Thousands prepare to work overseas after Tet

Thousands of people in the central province of Nghe An are seeking career opportunities overseas after the Lunar New Year or Tet Holiday.

People queue at the immigration management department in Nghe An Province on February 23

On the morning of February 23, thousands of people were seen queued up at the local immigration management department to get documents for their trips.

Captain Ngo Xuan Manh from Nghe An Provincial Police Department said that they are serving higher numbers of customers today than the previous days but they have prepared for this situation so there was no congestion.

"This situation occurs every year after Tet holiday," Manh said. "We have received over 2,000 people for the past two days. Most of people here are submitting paperwork to go to work in some Asian countries including Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan and Malaysia.

A staff at the immigration management department in Nghe An Province on February 23

Le Van Nam from Nam Dan Province said that he came early to file for a passport to go to work in Malaysia.

According to the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, some between 12,000-14,000 local people go to work abroad every year, who are helping improve living conditions in the region which only relies on agriculture and fishery.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has just announced its target to send 110,000 labourers to work abroad in 2018, with 40 percent being women. The ministry said that will try to maintain traditional labour markets like the Republic of Korea, Japan and Taiwan (China). This year, it will focus on increasing quality of the workers to ensure competitiveness and incomes.