Fresh regulations on work permit issuance to foreign workers

The new decree targets to streamline administrative procedures, enhance transparency, and better align Viet Nam's labor management framework with the country's socio-economic development priorities.

Under the new decree, the application dossier must include a written request from the employer explaining the need to hire foreign workers and obtaining work permit, using Form No. 03 in the Appendix attached to the decree.

The competent authorities must decide whether to issue the work permit within ten working days from the date of receiving valid dossier. In case the work permit is not issued, a written explanation must be provided within three working days.

The decree assigns the authority to issue, reissue, extend, and revoke work permits to provincial-level People's Committees. This is a significant change from Decree No. 70/2023/ND-CP, under which the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs or provincial Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs were responsible for issuing permits within five working days.

The decree, which took effect on August 7, expands the list of foreign workers eligible for exemption from obtaining a work permit including:

1. Foreigners specified in Clauses 3–8, Article 154 of the Labor Code; owners or capital contributors with at least VND 3 billion (US$114,400) in a limited liability company;
2. Chairpersons or members of the Board of Directors with at least VND3 billion in a joint-stock company; 
3. Foreigners who provide professional or technical consulting services, or participate in activities related to research, development, appraisal, monitoring, evaluation, management, and implementation of ODA-funded projects under relevant laws or international agreements
4. Foreign journalists confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; 
5. Persons assigned by foreign authorities or organizations to teach, manage, or serve as executive directors at educational institutions established at the request of diplomatic missions, intergovernmental organizations, or under international treaties to which Viet Nam is a party;
6. Foreign students, learners, and trainees with internship agreements or work invitations from Vietnamese employers; Trainees and interns on Vietnamese seagoing vessels.
7. Relatives of members of foreign representative missions in Viet Nam are permitted to work in Viet Nam in accordance with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is a party.
8. Persons holding official passports who come to work for state agencies, political organizations, or socio-political organizations.
9. Persons responsible for establishing a commercial presence.
10. Volunteers working in Viet Nam on a voluntary and unpaid basis to implement international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is a party, with certification from a foreign diplomatic mission or an international organization in Viet Nam.
11.  Persons entering Viet Nam to implement international agreements signed by central or provincial-level agencies or organizations in accordance with the law.
12. Foreign workers who are managers, executive directors, experts, or technical workers.
13. Foreign workers who are managers, executive directors, experts, or technical workers falling into one of the following cases: a) Entering Viet Nam to work for a total period of less than 90 days in a year, calculated from January 1 to the last day of the year; b) Intra-corporate transferees: Temporarily transferring within a foreign enterprise that has established a commercial presence in Viet Nam, within the scope of 11 service sectors under Viet Nam’s Schedule of Specific Commitments in Services to the World Trade Organization, and who have been employed by the foreign enterprise for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the transfer. The commercial presence includes foreign-invested economic organizations; representative offices or branches of foreign traders in Viet Nam; and executive offices of foreign investors under business cooperation contracts. 
14. Foreign workers who are certified by the Ministry of Education and Training to enter Viet Nam for the following purposes: a) Teaching, conducting research, or transferring international education programs; b) Serving as a manager, executive director, principal, or vice principal of an educational institution proposed for establishment in Viet Nam by a foreign diplomatic mission or an intergovernmental organization. 
15. Those who are certified by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, or provincial People’s Committees to enter Viet Nam to work in the fields of finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, and other priority sectors for socio-economic development.

The Ministry of Home Affairs reported Viet Nam had approximately 161,992 foreign workers by the end of last year. Of these, 12,797 were exempt from work permit requirements.

The country's international workforce comes from around 110 nations and territories. Chinese workers account for the largest proportion at 30.9 percent, followed by South Koreans at 18.3 percent and Japanese at 9.5 percent./.