VI A work permit for foreigners in Vietnam is an important document that ensures legal conditions for foreigners to work legally in Vietnam. However, in some specific cases, foreign workers are not required to be granted work permits, at this time foreign employers will have to apply for confirmation that foreign workers are not required for work permits.
1. Cases where foreign workers are not subject to work permits
According to Article 154 of the 2019 Labor Code and Article 7 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP of the Government regulating foreign workers working in Vietnam and recruiting and managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam (amended and supplemented in 2023), cases where foreign workers working in Vietnam are not subject to work permits include:
1. Being the owner or contributing member of a limited liability company with a capital contribution value of VND 3 billion or more.
2. Being the Chairman of the Board of Directors or a member of the Board of Directors of a joint stock company with a capital contribution value of VND 3 billion or more.
3. Being the Head of a representative office, project or being primarily responsible for the activities of an international organization or foreign non-governmental organization in Vietnam.
4. Entering Vietnam for a period of less than 03 months to conduct service offering.
5. Entering Vietnam for a period of less than 03 months to handle complex technical and technological incidents or situations that arise and affect or threaten to affect production and business that Vietnamese experts and foreign experts currently in Vietnam cannot handle.
6. Being a foreign lawyer who has been granted a license to practice law in Vietnam in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Lawyers.
7. In cases where the provisions of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member are specified.
8. Foreigners who marry Vietnamese people and live in Vietnam.
9. Moving within an enterprise within the scope of 11 service sectors in Vietnam’s service commitment schedule with the World Trade Organization, including: business, information, construction, distribution, education, environment, finance, healthcare, tourism, culture, entertainment and transportation.
10. Entering Vietnam to provide professional and technical consulting services or perform other tasks serving the research, construction, appraisal, monitoring and 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.
11. Being granted a license to operate information and press in Vietnam by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in accordance with the provisions of law.
12. Being sent to Vietnam by competent foreign agencies and organizations to teach or to work as managers or executive directors at educational institutions proposed to be established in Vietnam by foreign diplomatic missions or intergovernmental organizations; institutions and organizations established according to international treaties to which Vietnam has signed or participated.
13. Volunteers.
14. Entering Vietnam to work as a manager, executive director, expert or technical worker for a period of less than 30 days and no more than 3 times in 1 year.
15. Entering Vietnam to implement an international agreement signed by a central or provincial agency or organization in accordance with the provisions of law.
16. Students studying at schools or training facilities abroad that have an internship agreement with agencies, organizations and enterprises in Vietnam; interns and trainees on Vietnamese ships.
17. Relatives of members of foreign representative agencies in Vietnam as prescribed in Point l, Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree.
18. Having an official passport to work for a state agency, political organization or socio-political organization.
19. Persons responsible for establishing a commercial presence.
20. The Ministry of Education and Training confirms that foreign workers enter Vietnam to perform the following jobs:
a) Teaching, research;
b) Working as managers, executive directors, principals, vice principals of educational institutions proposed to be established in Vietnam by foreign diplomatic missions or intergovernmental organizations.
2. Application for confirmation that foreign workers are not subject to work permit issuance
According to Clause 3, Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented in 2023), the application for confirmation that foreign workers are not subject to work permit issuance includes:
a) A written request for confirmation that foreign workers are not subject to work permit issuance according to Form No. 09/PLI Appendix I issued together with Decree 152/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented in 2023);
b) Health certificate or health examination certificate issued by a competent foreign or Vietnamese medical agency or organization, valid for 12 months from the date of signing the health conclusion to the date of submitting the application or a certificate of good health as prescribed by the Minister of Health;
c) Document approving the need to employ foreign workers, except for cases where it is not necessary to determine the need to employ foreign workers;
d) Certified copy of passport or copy of passport certified by the employer that is still valid as prescribed by law;
dd) Documents to prove that the foreign worker is not subject to the issuance of a work permit;
Note: The documents specified in points b, c and d above must be 01 original or certified copy. If they are from a foreign country, they must be consularly legalized, translated into Vietnamese and notarized or certified (point e, clause 3, Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented in 2023) except for cases exempted from consular legalization according to international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the foreign country concerned are both members or according to the principle of reciprocity or according to the provisions of law.
3. Procedures for requesting confirmation that foreign workers are not subject to work permits
According to the provisions of the labor law, in cases where foreign workers are not subject to work permits, foreign employers must still carry out procedures for confirming that foreign workers are not subject to work permits at competent state agencies. However, clause 2, Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP stipulates a number of cases where it is not necessary to carry out procedures to confirm that foreign workers are not subject to work permits. These are the cases specified in Clauses 4, 6, 8, Article 154 of the 2019 Labor Code and Clauses 1, 2, 8, 11, Article 7 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP. Accordingly, these cases do not have to carry out procedures to confirm that foreign workers are not subject to work permits; however, employers must still report to the Ministry of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker is expected to work information about: full name, age, nationality, passport number, name of the foreign employer, start date and end date of work at least 3 days before the date the foreign worker is expected to start working in Vietnam. For the remaining cases, the procedure for requesting confirmation that foreign workers are not subject to work permit issuance is stipulated in Clause 2 and Clause 4, Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, specifically as follows:
Step 1: The employer prepares the documents and submits them to the Ministry of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker is expected to work to confirm that the foreign worker is not subject to work permit issuance at least 10 days in advance, from the date the foreign worker starts working.
Step 2: Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of a complete application for confirmation of not being subject to a work permit, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker is expected to work shall issue a written confirmation of not being subject to a work permit according to Form No. 10/PLI Appendix I of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP. In case of non-confirmation, a written response stating the reasons shall be issued.
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