I am looking to teach in Vietnam next year and have just been thinking about payment; do you need a Vietnamese bank account to get payment from teaching jobs or can they pay cash or into a UK account?

If you do need a Vietnamese account how would one go about getting one and are there an restrictions re withdrawing cash, opening funds etc etc

any help would be much appreciated!
thanks

No idea, but you're more likely to find people who have done that here: http://www.eslcafe.com/

thanks!

There are a couple of people here who have taught in VN, so I expect you'll get an answer here eventually.

I don't have personal experience in Vietnam, but bank to bank transfers are fairly common in Asia, even to foreign banks. Availability of ATMs will vary depending on your location, however, you should not have a problem withdrawing funds from your UK account while you're in VN.

As a general starting point for overseas employment I would ask
1) What currency will you be paid in -- Vietnamese Dong, US dollars, British pounds?
2) Are you liable for Vietnamese income tax? If yes, who pays?

I have taught in Hanoi several different semesters over the past four years. Although I was not paid a salary, I did receive money from the university for food and housing. I was paid in cash....Vietnamese Dong. They withheld 10% for Vietnamese taxes.

The last time I taught there, I had almost $1000 in dong I needed to change into dollars because I was leaving the country. I was going to go to a bank...but my Vietnamese friends told me NO...don't change cash there. Instead they took me to a jewelry store near where I taught and exchanged the money there for me. I did get a better rate than I would have received at a bank.

My Vietnamese friends who taught at the university were paid using a debit type of card. Basically, their salary was put into a bank account and they had a visa type of debit card they used to get their money. They would just go to an ATM and withdraw what they needed. I could never figure out how this system worked--

But as someone mentioned in an earlier post...be sure to get the details worked out before you go. I imagine you will have to pay Vietnamese taxes.

gailmo is the expert