What are the cases of work permit exemption for foreign employees in Vietnam?
- What are the cases of work permit exemption for foreign employees in Vietnam?
- What are the procedures to request for certification of exemption from work permit for foreigners working in Vietnam?
- What are the cases where it is not necessary to carry out procedures to request for Certification of exemption from work permit for foreigners working in Vietnam?
What are the cases of work permit exemption for foreign employees in Vietnam?
Article 154 of the Labor Code 2019 stipulates that foreign workers working in Vietnam are not subject to work permits as follows:
Work permit exemption for foreign employees in Vietnam
A foreign employee is not required to have the work permit if he/she:
1. Is the owner or capital contributor of a limited liability company with a capital contribution value conformable with regulations of the Government.
2. Is the Chairperson or a member of the Board of Directors of a joint-stock company a capital contribution value conformable with regulations of the Government.
3. Is the manager of a representative office, project or the person in charge of the operation of an international organizations or a foreign non-governmental organization in Vietnam.
4. Enters Vietnam for a period of less than 03 months to do marketing of a service.
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In addition, Article 7 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP stipulates cases where foreign workers are not subject to work permits as follows:
Foreign workers exempt from work permits
Without regard to the cases in clauses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Article 154 of the Labor Code, a foreign worker is exempt from a work permit if:
1. He/she is the owner or capital contributor of a limited liability company with a capital contribution value of at least 3 billion dong.
2. He/she is the Chairperson or a member of the Board of Directors of a joint-stock company with a capital contribution value of at least 3 billion dong.
3. He/she is an intra-company transferee within 11 sectors in the schedule of commitments in services between Vietnam and WTO, including: business services, communication services, construction services, distribution services, educational services, environmental services, financial services, health services, tourism services, recreational and cultural services, and transport services.
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Thus, according to the above regulations, the subjects specified in Article 154 of the Labor Code 2019 and Article 7 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP are the cases where foreign workers are not subject to work permits.
What are the cases of work permit exemption for foreign employees in Vietnam?
What are the procedures to request for certification of exemption from work permit for foreigners working in Vietnam?
Procedures to request for certification of exemption from work permit for foreigners working in Vietnam are specified in Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP:
- The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or Departments of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs are authorized to grant certification of exemption from work permit.
0 The employer shall request the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province where the foreign worker is expected to work to certify that such foreign worker is eligible for exemption from a work permit at least 10 working days before he/she starts to work.
For any of the circumstances in clauses 4, 6 and 8 Article 154 of the Labor Code and clauses 1, 2, 8 and 11 Article 7 of this Decree, the employer is not required to apply for the certification of exemption but it must report the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of province where the foreign worker is expected to work, at least 3 days before such foreign worker starts to work in Vietnam, on the following: full name, age, nationality, passport number, name of employer, starting date and completion date.
The validity period of a certification of exemption from work permit is up to 2 years and coincides with the validity period of any case as prescribed in Article 10 below. If a certification of exemption from work permit is re-issued, the corresponding validity period is up to 2 years.
- Clause 3, Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP regulates the required documents in an application for exemption from work permit:
+ An application form for certification of exemption from work permit No. 09/PLI Appendix I of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP;
+ A fitness to work certificate in accordance with clause 2 Article 9 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP.
+ An acceptance of demand for foreign workers, unless it is not required;
+ A valid certified true copy of passport as per the law;
+ Documents justifying that the foreign worker is exempt from work permit;
+ Any document mentioned in points b, c and dd of this clause is 1 original or certified true copy; if a document is written in a foreign language, it must be consularly legalized, translated into Vietnamese and certified, unless it is exempt from consular legalization under an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the concerned foreign country are signatories or under the principle of reciprocity or as per the law.
- Within 5 working days after receiving a duly completed application, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall issue a certification of exemption from work permit, using Form No. 10/PLI Appendix I of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP. If the application is rejected, a written explanation is required.
Accordingly, the procedure to request for certification of exemption from work permit for foreigners working in Vietnam is carried out according to the above regulations.
What are the cases where it is not necessary to carry out procedures to request for Certification of exemption from work permit for foreigners working in Vietnam?
Clause 2, Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP stipulates cases where it is not necessary to carry out procedures to request for Certification of exemption from work permit:
Certification of exemption from work permit
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2. The employer shall request the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province where the foreign worker is expected to work to certify that such foreign worker is eligible for exemption from a work permit at least 10 working days before he/she starts to work.
For any of the circumstances in clauses 4, 6 and 8 Article 154 of the Labor Code and clauses 1, 2, 8 and 11 Article 7 of this Decree, the employer is not required to apply for the certification of exemption but it must report the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of province where the foreign worker is expected to work, at least 3 days before such foreign worker starts to work in Vietnam, on the following: full name, age, nationality, passport number, name of employer, starting date and completion date.
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Thus, according to the above regulations, the cases where employer is not required to apply for the certification of exemption from work permit are as follows:
- Enters Vietnam for a period of less than 03 months to do marketing of a service.
- Is a foreign lawyer who has been granted a lawyer’s practicing certificate in Vietnam in accordance with the Law on Lawyers.
- Gets married with a Vietnamese citizen and wishes to reside in Vietnam.
- He/she is the owner or capital contributor of a limited liability company with a capital contribution value of at least 3 billion dong.
- He/she is the Chairperson or a member of the Board of Directors of a joint-stock company with a capital contribution value of at least 3 billion dong.
- He/she enters Vietnam to hold the position of a manager, executive, expert or technical worker for a period of work of less than 30 days and up to 3 times a year.
- He/she is a relative of a member of foreign representative body in Vietnam as specified in point l clause 1 Article 2 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP.
The employer is not required to apply for the certification of exemption but it must report the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of province where the foreign worker is expected to work, at least 3 days before such foreign worker starts to work in Vietnam, on the following: full name, age, nationality, passport number, name of employer, starting date and completion date.
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