1. Conditions for foreigners to be permitted to work in Vietnam

For foreigners to be legally permitted to work in Vietnam, not only must the foreign workers themselves satisfy certain requirements, but the individuals or organizations employing them must also fulfill specific conditions prescribed by law, as follows:

1.1. For foreign workers working in Vietnam:

Foreign workers working in Vietnam who hold foreign nationality must satisfy the following conditions:

• Being at least 18 years old and fully capable of civil acts;

• Possessing qualifications, technical expertise, skills, and work experience; and meeting the health requirements as prescribed by the Minister of Health;

• Being free from serving a criminal sentence, having no unexpunged criminal record, and not being under criminal prosecution under foreign or Vietnamese law;

• Holding a work permit issued by a competent Vietnamese authority, except in cases where the work permit requirement is exempted.

1.2. For individuals and organizations employing foreign workers in Vietnam:

The conditions for individuals and organizations in Vietnam to be permitted to employ foreign workers are as follows:

• They may only recruit foreigners for managerial, executive, expert, and technical positions for which Vietnamese workers are not yet able to meet the production and business requirements.

• Prior to employing foreign workers in Vietnam, the employers must provide an explanation of the need for foreign labor and obtain written approval from the competent state authorities; or must specify in detail the job positions, qualifications, expertise, work experience, and duration of employment required for foreign workers to perform the contract package, and obtain written approval from the competent state authorities.

2. Procedures for foreign workers to be permitted to work in Vietnam

2.1. Step 1: Notification of exemption from work permit procedures; Application for confirmation of work permit exemption; Application for a work permit

Depending on the case, individuals or organizations employing foreign workers in Vietnam shall be required to carry out one of the following procedures:

Notification of cases not subject to confirmation of work permit exemption:

1. Applicable subjects

The following cases must notify the competent authorities that they are not subject to the procedure for issuance of a confirmation of exemption from the work permit requirement:

• Entering Vietnam for a period of less than 03 months to carry out service solicitation.
• Entering Vietnam for a period of less than 03 months to handle incidents or complex technical or technological situations arising that affect or may affect production or business operations, which cannot be resolved by Vietnamese experts or foreign experts currently present in Vietnam.
• Being foreign lawyers who have been issued a License to Practice Law in Vietnam in accordance with the Law on Lawyers.
• Being foreigners married to Vietnamese citizens and residing in the territory of Vietnam.
• Being owners or capital-contributing members of a limited liability company with a capital contribution of VND 3 billion or more..
• Being Chairpersons of the Board of Directors or members of the Board of Directors having capital contributions of 3 billion VND or more in a Joint-stock Company.
• Being foreign journalists engaged in press activities as confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Being relatives of members of foreign representative missions in Vietnam who are permitted to work in Vietnam under international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.
• Being persons responsible for establishing a commercial presence.
• Being foreign workers who are managers, executive directors, experts or technical workers entering Vietnam to work for a total period of less than 90 days in 01 year, counted from January 1 to December 31 of that year;
• Being foreign workers who have been issued a confirmation of exemption from work permit requirement and who seek to work for the same employers in multiple provinces or centrally-run cities.

2. Dossier components:

• A notification letter containing the following information: full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, name of the employer, workplace and period of employment.

For foreign workers already issued a confirmation of exemption from work permit requirement, the notification shall additionally specify the confirmation number, the commencement date and the end date of work. The period of work shall not exceed the validity of the issued confirmation of exemption from work permit requirement.

• Supporting documents proving eligibility under the above categories.

3. Procedure

At least 3 working days prior to the foreign worker’s expected commencement of work in Vietnam or at a new workplace (in cases where a confirmation of exemption from work permit requirement has been issued), the employer must submit the notification dossier to the competent authority where the foreign worker is expected to work.

4. Competent authority

Provincial People’s Committee at the localities where the foreign workers are expected to work, or where the employers’ head offices are located (in cases of work across multiple provinces).

Application for a confirmation of exemption from the work permit requirement:

1. Applicable subjects:

The following persons are eligible for issuance of a confirmation of exemption from the work permit requirement:

• Being Heads of representative offices or projects, or persons principally responsible for operations of international organizations or foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.
• Being subject to provisions of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.
• Being persons entering Vietnam to provide professional or technical consultancy services, or to perform tasks in support of the research, formulation, appraisal, monitoring, evaluation, management, and implementation of programs or projects financed by Official Development Assistance (ODA), in accordance with the regulations or agreements contained in international treaties on ODA signed between competent authorities of Vietnam and foreign parties.
• Being assigned by competent foreign authorities or organizations to Vietnam to teach or to serve as managers or executive directors at educational establishments proposed to be established in Vietnam by foreign diplomatic missions or intergovernmental organizations, or at establishments/organizations established pursuant to international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.
• Being foreign pupils, students or trainees studying at educational institutions in Vietnam or abroad under internship agreements or job invitation letters for an employer in Vietnam; trainees or probationers on board Vietnamese vessels.
• Being persons holding official passports and working for state agencies, political organizations, or socio-political organizations.
• Being volunteers working in Vietnam on a voluntary and unpaid basis to implement international treaties to which Vietnam is a party, as confirmed by the foreign diplomatic mission or international organization in Vietnam.

