Tiếng Việt
Dear Valued Clients,
As Vietnam continues to attract increasing foreign investment, the demand for employing foreign workers has become more prevalent among both foreign-invested enterprises and domestic companies. Alongside this trend, the legal framework governing the employment of foreign nationals has become increasingly comprehensive and subject to stricter enforcement. As a result, employers are expected to ensure full compliance with the applicable legal requirements, procedures, and obligations both before recruiting foreign employees and throughout the course of their employment.
This article outlines the key legal requirements applicable to foreign employees working in Vietnam and highlights the principal compliance obligations of employers. It is intended to assist businesses in reviewing their internal compliance processes and mitigating potential legal risks associated with the employment of foreign workers.
- Requirements for Foreign Employees
Under Article 151 of the 2019 Labor Code, a foreign national working in Vietnam must meet all of the following requirements:
- Be at least 18 years old and have full legal capacity;
- Possess the required professional qualifications, technical skills, occupational skills and work experience, and be medically fit to work in accordance with regulations of the Minister of Health;
- Not be serving a sentence, have an unspent criminal conviction, or be subject to criminal prosecution under Vietnamese or foreign law; and
- Hold a work permit (“Work Permit”) issued by a competent Vietnamese authority, unless exempt from the Work Permit requirement.
It should be noted that being “exempt from the Work Permit requirement” does not automatically mean that no procedures are required. Depending on the applicable exemption, the employer may still be required to obtain a written exemption confirmation or submit a notification to the competent authority.
Under Article 154 of the 2019 Labor Code and Article 7.3 of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP (“Decree 219”), the cases exempt from the Work Permit requirement include:
| No. | Category | Cases exempt from the work permit requirement |
| 1 | Investors or major capital-contributing members | – An owner or capital-contributing member of a limited liability company with a capital contribution of at least VND 3 billion. – The Chairperson or a member of the Board of Directors of a joint-stock company with a capital contribution of at least VND 3 billion. |
| 2 | Heads of international or NGOs | – The head of a representative office or project, or the person primarily responsible for the operations of an international organization or foreign NGOs in Vietnam. |
| 3 | Short-term entry into Vietnam (less than 3 months) | – Entering Vietnam for less than three months to offer services. – Entering Vietnam for less than three months to resolve a complex technical or technological incident or situation that affects, or may affect, business or production and cannot be resolved by Vietnamese experts or foreign experts currently in Vietnam. |
| 4 | Special professions or expertise | – A foreign lawyer holding a license to practise law in Vietnam under the Law on Lawyers.
– A foreign journalist whose press activities have been certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. – A highly qualified digital technology industry professional as prescribed by the law on the digital technology industry. – A person assigned by a competent foreign authority or organization to Vietnam to teach or work as a manager or executive director at an educational institution proposed to be established in Vietnam by a foreign diplomatic mission or intergovernmental organization, or at an institution or organization established under an international treaty to which Vietnam is a signatory or party. – A person entering Vietnam to provide professional or technical consultancy services or perform other duties relating to the research, development, appraisal, monitoring, evaluation, management or implementation of an official development assistance (“ODA”) program or project, in accordance with an international treaty or agreement on ODA signed between the competent Vietnamese and foreign authorities. |
| 5 | Family relationship | – A foreign national who is married to a Vietnamese citizen and resides in Vietnam. |
| 6 | International treaties, study or training | – A case covered by an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.
– A foreign student or trainee studying at an educational or training institution in Vietnam or abroad who has an internship agreement with, or a letter of invitation to work for, an employer in Vietnam; or a trainee or apprentice working on board a Vietnamese seagoing vessel. |
- Employer’s responsibilities
- Before recruitment:
Before employing a foreign worker, the employer must obtain either a Work Permit or a written confirmation of exemption from the Work Permit requirement. This is a prerequisite for the lawful employment of foreign workers in Vietnam.
