Work permit is one of required and must-have documents for foreigners, issued by Vietnam Government. If foreigners work in Vietnam without work permit, they will be expelled from Vietnam and the employer who hiring them will be fined as well.

1. Some cases of work permit issuance for foreigner:

Pursuant to Clause 2, Decree 152/2020/NĐ-CD, foreigners work in Vietnam under:

a) Signing labor contract in Vietnam;

b) Labor transfer within internal business;

c) Implement kind of contracts or agreement about economy, commercial, finance, bank, insurances, technical sciences, culture, sport, education, job education and health.

d) Service provider under contract.

đ) Offering services;

e) Working for a foreign non-governmental organization or an international organization in Vietnam that is permitted to operate in accordance with Vietnamese law;

g) Volunteer;

h) Person who is responsible for establishing commercial presence;

i) Managers, executives, experts, technical workers

k) Participating in the implementation of bidding packages and projects in Vietnam;

l) Relatives of members of foreign representative missions in Vietnam are allowed to work in Vietnam according to the provisions of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.

2. Conditions for foreigners to work in Vietnam

Pursuant to Clause 151 of Labor Code 2021 effected on January 1st 2021, foreigner who works in Vietnam must meet the following conditions:

1. Be 18 years or older and have full civil act capacity;
2. Having professional qualifications, techniques, skills and working experience; be healthy enough for working as prescribed by the Minister of Health;
3. Is not a person who is currently serving a sentence or has not yet had his/her criminal record cleared or is being examined for penal liability in accordance with foreign or Vietnamese law.

3. Procedures for applying for a work permit for foreigners

• Step 1. Enterprises and organizations apply for approval of the need to use foreign workers by submitting Form No. 01 - Registration of the need to employ foreign workers using Form No. 01/PLI - Appendix 1 (Decree 152 /2020/ND-CP) at least 30 days before the expected date of employment of foreigner.
• Step 2. Submit application for work permit for foreigners working in Vietnam in accordance with Article 9, Section 3, Chapter II, Decree 152/2020/ND-CP.

Note: Documents issued abroad or issued by a foreign diplomatic mission in Vietnam must be consular legalized and notarized translation into Vietnamese.

4. Duration of Work permit

Duration of work permit will be as follow but not exceed 02 years:

1. Following to the term of labor contract.
2. Follow to the term that Head office assigns to work in Vietnam.
3. Term of contract or agreement signed between Vietnamese and foreign partners.
4. Term of contract or agreement on service provision signed between Vietnamese and foreign partners.
5. Time limit stated in the document of the service provider who sending foreigner to Vietnam to negotiate service provision.
6. The term has been determined in the operation license of the agency, organization or enterprise.
7. The time limit in the document of the service provider sending the foreigner to Vietnam to establish the commercial presence of that service provider.
8. The time limit in the document proving that the foreign worker is allowed to participate in the operation of a foreign enterprise that has established a commercial presence in Vietnam.
9. The time limit in the written approval to employ foreigner, except for the case where a report explaining the need to employ foreign workers is not required as prescribed at Point b, Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP.

Other procedures related to work permits:

• Re-apply for work permit;
• Extending work permit;
• Apply for work permit exemption.

For more detailed information on the procedure for applying for a work permit, please contact us for advice on a case-by-case.