• Being persons entering Vietnam to implement international agreements concluded by central or provincial agencies or organizations in accordance with the law.

• Being foreign managers, executive directors, experts, or technical workers transferred within an enterprise operating in the 11 service sectors under Vietnam’s WTO commitments.
• Being persons confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Training to enter Vietnam for one of the following purposes: (i) teaching, research, or transfer of international educational programs; (ii) serving as a Manager, Executive Director, Principal or Vice Principal of an educational establishment proposed to be established in Vietnam by foreign diplomatic missions or intergovernmental organizations.
• Being persons confirmed by ministries, ministerial-level agencies or provincial People’s Committees to enter Vietnam to work in the fields of finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, or other priority socio-economic development sectors.

2. Dossier components:

• An application letter requesting issuance of a confirmation of exemption from the work permit requirement.

• A valid medical certificate.

• 02 color photographs (4 cm x 6 cm, white background, full face, bare head, not wearing glasses).

• Valid passport.

• Documents proving that the foreign worker falls within the exemption categories.

3. Procedure:

Within the period from 60 days to no later than 10 days prior to the foreign worker’s expected commencement date, the employer shall submit the dossier to the Provincial Public Administration Service Center in the locality where the foreign worker is expected to work.

4. Competent authority

The Provincial People’s Committee of the locality where the foreign worker is expected to work, or where the employer’s head office is located (in cases of work across multiple provinces).

5. Processing time

• 05 working days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier for issuance of the confirmation of exemption from the work permit requirement;
• 03 working days for dossiers that are ineligible or do not meet the conditions for issuance of the confirmation..

Issuing of a work permit:

1. Applicable subjects: Except for the two categories mentioned above, foreign workers who wish to work in Vietnam must be issued a work permit.
2. Dossier components:

• A report from the employers justifying the need to employ foreign labour and requesting issuance of a work permit.

• A valid medical certificate.

• A valid passport.

• A criminal record certificate or a document confirming that the foreign worker is not currently serving a sentence, has no unspent criminal record, and is not under criminal prosecution.
• 02 color photographs (4 cm x 6 cm, white background, full face, bare head, not wearing glasses).
• Documents proving the form/type of employment of the foreign worker as prescribed.

• Documents proving that the foreign worker is a manager, executive director, expert or technical worker as prescribed.

3. Procedure: Within the period from 60 days to no later than 10 days prior to the foreign worker’s expected commencement date, the employer shall submit the dossier to the Provincial Public Administration Service Center in the locality where the foreign worker is expected to work.
4. Competent authority: Provincial People’s Committees at the localities where the foreign workers are expected to work or where the employers’ head offices are located (in cases of work across multiple provinces).
5. Processing time:

• 10 working days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier for issuance of the work permit.

• 03 working days for dossiers that are ineligible or do not meet the conditions for issuance of a work permit.

2.2. Step 2: Applying for issuance of a work visa

According to Vietnamese law, the conditions for issuance of a work visa to a foreign national seeking to work in Vietnam are as follows:

• Possessing a valid passport or an internationally recognized travel document.
• Being invited or sponsored by agencies, organizations or individuals in Vietnam.
• Not falling within the the cases of entry prohibition under Vietnamese law.
• Foreigners entering Vietnam for employment purposes must hold a work permit, except in cases exempted from the work permit requirement.

The agencies, organizations or individuals in Vietnam inviting or sponsoring the foreign national to work in Vietnam shall follow the following procedure:

• Step 1: Submitting the sponsorship dossier to the Immigration Management Authority. The dossier includes:
  • A written request for visa issuance.
  • A certified copy of the license or decision of the competent authority on establishment of the organization.
  • A document introducing the seal and specimen signature of the organization’s authorized representative.
• Step 2: Receipting of results
  • The Immigration Management Authority shall respond and notify the competent Vietnamese visa-issuing authority abroad within 05 working days from the date of receipt of a valid dossier.
  • The foreigners shall receive the visa at the competent Vietnamese visa-issuing authority abroad.

3. Legal basis

• Labor Code 2019;

• Law on Foreigners’ Entry into, Exit from, Transit through and Residence in Vietnam 2014 (as amended and supplemented in 2019);

• Decree No. 219/2025/NĐ-CP on Foreign Workers Working in Vietnam;

• Decision No. 886/QĐ-BNV on promulgation of newly issued and abolished administrative procedures in the field of employment under the state management authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

​4. Frequently asked questions

4.1. What is the validity period of the confirmation of exemption from a work permit requirement and the work permit itself?

The confirmation of exemption from a work permit requirement and the work permit shall be valid for a maximum period of 02 years (Article 10 and Article 21.1 of Decree No. 219/2025/NĐ-CP).

4.2. Are foreign investors required to obtain a work permit?

Foreign investors who are subject to exemption from the work permit requirement are not required to obtain a work permit. However, they must either submit a notification or obtain a confirmation of exemption from the work permit requirement.

4.3. If a foreign worker changes to work for another company, is a new work permit required?

In cases where the foreign workers change employment to other companies, which results in a change of the employer’s name on a work permit, the foreign workers must apply for the re-issuance of a new work permit in accordance with Article 23 of Decree No. 219/2025/NĐ-CP.