Vietnam work permit and work visa

1, Introduction to the Vietnam work permit

1.1, What is a Vietnam work permit?

A Vietnam work permit is an official certificate granted by the Department of Labor, Invalid and Social Affairs to foreign workers before conducting or entering any employment contract in Vietnam.

A Vietnam work permit is valid for up to 2 years and renewable for further 2 years when it expires. This is considered a crucial document to apply for a working visa or temporary residence card in the country as governed by Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14 and Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP.

1.2, Who is eligible for a Vietnam work permit?

To be eligible for a Vietnam work permit, applicants must comply with the following requirements:

• At least 18 years old.
• To be in good health to meet the job’s specific requirements.
• Free of any current or previous criminal charges, national security offense, criminal prosecution, or sentence.
• Holding documents granted in foreign countries legalized.
• Meet the following job’s specific demands:

– For technical employees:

+ Having at least 3 years working experience in the technical field and having been trained at least 1 year in this field or other fields, or

+ Acquiring a certificate of a minimum of 5 years of working experience in a position suitable for the job expected to work in the country.

+ The enterprise foreigners are working for must provide the business registration certificates for their lines of business.

– For foreign experts:

+ Having a certificate of a minimum of 3 years of working experience and a bachelor’s degree or equivalent or higher in a trained field relevant to the position you desire to work in the country, or

+ Acquiring a certificate of a minimum of 5 years of working experience in a trained field suitable for the position you desire to work in the country.

+ Acquiring a certificate of a minimum of 3 years of working experience in a relevant job position.

+ Decision on the appointment.

1.3, Foreign employees are not required to have a Vietnam work permit in the following cases:

• Foreigners working in the country for less than 3 months within one year. For this case, a Vietnam business visa is accepted without applying for a Vietnam work permit.
• Foreigners are the members of a multi-member limited liability company
• Foreigners are the owners of one-member limited liability companies in Vietnam.
• Foreigners are board members in a joint-stock corporation.
• Foreigners practicing lawyers licensed by the Ministry of Justice in Vietnam.
• Foreigners are internal transferees.
• Foreigners are volunteers certified by an international organization in the country or a foreign diplomatic mission.
• Foreigners work in service sales for international companies in Vietnam.
• Foreigners work in other activities as designated by the Vietnam Ministry of Labor, Invalid and Society.

1.4, Vietnam work permit termination

• The work permit has expired
• Contract of employment is terminated
• The contracts of trade, finance, banking, business, insurance, technology, science, and medicine. education, sports, culture, … have been terminated or expired.
• The contract of using foreign employees in the country is terminated by the employer.
• The work permit granted by competent authorities has been revoked.
• The operation of enterprises, organizations, and partners in the country has been terminated.
• The clauses of the contract of employment are not consistent with the issued work permit.

A Vietnam work permit is valid for up to 2 years. When it expires, you can apply for a work permit extension if you want to work in the country for longer. In the case that you expect to move to another country or return to your home country to work, you are required to cancel your work permit with the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs’ assistance.

Within 15 days, they are responsible for returning their work permit to their employer from their last working day at the company. The work permits, as well as a letter of notification from the Labor Department’s local office, must be submitted by the foreign employer.

2, How to apply for a Vietnam work permit?

2.1, Four main steps of applying for a Vietnam work permit

Step 1: Applying for approval of demand on using foreign employees

The employers are required to submit the application for approval of demand on hiring foreign employees at least 3 days before the scheduled date when their foreign workers start their work at the employers’ enterprises.

Required documents to apply for approval of demand on using foreign employees:

• Registration form for demand on hiring foreign employees (Form No. 01/PLI under the Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP or Form No. 02/PLI in case of changes of demand on hiring foreign employees)
• Certificated copy of Enterprises Registration
• Letter of authorization in case the submitter is not the legal representative of the company.

After preparing all the above documents, the applicants can submit them in two following ways:

• Directly submitting to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs or People’s Committee of the province where the foreign workers desire to work.
• Online submitting at http://dvc.vieclamvietnam.gov.vn.

Processing time for direct and online submissions is around 15 and 12 working days respectively.