A Work Permit or written exemption confirmation is valid for no more than two years, and its validity must correspond to the term of the documents establishing the relationship between the employer and the foreign worker.
(i) Procedure for obtaining a Work Permit (Articles 19 and 22 of Decree 219)
Application submission: The employer must submit the Work Permit application no earlier than 60 days and no later than 10 days before the foreign worker’s expected starting date in Vietnam.
Issuing authority: The Department of Home Affairs.
Processing time: Within 10 working days from the date the competent authority receives a valid application.
| No. | Document |
| 1 | A report explaining the demand for foreign workers and an application for a Work Permit (Form No. 03 in the Appendix to Decree 219) |
| 2 | A health certificate issued by a duly qualified medical examination and treatment facility
(A health certificate issued by a foreign medical facility may only be accepted if Vietnam and the issuing country or territory have entered into a treaty or mutual recognition agreement. The certificate must have been issued within the preceding 12 months) |
| 3 | A valid passport |
| 4 | A criminal record certificate, or a document issued by a competent Vietnamese or foreign authority confirming that the foreign worker is not currently serving a sentence, has no unspent criminal conviction, and is not subject to criminal prosecution. The document must have been issued within the preceding 6 months |
| 5 | Two colour photographs (4 cm × 6 cm, white background, front-facing, bareheaded and without glasses) |
| 6 | Documents proving the foreign worker’s form of employment, including one of the following:
– Intra-company transferee: A document issued by the overseas employer assigning the foreign worker to work for a limited period at its commercial presence in Vietnam and confirming that the worker was employed by the overseas employer for at least 12 consecutive months immediately before entering Vietnam to work; – Performance of economic or social contracts or agreements, or participation in a bidding package or project in Vietnam: An assignment letter from the employer, together with the relevant executed contract or agreement; – Contractual service supplier: A service contract between the Vietnamese and foreign parties, together with documents proving that the foreign worker has worked for the foreign enterprise, which has no commercial presence in Vietnam, for at least 24 months; – Service salesperson: A document issued by the service provider assigning the foreign worker to Vietnam to negotiate the provision of services; – Assignment from an overseas authority, organization or enterprise to work in Vietnam, other than an intra-company transfer: A document issued by the overseas employer assigning the foreign worker to work in Vietnam in a position consistent with the proposed position; orc – Chairperson or member of the Board of Directors of a joint-stock company, or owner or member of a limited liability company, with a capital contribution of less than VND 3 billion: Documents proving that the foreign worker qualifies as a manager. (The specific documents acceptable as evidence that a foreign worker qualifies as a manager, executive director, expert or technical worker are set out in detail in Article 19 of Decree 219.) |
(ii) Procedure for obtaining a written confirmation of exemption from the Work Permit requirement (Articles 8 and 9 of Decree 219)
Application submission: The employer must submit the application no earlier than 60 days and no later than 10 days before the foreign worker’s expected starting date in Vietnam.
Issuing authority: The Department of Home Affairs.
Processing time: Within 10 working days from the date the competent authority receives a valid application.
