VI Currently, Vietnam is increasingly integrating, so the demand for foreign experts and workers of enterprises in Vietnam is increasing. However, in order for foreigners to work legally for a long time in Vietnam, the prerequisite they need to meet is a work permit. Through today’s article, let’s learn about this issue with Pham Consult!
1. Concept of work permit
Currently, there are no legal documents defining what a work permit (also known as “Work permit”) is. However, we can simply understand that a work permit is one of the legal documents that allows foreign workers to enter the Vietnamese market to work legally. A valid work permit must be issued by a competent authority in Vietnam when all conditions are met and the procedures and processes prescribed by law are followed.
2. Conditions for granting a work permit
– Be 18 years of age or older and have full civil capacity;
Have professional qualifications, technical skills, work experience; have adequate health according to the regulations of the Minister of Health;
Not a person who is serving a sentence or has not had his/her criminal record expunged or is being prosecuted for criminal liability according to the provisions of foreign law or Vietnamese law.
Have a written approval of the need to use foreign workers from a competent authority, except in cases where it is not necessary to determine the need to use foreign workers.
* Note:
The term of the labor contract for a foreign worker working in Vietnam must not exceed the term of the Work Permit. When employing foreign workers in Vietnam, the two parties can agree to enter into multiple fixed-term labor contracts.
3. Components of the application for a work permit:
Name of documents
1. Application for a work permit according to form No. 11/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP.
2. Health certificate or health examination certificate issued by a competent medical agency or organization of a foreign country or Vietnam, 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 according to the regulations of the Minister of Health.
3. Judicial record or document confirming that the foreign employee is not a person serving a sentence or has not had his/her criminal record expunged or is under criminal prosecution issued by a foreign country or Vietnam. A criminal record or a document confirming that the foreign worker is not serving a sentence or has not had his/her criminal record expunged or is being prosecuted for criminal liability, issued no more than 06 months from the date of issue to the date of application submission.
4. Documents and papers proving that he/she is a manager, executive director, expert or technical worker and some occupations and jobs are regulated as follows:
– Documents proving that he/she is a manager or executive director include the following 3 types of documents:
+ Company charter or operating regulations of an agency, organization or enterprise;
+ Business registration certificate or establishment certificate or establishment decision or other documents of equivalent legal value;
+ Resolution or appointment decision of an agency, organization or enterprise.
– Documents proving that he/she is an expert or technical worker include the following 2 types of documents:
+ Diploma or certificate or certificate;
+ Confirmation document from a foreign agency, organization or enterprise on the number of years of experience of the expert, technical worker or work permit that has been granted or confirmation that the work permit is not granted.
– Document proving the experience of a foreign football player or an international transfer certificate (ITC) issued to a foreign football player or a document from the Vietnam Football Federation confirming the temporary or official registration of a player of a club under the Vietnam Football Federation;
– A pilot’s license issued by a competent authority of Vietnam or by a competent authority of a foreign country and recognized by a competent authority of Vietnam for foreign pilots or a professional certificate allowing them to work on an aircraft issued by the Ministry of Transport for flight attendants; – Certificate of professional qualifications in the field of aircraft maintenance issued by a competent authority of Vietnam or issued by a competent authority of a foreign country and recognized by a competent authority of Vietnam for foreign workers working in aircraft maintenance.
– Certificate of professional competence or certificate of recognition of professional competence issued by a competent authority of Vietnam for foreign crew members;
– Certificate of recognition of high achievements in the field of sports and confirmed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for sports coaches or at least one of the following degrees: B football coach degree of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) or AFC level 1 goalkeeper coach degree or AFC level 1 fitness coach degree or AFC level 1 indoor football coach degree (Futsal) or any equivalent foreign coaching degree recognized by AFC; – Diploma issued by a competent authority meeting the regulations on qualifications and standard qualifications according to the Law on Education, the Law on Higher Education, the Law on Vocational Education and the Regulations on the organization and operation of foreign language and information technology centers issued by the Minister of Education and Training.
5. 02 color photos (size 4cm x 6cm, white background, face looking straight, bare head, no colored glasses), photos taken no more than 06 months from the date of application submission.
6. Document approving the need to use foreign workers, except for cases where it is not necessary to determine the need to use foreign workers.
7. Certified copy of passport or copy of passport certified by the employer, still valid according to the provisions of law.
8. Documents related to foreign employees except for foreign employees working under labor contracts: – For foreign employees transferring within the enterprise, there must be a document from the foreign enterprise sending them to work at the commercial presence of that foreign enterprise in Vietnam and a document proving that the foreign employee was recruited by that foreign enterprise before working in Vietnam for at least 12 consecutive months;
1. Application for a work permit according to form No. 11/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP.
2. Health certificate or health examination certificate issued by a competent medical agency or organization of a foreign country or Vietnam, 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 according to the regulations of the Minister of Health.