Step 2: Preparing dossiers for application of Vietnam work permit (quantity: 01 set)

• Application form of Vietnam work permit (Form No. 11/PLI).
• Certified copy of valid passport.
• Original health check granted in the country or legalized health check if granted abroad attached with its certified Vietnamese translation. The health check should be granted within the past year.
• Original Vietnam Police Check or legalized police check if granted abroad attached with its certified Vietnamese translation. The police check should be granted within the last 6 months.
• Approval letter as mentioned in Step 1
• 02 passport-size photos
  • Size 4*6
  • White background
  • Taken recently
  • You must be centered in the photo, staring ahead with a neutral facial expression
  • Not wearing any glasses
  • You are allowed to wear headgear for your religious purposes or wear artificial hair when taking photos if you also keep them on arrival.
• Legalized copy documents evidencing the foreign worker’s eligibility for applying for the position attached with their certified Vietnamese translation.
• Other relevant documents such as
  • Work contract
  • Business Registration Certificate.

Notes:

• All documents that foreigners acquire from their countries must be legalized and notarized by the competent authorities in their countries.
• The documents are required to be translated into Vietnamese by the Justice Division of the District People’s Committee branch or notary service in the country before being submitted.

Step 3: Submitting these dossiers to acquire a Vietnam work permit.

Before the scheduled date when foreigners start their work at the enterprises at least 15 days, the dossier of applying for a Vietnam work permit is submitted to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs of the province where the foreign employees desire to work.

Step 4: Receiving the result.

After the date of completing all the required documents, the employer will receive the Vietnam work permit granted in form 12/PLI within 5 working days. If the foreign workers’ applications are refused, the employer must get the clarifications.

2.2, Cost and time of Vietnam work permit processing

The processing time for a work permit in Vietnam is around 20 working days including 15 working days for approval of demand for using foreign employees and 5 working days for issuing the work permit. To avoid unexpected problems in applying for a Vietnam work permit, the procedure should be carried out at least 30 days before the scheduled date when they start their work.

Depending on the location where the application forms are submitted, the cost of the Vietnam work permit process for each province or city is not the same. It also depends on whether your employer can take care of the procedures by themselves, or whether they hire an external service provider.

3, How to apply for a Vietnam work visa?

Foreigners are required to apply for a Vietnam work visa at a Vietnamese Consulate or Embassy in their home countries when they are still overseas, or at the Department of Immigration if they are already in Vietnam. The employers are responsible for sponsoring their application for a Vietnam work visa.

3.1, Preparing required documents for applying for a Vietnam work visa

• Original valid passport (sending a scan of the passport in case the Letter of Approval is applied online)
• Card images with the following requirements:
  • Size 4*6
  • White background
  • Taken recently
  • You must be centered in the photo, staring ahead with a neutral facial expression
  • Not wearing any glasses
  • You are allowed to wear headgear for your religious purposes or wear artificial hair when taking photos if you also keep them on arrival.
• In case foreigners apply at a Consulate or Embassy:
  • The form of Vietnam visa application (Depending on which country you are applying from, you can either download it or receive the form of Vietnam visa application at the Consulate or Embassy).

    Letter of Entry Clearance or Letter of Sponsorship.

  • Maybe other related documents that are required by the Consulate or Embassy in Vietnam.
• In case foreigners apply for a Vietnam visa on Arrival:
  • Pre-obtained Letter of Approval
  • Form of Entry or Exit
  • Cash to purchase the Vietnam visa stamping fee

3.2, The validity duration of Vietnam work visa

A Vietnam work visa (official code is “LD”) is valid for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months, and for single or multiple entries. The work permits allowed foreigners to apply for temporary residence cards with the same validity as the visa.

4, Temporary residence cards (TRC)

Foreigners are allowed to get a Vietnam temporary residence card if their work permits are valid for at least 6 months. The card is granted by the Vietnam Immigration Services and governed by the Ministry of Public Security.

Depending on each specific situation, the TRC is often regarded as a multiple entry permit valid for one year or up to 5 years. However, for TRCs related to work, the validity is normally 2 years, with the option to extend.