Applying for a Work Permit in Vietnam

The work permit is in the form of a licence. (giấy phép lao động)

Who should apply

All enterprises and organizations recruiting foreign laborers to work in Vietnam, except:
* Foreign laborers entering Vietnam to work for a period of less than 03 (three) months; and those entering Vietnam to resolve and emergency situation such as a breakdown or a technically or technologically complex situation which suddenly arises and which affects, or has the risk of affecting production or business and which Vietnamese experts and foreign experts in Vietnam are not able to resolve
* Foreigners who are members of the Board of Management or member’s council (in the case of a limited liability company) established under Vietnamese laws with legal status
* Foreigners who are head of representative offices or branches in Vietnam
* Foreign lawyers to whom Ministry of Justice has issued a certificate to practice in accordance with laws

According to the current labour legislation, all foreign staff are required to have a work permit to work legally in Vietnam.
Application has to be made at the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in the locality where enterprises locate their headquarters.


Validity of the License and application fee
Fees:
* Fees on granting a working license: 400.000 VND/permit
* Fees on re-granting a working license: 300.000 VND/permit
* Fees on extension of a working license: 200.000 VND/permit
Duration:
* Same duration as the duration of the labor contract or as set out in the decision of the foreign party on appointment, but shall not exceed 36 months.


Eligibility of Applicants

1. Being 18 years of age or older
2. Being physically fit to the work requirements
3. Must have highly technical skills or highly professional qualifications (including: engineers and persons of a standards similar to or higher than engineers; traditional trade artisans) and be very experienced and be senior professionally in the direction of production or business operation or in management work which Vietnamese employees are not yet able to perform.
4. Have no previous conviction or criminal record and must not currently be subject to criminal prosecution or any criminal sentence in accordance with Vietnamese and foreign laws
5. Foreign employees engaged in private medical or pharmaceutical practices or directly carrying out disease examination and treatment in Vietnam must satisfy all conditions stipulated by the Vietnamese laws in relation to private medical or pharmaceutical practice.



Application Dossier

The following documents are required to be submitted in two copies in the work permit application.
1. Copy of the business licence
2. Request to issue Work Permit form
3. Copy of labour contract or offer letter
4. Application form (Yellow form No. 3)
5. Curriculum vitae (Yellow form No. 4)
6. Health check report
7. Authenticated Educational qualifications
8. Authenticated Criminal record check from home country
9. Four passport sized colour photographs
10. Judicial Record in Vietnam


Notes

No. 6
A full medical check up at a hospital authorised to issue medical certificates for work permit purposes. Columbia, FV Hospital and SOS are among those authorised by the labour department.

No. 7
A copy of the certificates notarised by the public notary, certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and endorsed by the Vietnamese embassy. Copies of the certificates on professional skills include bachelor, master, doctor degrees on qualifications granted under the laws of the foreign countries. If the foreigners are craftsmen of traditional crafts or are persons having experience, without formal certificates; they shall be required to provide written documents provided by competent authorities of their country attesting to their qualifications and experience.
In the absence of a degree obtained for more than 5 years, a certificate of experience can be used in lieu of the academic degree. Professional qualifications are not recognised as a university degree.
The notarised copies have to be sent for translation at the People's Committee.

No. 8
The original letter, endorsed by the Vietnamese embassy is required. This is also known as Letter of Good Conduct or Police Record.
The letter has to be translation at the People's Committee.

No. 9
The color photos shall show the applicant with a bare head, taken from the front, showing clearly the face and the 2 ears, and without glasses.

Item 10.
This is required is the employee has lived in Vietnam for more than six months prior to applying for the work permit.
The Judicial record (Lý Lịch Tư Pháp)is issued by the Ministry of Justice (Sở Tư Pháp).
The application requires
1. The application form
2. Original passport and copy of the passport and current visa, which will be sighted by the officer of the Justice department.
3. Certification of current residence in the form of a letter (Đơn Xin Xác Nhận) signed by the employee and endorsed by the local police.


Non-compliance penalty

* A fine between 5.000.000 VND to 10.000.000 VND is applied to employers using foreign laborers who have no work permit.
* Sanction of expelling foreign laborers is applied when foreigners working in Vietnam for over 3 months have no work permit or use the invalid work permits as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 133 of supplemented and amended Labor Code

Please take note of the following:
Applying for a Visa and work permit are two separate issues.
A visa gives a foreign national the right to be in Vietnam.
A work permit gives a foreign national the right to work in Vietnam.
They are governed by different laws and are administered by different government agencies.
After the work permit has been issued, the employee can apply for a temporary resident card (Thẻ tạm trú)which can replace the visa, and allow visa free travel within and in/out of Vietnam for the duration stipulated in the card. The duration shall be the same as the term of the work permit.


Legal texts regulating this license
Code of Labor
Circular No. 09/TT- BLDTBXH dated March 18, 1997 of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalid and Social Affair guiding the implementation of issuance of Working Licenses (for foreign laborers working in Vietnam)
Decree No.105/2003/ND-CP of September 17, 2003 detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Labor Code regarding the recruitment and management of foreign laborers working in Vietnam
DECREE No.93/2005/ND-CP on amendment of and addition to a number of articles of Decree No.105/2003/ND-CP of the government dated 17 September 2003 providing detailed regulations and guidelines on implementation of a number of articles of the labour code with respect to employment and administration of foreign employees working in Vietnam
Circular 04/2004/TT-BLDTBXH dated 10/3/2004 guiding the implementation of some articles of Decree 105/2003/ND-CP dated 17/9/2003 detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Labor Code regarding the recruitment and management of foreign laborers working in Vietnam
Circular 24/2005/TT-BLDTBXH dated 26/9/2005 of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalid and Social Affair amending and supplementing a number of points of Circular 04/2004/TT-BLDTBXH dated 10/3/2004
Decree No, 113/2004/ND-CP dated April 16, 2004 of the Government sanctioning administrative violation on labor
Decision No.54/2005/QD- BTC dated August 04, 2005 of the Minister of Finance stipulating fees on issuance of working license for foreign laborers working in Vietnam


Other useful information

* Enterprises, agencies and organizations (hereinafter called employers) having the right to recruit foreign labors consist of:
1. Enterprises operating under the State Enterprise Law, the Enterprise Law or the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam;
2. Foreign contractors (principal contractors, sub- contractors) performing contracts in Vietnam;
3. Representative offices and branches of economic, trade, financial, banking, insurance, scientific- technical, cultural, sport, education, training, and medical organizations;
4. Social professional organizations;
5. Non-business units of the State;
6. Medical, cultural, educational, training and sports establishments (including those set up under the Enterprise Law, the State Enterprise Law or the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam)
7. Vietnam- based offices of foreign or international projects;
8. Vietnam- based management offices of foreign parties to business cooperation contracts;
9. Vietnam - based organizations practicing law under the provision of Vietnamese law;
10. Cooperative set up and operating under the Cooperative Law

* Employers listed in item 1 above (state owned enterprises, enterprises under Enterprise Law and foreign invested projects operating under the Foreign Investment Law are allowed to recruit foreign laborers not exceeding 3 (three) percent of the number of their current employees. A minimum of 1 person may be recruited.
* The regulation on the ratio of foreign employees that may be employed by employers listed in items 2-10 above shall not apply; however, they must obtain approval from the Chairman of the People’s Committee of the province or city under central authority to recruit a larger number of foreign laborers.
* Where enterprises or organizations (items 1-10 inclusive) have obtained an approval of a project or an operating license by a Vietnamese authorized State body in which the number of foreign employees is specified, the approval from the Chairman of the People’s Committee shall not be required.