3. Judicial record or document confirming that the foreign employee is not a person serving a sentence or has not had his/her criminal record expunged or is under criminal prosecution issued by a foreign country or Vietnam. A criminal record or a document confirming that the foreign worker is not serving a sentence or has not had his/her criminal record expunged or is being prosecuted for criminal liability, issued no more than 06 months from the date of issue to the date of application submission.
4. Documents and papers proving that he/she is a manager, executive director, expert or technical worker and some occupations and jobs are regulated as follows:
– Documents proving that he/she is a manager or executive director include the following 3 types of documents:
+ Company charter or operating regulations of an agency, organization or enterprise;
+ Business registration certificate or establishment certificate or establishment decision or other documents of equivalent legal value;
+ Resolution or appointment decision of an agency, organization or enterprise.
– Documents proving that he/she is an expert or technical worker include the following 2 types of documents:
+ Diploma or certificate or certificate;
+ Confirmation document from a foreign agency, organization or enterprise on the number of years of experience of the expert, technical worker or work permit that has been granted or confirmation that the work permit is not granted.
– Document proving the experience of a foreign football player or an international transfer certificate (ITC) issued to a foreign football player or a document from the Vietnam Football Federation confirming the temporary or official registration of a player of a club under the Vietnam Football Federation;
– A pilot’s license issued by a competent authority of Vietnam or by a competent authority of a foreign country and recognized by a competent authority of Vietnam for foreign pilots or a professional certificate allowing them to work on an aircraft issued by the Ministry of Transport for flight attendants; – Certificate of professional qualifications in the field of aircraft maintenance issued by a competent authority of Vietnam or issued by a competent authority of a foreign country and recognized by a competent authority of Vietnam for foreign workers working in aircraft maintenance.
– Certificate of professional competence or certificate of recognition of professional competence issued by a competent authority of Vietnam for foreign crew members;
– Certificate of recognition of high achievements in the field of sports and confirmed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for sports coaches or at least one of the following degrees: B football coach degree of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) or AFC level 1 goalkeeper coach degree or AFC level 1 fitness coach degree or AFC level 1 indoor football coach degree (Futsal) or any equivalent foreign coaching degree recognized by AFC; – Diploma issued by a competent authority meeting the regulations on qualifications and standard qualifications according to the Law on Education, the Law on Higher Education, the Law on Vocational Education and the Regulations on the organization and operation of foreign language and information technology centers issued by the Minister of Education and Training.
5. 02 color photos (size 4cm x 6cm, white background, face looking straight, bare head, no colored glasses), photos taken no more than 06 months from the date of application submission.
6. Document approving the need to use foreign workers, except for cases where it is not necessary to determine the need to use foreign workers.
7. Certified copy of passport or copy of passport certified by the employer, still valid according to the provisions of law.
8. Documents related to foreign employees except for foreign employees working under labor contracts: – For foreign employees transferring within the enterprise, there must be a document from the foreign enterprise sending them to work at the commercial presence of that foreign enterprise in Vietnam and a document proving that the foreign employee was recruited by that foreign enterprise before working in Vietnam for at least 12 consecutive months;
8. Documents related to foreign employees except for foreign employees working under labor contracts:
– For foreign employees transferring within the enterprise, there must be a document from the foreign enterprise sending them to work at the commercial presence of that foreign enterprise in Vietnam and a document proving that the foreign employee has been recruited by that foreign enterprise before working in Vietnam for at least 12 consecutive months;
– For foreign employees entering Vietnam to perform contracts or agreements on economics, trade, finance, banking, insurance, science and technology, culture, sports, education, vocational education and health, there must be a contract or agreement signed between the Vietnamese and foreign partners, including an agreement on the foreign employee working in Vietnam;
– For foreign workers who are service providers under contract, there must be a service provision contract signed between the Vietnamese partner and the foreign partner and a document proving that the foreign worker has worked for a foreign enterprise without a commercial presence in Vietnam for at least 02 years;
– For foreign workers entering Vietnam to offer services, there must be a document from the service provider sending the foreign worker to Vietnam to negotiate the provision of services;
– For foreign workers working for foreign non-governmental organizations and international organizations in Vietnam that are permitted to operate under the provisions of Vietnamese law, there must be a document from the agency or organization sending the foreign worker to work for the foreign non-governmental organization or international organization in Vietnam, except for the case specified in Point a, Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree and the operating license of the foreign non-governmental organization or international organization in Vietnam according to the provisions of law; – For foreign workers who are managers, executives, experts, and technical workers, there must be a document from the foreign agency, organization, or enterprise sending the foreign worker to work in Vietnam and it must be suitable for the expected job position or documents proving that he/she is a manager.
9. Application for a work permit in some special cases:
– For foreign workers who have been granted a work permit, which is still valid, and want to work for another employer in the same job position and with the same job title stated in the work permit, the application for a new work permit must include: a confirmation from the previous employer that the worker is currently working, the documents specified in Clauses 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8 above and a certified copy of the issued work permit;
– For foreign workers who have been granted a valid work permit and change their job position or job title or form of work stated in the work permit in accordance with the provisions of law but do not change the employer, the application for a new work permit shall include the documents specified in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 above and the work permit or a certified copy of the issued work permit.
