Regulations on work permits for foreigners – NEW

Learn: Regulations on work permits for foreigners in cases of exemption, re-issuance or extension of work permits in this article.

To work legally in Vietnam, foreigners need a work permit – a type of permit that shows legal information about foreign workers. In this article, fdiinvietnam.com will help you better understand some special cases related to work permits for foreigners in Vietnam.

Regulations on cases requiring a work permit

A work permit is an extremely important document for foreigners who intend to work in Vietnam. According to Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, foreign citizens entering Vietnam will be granted a work permit if they carry out the following purposes:

• Foreign workers move within the enterprise or participate in implementing bid packages and projects in Vietnam;
• Execute labor contracts, offer services, execute contracts or agreements on economics, trade, finance, banking, science and technology, culture, education, vocational education, sports, insurance and health;
• Foreign nationals who are contractual service providers, managers, executives, experts, technical workers, or persons responsible for establishing commercial presence of foreign enterprises in Vietnam;
• Foreign nationals entering Vietnam to voluntarily participate in volunteer work or work for international non-governmental organizations in Vietnam are allowed to operate in accordance with Vietnamese law.

Therefore, to be granted a work permit, enterprises and organizations employing foreign workers need to carry out procedures to apply for a work permit at the Department/Ministry of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs before the foreign worker officially starts working. 

>> Refer to the article: Procedures for applying for a work permit.

Regulations on cases requiring work permit extension

Work permits issued to foreigners are only valid for a maximum of 2 years. Therefore, when a work permit is about to expire but a business or organization still wants to continue employing foreign workers, it must apply for a work permit extension.

Work permit extension is only approved when the following conditions are met:

1. Work permit can only be extended once.
2. Work permit must be valid;
3. The time to complete the extension procedure before the work permit expires is at least 5 days and at most 45 days;
4. Foreign workers must be in good health and have documents proving they can continue working at the employer;
5. Organizations and enterprises are granted written approval of labor needs (2nd time).

>> Refer to the article: Procedures for extending work permits for foreigners.

Regulations on cases exempted from work permits

According to current Vietnamese law, cases where foreigners are exempt from work permits include:

1. Owners and members contributing capital to a limited liability company with a capital contribution value of 3 billion VND or more;
2. Chairman, member of the board of directors of a joint stock company with capital contribution value of 3 billion VND or more;
3. Foreigners moving within an enterprise within the scope of 11 service sectors in Vietnam’s service commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO), including: business, education, environment, information, construction, distribution, tourism, culture and entertainment, finance, healthcare and transportation;
4. Being a manager, executive director, expert or technical worker in Vietnam with a working period of less than 1 month and no more than 3 times within 1 year;
5. Being a student or student studying at schools or training facilities abroad with an agreement to do an internship in enterprises or organizations in Vietnam; doing an internship on a Vietnamese ship;
6. Is the person responsible for establishing a commercial presence;
7. Married to a Vietnamese citizen and living in Vietnam.

In these cases, enterprises and organizations do not need to apply for a work permit for foreigners, but must apply for confirmation of work permit exemption at the Department/Ministry of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs at least 10 days before the employee starts working.

>> Refer to the article: Cases exempted from work permit.

Regulations on cases of re-issuance of work permits

1. Cases where work permits are re-issued

Foreigners are re-issued work permits in the following cases:

• Lost valid work permit;
• Work permit is damaged or destroyed during use;
• Need to change information in valid work permit (full name, nationality, work location…).

2. Procedures for re-issuing work permits

➨ Components of the application for re-issuance of work permit

➨ Agency, time to process documents

• Unit handling the application: Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs;
• Time to process the application: From the date of receiving all required documents, the competent authority will process within 3 working days;
• Work permit re-issuance fee: The fee for re-issuing a work permit in Vietnam will be decided by the Provincial People’s Council.

Regulations on cases of revocation of work permits

1. Cases of work permit revocation

Foreigners will have their work permits revoked in the following cases:

• Work permit has expired;
• Labor contract terminated, expired;
• The content of the work permit issued is not consistent with the content of the actual labor contract;
• Foreign workers do not comply with the provisions of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP or violate Vietnamese law. 

2. Procedures for revoking work permits

Foreign workers working in organizations and enterprises in Vietnam who fall into one of the above cases of having their work permits revoked must proactively complete procedures to return their work permits to the competent authority.

Note:

In case the work permit is revoked and the foreigner is found to still be working in Vietnam, he/she will be subject to administrative sanctions as prescribed in Decree 12/2022/ND-CP and deported from Vietnam.

Some questions related to work permits