| No. | Document |
| 1 | A report explaining the demand for foreign workers and an application for written confirmation of exemption from the Work Permit requirement (Form No. 01 in the Appendix to Decree 219) |
| 2 | A health certificate issued by a duly qualified medical examination and treatment facility
(A health certificate issued by a foreign medical facility may only be accepted if Vietnam and the issuing country or territory have entered into a treaty or mutual recognition agreement. The certificate must have been issued within the preceding 12 months) |
| 3 | A valid passport |
| 4 | A criminal record certificate, or a document issued by a competent Vietnamese or foreign authority confirming that the foreign worker is not currently serving a sentence, has no unspent criminal conviction, and is not subject to criminal prosecution. The document must have been issued within the preceding 6 months |
| 5 | Two colour photographs (4 cm × 6 cm, white background, front-facing, bareheaded and without glasses) |
| 6 | Documents proving the foreign worker’s form of employment, as applicable, including: – For the case specified in Article 154.3 of the Labor Code or any of the cases specified in Articles 7.9, 7.14 and 7.15 of Decree 219: A document issued by the competent authority. – For the case specified in Article 154.7 of the Labor Code or any of the cases specified in Articles 7.4, 7.6, 7.7, 7.11 and 7.12 of Decree 219: Relevant supporting documents. – For the case specified in Article 7.13 of Decree 219: + Documents proving that the foreign worker qualifies as a manager, executive director, expert or technical worker, as specified in Article 19 of Decree 219; and + A document issued by the overseas employer assigning the foreign worker to work for a limited period at its commercial presence in Vietnam and confirming that the worker was employed by the overseas employer for at least 12 consecutive months immediately before entering Vietnam to work. |
- During employment
(i) Entering into an employment contract consistent with the term of the Work Permit: Article 151.2 of the 2019 Labor Code provides that the term of an employment contract with a foreign worker in Vietnam must not exceed the term of the Work Permit. Since a Work Permit is valid for no more than two years, an employer may not enter into an indefinite-term employment contract with a foreign worker who is required to obtain a Work Permit. Instead, the parties may only enter into a definite-term employment contract corresponding to the term of the issued Work Permit.
(ii) Registering and paying compulsory social insurance contributions and declaring personal income tax
Under Decree No. 143/2018/ND-CP, as amended by Decree No. 58/2020/ND-CP, a foreign worker is subject to compulsory social insurance if they hold a Work Permit, practising certificate or equivalent licence issued by a competent Vietnamese authority and have entered into either a definite-term employment contract of at least one year or an indefinite-term employment contract with an employer in Vietnam.
In parallel, salary and wage income earned by a foreign worker in Vietnam is subject to personal income tax under the applicable Law on Personal Income Tax. The employer is responsible for withholding, declaring and paying personal income tax on the worker’s behalf at the applicable rate—progressive rates for tax residents or a flat rate of 20% for non-tax residents.
- Penalties for violations
In addition to the requirements and procedures outlined above, Vietnamese labor law provides relatively strict penalties to ensure compliance by both employers and foreign workers. Administrative penalties in this area are currently governed primarily by Article 32 of Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP.
Note: From 10 September 2026, administrative penalties for labor-related violations will be governed by Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP.
- Penalties applicable to Employers
| Violation | Penalty before 10 September 2026 |
| Failure to submit the original or a certified copy of the signed employment contract after the foreign worker has been issued a Work Permit | A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 |
| Employing a foreign worker in a manner inconsistent with the contents of the Work Permit or written confirmation of exemption from the Work Permit requirement | A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 |
| Employing a foreign worker without a Work Permit or written confirmation of exemption from the Work Permit requirement | The following fines apply:
– VND 30,000,000 to VND 45,000,000 for violations involving 1 to 10 workers; – VND 45,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 for violations involving 11 to 20 workers; or – VND 60,000,000 to VND 75,000,000 for violations involving 21 or more workers. |
| Employing a foreign worker whose Work Permit or written confirmation of exemption from the Work Permit requirement has expired |
- . Penalties applicable to foreign workers
| Violation | Penalty before 10 September 2026 |
| Working without a Work Permit or written confirmation of exemption from the Work Permit requirement | – A fine ranging from VND 15,000,000 to VND 25,000,000;
– Expulsion from Vietnam. |
| Using an expired Work Permit or written confirmation of exemption from the Work Permit requirement |
The above provides a general overview of the legal requirements applicable to foreign workers in Vietnam and the employer’s compliance responsibilities at each stage. As this area of law is frequently amended, enterprises should actively monitor further implementing regulations and seek professional advice when carrying out specific procedures to ensure full compliance and minimize legal risks arising from the employment of foreign workers.
Yours sincerely,
ENT Law LLC