– For foreign workers who are experts or technical workers who have been granted a work permit and have been extended once and wish to continue working in the same job position and job title stated in the work permit, the application for a new work permit shall include the documents specified in Clauses 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 above and a copy of the issued work permit.
10. Consular legalization and certification of documents: The documents specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 above must be 01 original or certified copy. If they are from a foreign country, they must be consular legalized, except in cases where consular legalization is exempted 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; translated into Vietnamese and notarized or certified according to the provisions of Vietnamese law.
– For foreign employees transferring within the enterprise, there must be a document from the foreign enterprise sending them to work at the commercial presence of that foreign enterprise in Vietnam and a document proving that the foreign employee has been recruited by that foreign enterprise before working in Vietnam for at least 12 consecutive months;
– For foreign employees entering Vietnam to perform contracts or agreements on economics, trade, finance, banking, insurance, science and technology, culture, sports, education, vocational education and health, there must be a contract or agreement signed between the Vietnamese and foreign partners, including an agreement on the foreign employee working in Vietnam;
– For foreign workers who are service providers under contract, there must be a service provision contract signed between the Vietnamese partner and the foreign partner and a document proving that the foreign worker has worked for a foreign enterprise without a commercial presence in Vietnam for at least 02 years;
– For foreign workers entering Vietnam to offer services, there must be a document from the service provider sending the foreign worker to Vietnam to negotiate the provision of services;
– For foreign workers working for foreign non-governmental organizations and international organizations in Vietnam that are permitted to operate under the provisions of Vietnamese law, there must be a document from the agency or organization sending the foreign worker to work for the foreign non-governmental organization or international organization in Vietnam, except for the case specified in Point a, Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree and the operating license of the foreign non-governmental organization or international organization in Vietnam according to the provisions of law; – For foreign workers who are managers, executives, experts, and technical workers, there must be a document from the foreign agency, organization, or enterprise sending the foreign worker to work in Vietnam and it must be suitable for the expected job position or documents proving that he/she is a manager.
9. Application for a work permit in some special cases:
– For foreign workers who have been granted a work permit, which is still valid, and want to work for another employer in the same job position and with the same job title stated in the work permit, the application for a new work permit must include: a confirmation from the previous employer that the worker is currently working, the documents specified in Clauses 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8 above and a certified copy of the issued work permit;
– For foreign workers who have been granted a valid work permit and change their job position or job title or form of work stated in the work permit in accordance with the provisions of law but do not change the employer, the application for a new work permit shall include the documents specified in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 above and the work permit or a certified copy of the issued work permit.
– For foreign workers who are experts or technical workers who have been granted a work permit and have been extended once and wish to continue working in the same job position and job title stated in the work permit, the application for a new work permit shall include the documents specified in Clauses 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 above and a copy of the issued work permit.
10. Consular legalization and certification of documents: The documents specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 above must be 01 original or certified copy. If they are from a foreign country, they must be consular legalized, except in cases where consular legalization is exempted 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; translated into Vietnamese and notarized or certified according to the provisions of Vietnamese law.
4. Procedures for applying for a work permit
Step 1: After posting a job advertisement and at least 15 days before the date the foreign worker is expected to start working in Vietnam, the applicant shall submit the application for a work permit to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker is expected to work.
Step 2: Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a complete application for a work permit, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker is expected to work shall issue a work permit to the foreign worker according to Form No. 12/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP. In case the work permit is not granted, a written response must be issued stating the reason.
The work permit is A4 in size (21 cm x 29.7 cm), consisting of 2 pages: page 1 is blue; Page 2 has a white background, blue pattern, and a star in the middle. The work permit is coded as follows: code of the province, centrally-run city and code of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs according to Form No. 16/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree No. 70/2023/ND-CP; the last 2 digits of the year of license issuance; type of license (new issuance is code 1; renewal is code 2; re-issuance is code 3); serial number (from 000.001).
In case the work permit is an electronic copy, it must comply with the provisions of relevant laws and meet the content according to Form No. 12/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP.
Step 1: After posting a job advertisement and at least 15 days before the date the foreign worker is expected to start working in Vietnam, the applicant shall submit the application for a work permit to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker is expected to work.
Step 2: Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a complete application for a work permit, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker is expected to work shall issue a work permit to the foreign worker according to Form No. 12/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP. In case the work permit is not granted, a written response must be issued stating the reason.
The work permit is A4 in size (21 cm x 29.7 cm), consisting of 2 pages: page 1 is blue; Page 2 has a white background, blue pattern, and a star in the middle. The work permit is coded as follows: code of the province, centrally-run city and code of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs according to Form No. 16/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree No. 70/2023/ND-CP; the last 2 digits of the year of license issuance; type of license (new issuance is code 1; renewal is code 2; re-issuance is code 3); serial number (from 000.001).
In case the work permit is an electronic copy, it must comply with the provisions of relevant laws and meet the content according to Form No. 12/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP.
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