned and managed the restaurant, which started its operations in late June 2022.

The restaurant housed 30 unlicensed karaoke rooms and only served foreigners, mainly South Koreans.

Female employees at the restaurant were willing to provide sexual services at VND2.3-3.8 million (US$97-161) per client.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!