British Government funded the “EU – Vietnam seminar on irregular migration and readmission” in Hanoi on 17 January 2008.

In 2007, the profile of our migration work in Vietnam was raised by a visit to Hanoi by a special envoy of Prime Minister. The Embassy, with the Home Office, also organised visits to the UK by senior vietnamese immigration officers to discuss progress in increasing the number of returns of immigration offenders and combating organized migration crime. Also in 2007, the Embassy continued to provide capacity-building support for the Immigration Department of Vietnam. This included the provision of forgery detection equipment and English language training. Looking forward, migration remains top priority for the UK. The MOU on migration will be automatically renewed in 2009 and extended for a further five years. A detailed agreement between UK Border Agency and Ministry of Public Security will be signed in the near future setting out areas of cooperation between the two countries. And the meeting of our Prime Ministers in March provides a strong platform to plan our joint work for the coming year.