Learn: Regulations on labor contracts with foreigners, conditions for granting work permits, cases exempted from work permits.
I. Working conditions for foreigners working in Vietnam
Article 151 of the 2019 Labor Code stipulates that foreign workers working in Vietnam must meet the following conditions:
- Ensure good health according to regulations of the Ministry of Health;
- Have technical qualifications, expertise, skills and work experience;
- Be a foreign citizen, 18 years of age or older, with full civil capacity;
- Have a labor contract with a term not exceeding the term of the work permit;
- Granted a work permit by a competent authority in Vietnam, except in cases not subject to licensing as prescribed;
- Comply with the Vietnamese Labor Law and be protected by Vietnamese law, except in other cases under international treaties to which Vietnam is a member;
- Not in the following cases: People who are serving a sentence, are being prosecuted for criminal liability or have not had their criminal record cleared according to the provisions of Vietnamese or foreign law.
>> See more: Work permit for foreigners – Conditions and procedures.
II. Regulations on labor contracts with foreigners working in Vietnam
1. Term of labor contract with foreigners
Foreign workers and employers in Vietnam may agree to sign multiple fixed-term contracts. However, the duration of the labor contract with a foreigner must not exceed the duration of the work permit.
2. Regulations on recruitment and employment of foreign workers in Vietnam
Enterprises in Vietnam that want to recruit and employ foreign workers need to pay attention to the following regulations:
- Must explain the need to use foreign labor and obtain approval from the competent authority before recruitment;
- Foreign workers may only be recruited for managerial, operational expert or technical positions that Vietnamese workers cannot meet according to production and business needs;
- Employers must declare in detail job positions, professional qualifications, skills, experience, and working time before recruiting and using labor to perform the bidding package, and must obtain written approval from the competent state agency.
>> Learn more: How to report and explain the need to use foreign labor.
3. Duration of work permit
The maximum duration of a work permit is 2 years. In case of extension, it can only be extended once for a maximum duration of 2 years.
See now:
>> Regulations on work permits – Detailed advice;
>> Work permit service for foreigners – Save costs.
III. Cases where foreigners are exempted from work permits
Foreign workers will be exempt from work permits if they fall into one of the following cases:
- Marry and live with Vietnamese people in Vietnam;
- Person responsible for establishing a commercial presence;
- Coming to Vietnam for less than 3 months to conduct service offering;
- Volunteering as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP;
- Cases as prescribed by international treaties of which Vietnam is a member;
- Being an owner/capital contributor of a limited liability company, with a capital contribution value of 3 billion VND or more;
- Being the chairman/member of the board of directors of a joint stock company with a capital contribution value of 3 billion VND or more;
- Have an official passport to work for state agencies, political organizations, political and social organizations;
- Is a foreign lawyer licensed to practice law in Vietnam in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Lawyers;
- Licensed to operate information and press in Vietnam by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in accordance with the law;
- Confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Training as a foreign worker entering Vietnam for research and teaching;
- Coming to Vietnam to implement international agreements signed by central and provincial agencies and organizations in accordance with the provisions of law;
- Relatives of members of foreign representative agencies in Vietnam as prescribed in Point I, Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP;
- Be the head of the project representative office or be primarily responsible for the activities of international organizations and foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam;
- Working in Vietnam as a manager, executive director, expert or technical worker for less than 30 days and no more than 3 times in 1 year;
- Students studying at schools and training facilities abroad and having an internship agreement with agencies, organizations and enterprises in Vietnam, or students doing internships and training on Vietnamese ships;
- Internal transfer within enterprises in 11 service sectors included in Vietnam’s commitments to world trade organizations, including: business, information, distribution, construction, education, environment, health, finance, tourism, culture, entertainment and transportation;
- Being sent to Vietnam by competent foreign agencies and organizations to teach and conduct research at international schools under the management of foreign diplomatic missions or the United Nations, and at facilities and organizations established under agreements signed by Vietnam;
- Coming to Vietnam for a period of less than 3 months to handle incidents, complex technical and technological situations that arise and affect or threaten to affect production and business processes that experts in Vietnam and foreign experts currently in Vietnam cannot handle;
- Entering Vietnam to provide technical and professional consulting services or perform tasks to serve the research, construction, monitoring, appraisal, evaluation, management and implementation of programs and projects using official development assistance (ODA) sources according to regulations or agreements in international treaties on ODA signed between competent authorities of Vietnam and foreign countries.
>> See more: Cases where a work permit is required.
IV. Frequently asked questions about labor contracts for foreigners
1. How many times can a foreigner apply for a work permit extension?
Article 19 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP stipulates that a work permit can only be extended once and for a maximum period of 2 years. If the employee has expired this one-time extension, he/she must apply for a new work permit.
>> Reference: Work permit service.
2. In case of exemption from work permit, are there any procedures required?
Even if you are exempt from a work permit, you still have to carry out confirmation procedures at the competent state agency.
3. What are the procedures for requesting confirmation of exemption from work permit?
According to Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, the procedure for applying for work permit exemption includes the following steps:
- Step 1: The employer prepares and submits the application to the Department/Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign employee is expected to work at least 10 days before the employee starts working;
- Step 2: Within 10 working days from receiving the application, the receiving agency will have a confirmation document.
>> See details: Procedures for applying for work permit exemption.