Work Permit in Vietnam

I. Who needs a work permit in Vietnam?

Foreigners who move to Vietnam for employment for:

a) Executing the labor contracts; or

b) Complying with the company’s internal reassignments; or

c) Enforcing contracts or agreements on business, commerce, finance, banking, insurance, science and technology, culture, sports, education, vocational training, and health; or

d) Providing services under contracts; or

e) Offering services; or

f) Working for foreign non-governmental organizations or international organizations in Vietnam that have been granted operating licenses by the Vietnam law; or

g) Working as a volunteer; or

h) Taking charge of establishing the commercial presence; or

i) Working as managers, chief executive officers, experts, technicians; or

k) Participating in the execution of bid contracts and projects in Vietnam.

(Except in some cases)

II. What if foreign employees work in Vietnam without a Work Permit?

Expats working in Vietnam without work permits (except where they are exempted by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, & Social Welfare) will be expelled from the country.

III. The process of Work Permit:

- The recruitment notice for Vietnamese citizens to positions intended for foreign workers (such as experts or technical workers) must be officially posted on the recruitment organization's website or the competent authority's labor information portal

- The employee and the employer must prepare the lists of documents and papers for step 2 of the work permit specified in Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP, in particular:

1. An application form for issuance of a work permit.

2. A fitness-to-work certificate issued by a foreign or Vietnamese competent health facility within 12 months before the submission date of the application or the certification as specified in regulations of the Minister of Health.

3. A police (clearance) certificate or a document certifying that the foreign worker is not serving a sentence, has a criminal record expunged or is not facing a criminal prosecution issued by a foreign or Vietnamese authority.

The foregoing police (clearance) certificate or document certifying that the foreign worker is not serving a sentence, has a criminal record expunged, or is not facing a criminal prosecution must be issued within six months before the application submission date.

4. Proofs as a manager, executive, expert, technical and specific jobs, works (such as a foreign degree...)

5. 02 color photos (4cm x 6cm size, white background, front view, bare head, no color glasses) taken within six months before the application submission date.

6. A valid certified true copy of passport as per the law.

7. Documents relevant to the foreign worker

Any document mentioned in clauses 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 hereof is one original or certified true copy; for records of foreign countries, unless they are exempt from consular legalization under an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the concerned foreign country are signatories or under the principle of reciprocity or as per the law, they must be consular legalized, translated into Vietnamese and certified.

IV. Duration of Work Permit

The work permit duration shall not exceed 02 years and can be re-issued.

V. Recommendations

Although the regulation of the Laws stimulates the lists of documents for work permit application, collecting all of these documents is time-consuming complicated, and especially for papers written and issued in other countries. The consular legalization procedure differs from country to country, some foreign documents can be consular in the Embassy in Viet Nam, but others cannot. The employees must send foreign documents (such as their working experience or degrees) to their country for legalization.

Thirdly, as previously discussed, obtaining a work permit takes two steps; (i) applying to accept the demand for foreign workers in the company and (ii) applying for a work permit. In case the foreign labor does not have the criminal record check, the process of criminal record check shall be the same time as step 1 of the work permit to be prepared for step 2.  Therefore, the preparation process takes much time, and the process of waiting for a work permit is also long. In urgent cases where it is necessary to employ foreign workers immediately, the process of work permits will hinder this demand and make it difficult for employees and employers to work legally in Vietnam. Therefore, the legislature should consider shortening the procedure and simplifying the documents to be submitted, thereby encouraging high-quality foreign workers with many skills and experiences to participate in the Vietnamese labor market.

In conclusion, the process for a work permit in Viet Nam takes much time because of requires many documents and papers in the application and many procedures. Therefore, the employees and employers should be advised by the Lawyers in Viet Nam to overcome barriers and time-saving. In practice, many companies are using foreign workers without applying for a work permit or work permit exemptions due to the difficulties, which are risks for both employees and employers.

For more information: Our Vietnamese social page or  English social page

Call Us: