WORK PERMIT FOR FOREIGNERS WORKING IN VIETNAM

Updated regulations effective from August 2025

A work permit in Vietnam is granted according to labor law and international commitments that allows foreigners to work legally in Vietnam, and it also functions as a technical barrier to protect the employment of domestic workers by permitting only foreign employees with advanced qualifications and skills to work for a limited duration.

Accordingly, the procedure for obtaining a work permit not only requires compliance with the formal criteria of dossiers and documents as prescribed, but also requires meeting the practical criteria of business capacity and the capacity of the foreign employee.

Under Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP, several important amendments have been introduced to relax conditions and facilitate enterprises in applying for work permits. VIVA is pleased to update you on the new regulations, effective from August 2025:

1. Abolition of the requirement to advertise recruitment of Vietnamese workers before proceeding with the steps to recruit foreign employees.
2. Consolidation of the procedure for job position approval and the application for a work permit or a certification of exemption from a work permit.
3. Clear definition of 15 cases exempt from work permits, with additional groups in the fields of finance, science, and technology, requiring only a prior notification of at least 03 working days.
4. Criteria for identifying “managers,” defined under Article 4 of the Law on Enterprises, including heads and deputies of agencies and organizations.
5. Criteria for identifying Executive Directors, defined as heads of branches, representative offices, business locations, or persons directly managing a business area, who must also have at least three years of relevant experience.
6. Criteria for identifying experts, reducing the experience requirement from three years to two years, and for experts in the fields of science, technology, or digital transformation, only one year of experience is required.
7. Criteria for identifying technical workers, requiring only one year of training and two years of experience, or alternatively only three years of relevant experience instead of five years as previously required.
8. Work permits shall only be valid for a maximum of 02 years and may be renewed only once.
9. The basis for determining the validity period of work permits shall include labor contracts, secondment letters, international agreements, and the enterprise’s operating license.
10.  The deadline for notification of cases exempt from the requirement of a work permit exemption certificate shall only be at least three working days in advance.
11. Foreign employees already granted a work permit in one province shall automatically be permitted to work in other provinces after the enterprise has notified the authorities at least three working days in advance of the intended workplace.
12. Employers may submit both types of applications online and authorize the request for judicial record certificates for foreign employees through the integrated procedure, whereby work permit issuance and judicial record certificates are processed simultaneously on the National Public Service Portal.
13. Provincial People’s Committees shall be the sole authority with competence to issue, reissue, renew, and revoke work permits (instead of possibly requiring involvement of the Ministry or Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs).
14. Cases subject to revocation of work permits or certifications of exemption from work permits shall include expiration, breach of obligations, misuse of permits, criminal prosecution, termination of enterprise operations, or written notice of termination of cooperation by the sending entity.

Thus, enterprises may benefit from the relaxed criteria for experts and technical workers, the mechanism for multi-location employment, and the streamlined administrative procedures.

Enterprises should also take note of the tightened requirement of three years of experience for the position of Executive Director and the regulation that work permits may only be renewed once, in order to ensure proactive preparation.

According to VIVA’s experience, in order to comply with the actual administrative procedures at state authorities, enterprises need to proactively prepare complete dossiers and documents for each specific case, and in particular, to plan a review of the foreign employee positions that are currently in place and those that will be in place in the future, so as to have proactive measures and avoid disruptions to work permits, temporary residence cards, and the operations of both employees and enterprises.

We sincerely thank our valued clients for giving VIVA the opportunity to serve you, and kindly invite you to contact our experts for consultation and assurance through tailored solutions, as we have proudly served thousands of clients since 2006.

Read more:

• Work permit exemptions – Foreigner married to Vietnamese citizens
• Work permit in Vietnam – Notes on illegal applications
• Work permit in Vietnam – Required documents & application
• Work Permit in Vietnam – Regulations and Guidelines
• Work permit in Vietnam – 20 cases exempt
• Temporary residence card in Vietnam – Application dossier and validity
• Guide to Vietnam Entry Visas for Foreigners
• Guide to Registering e-ID for Foreigners in Vietnam
• One-off social insurance refund for foreign employees
• Required Documents for Foreigners Working in Vietnam