Vietnamese living in HCM City without permanent residency status should be covered under poverty-reduction and social welfare programmes, experts said at a seminar held in HCM City on August 3.

A large number of street vendors in HCM City come from provinces.

Although the city had expanded poverty programmes by considering many factors besides family income, Vietnamese citizens in HCM City who did not have permanent residency status could not qualify for these programmes.

Nguyen Tien Phong, acting director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam, said city authorities should create conditions that would allow these residents to integrate into the community.

Even though people who moved from other provinces have contributed to the growth of the city, they are still not permitted to have access to certain services if they do not have a permanent residency card, which requires house ownership.

However, if a relative with permanent residency status in HCM City agrees to sponsor them, they can obtain residency status.

People who do not have permanent residency status cannot attend public schools, and must enrol in privately owned schools.

While healthcare services are also limited for those without permanent residency cards, the new national health insurance card that can be purchased by any Vietnamese citizen has eased that restriction.

Poverty rate

According to an Urban Poverty Survey conducted in Hanoi and HCM City in 2009 and funded by UNDP, HCM City has a higher poverty rate than Hanoi although the former has a higher average income.

The survey used a multi-dimensional approach in assessing poverty by including not only income but also access to education, healthcare, jobs and expenditures (food, transport, clothing).

The survey, which was funded by the UNDP in Vietnam, found that 20 per cent of people living in HCM City have moved from other provinces.

Many of the people are migrants in search of a better job in the country\'s major cities.

They earn an average monthly income of about VND2 million (USD97), or about 84 per cent, of a permanent resident\'s average income.

Sixty-four per cent live in rented property with an average of seven sq. metres per person.

Many of them have limited participation in political and social organisations and other social activities compared to permanent residents.

Nguyen Thang, director of the Forecast and Analysis Centre under the Vietnam Institute of Society and Science, said the city should give migrants and others who move from other provinces to work in HCM City access to public services and programmes.

The seminar was organised by the HCM City Statistics Office and UNDP in Vietnam.