Dossier and Procedures for Requesting a Work Permit for Foreigners in Vietnam

Dossier and Procedures for Requesting a Work Permit for Foreigners in Vietnam​ - Illustrative image

No later than 15 working days from the date the foreign employee is expected to start working in Vietnam, the enterprise must submit an application for a work permit to the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign employee is expected to work; the application includes the following documents:

 APPLICATION FOR WORK PERMIT IN VIETNAM

1. Application for a work permit (Form No. 07 issued together with Circular 40/2016/TT-BLDTBXH);

2. Health certificate or medical examination report issued by a competent health agency or organization from abroad or Vietnam, valid within 12 months from the date of conclusion to the date of application submission;

3. Judicial record or document confirming that the foreign employee is not a criminal or being prosecuted issued by a competent authority from abroad;

In case the foreign employee has resided in Vietnam, only a judicial record issued by Vietnam is required. "Residence" here refers to the registration of permanent or temporary residence in Vietnam.

These documents must be issued within 06 months from the date of issuance to the date of application submission.

4. Documents proving that the individual is a manager, executive director, expert, or technical worker; one of the following documents:

* In the case of a managerial position or executive director:

Document appointing the executive director/manager or a confirmation letter verifying the managerial/executive director position from the agency, organization, or enterprise.

* In the case of an expert:

- Confirmation letter from the agency, organization, or enterprise abroad, including the main contents such as the name of the agency, organization, or enterprise confirming; personal details of the expert: full name, date of birth, nationality, and profession suitable for the job position they intend to work in Vietnam;

- Copy of degrees (from university or higher or equivalent) and a document confirming that the foreign employee has at least 03 years of experience working in the trained specialty suitable for the job position they intend to work in Vietnam.

* In the case of technical workers:

- Document proving or confirmation letter from the agency, organization, or enterprise abroad that the foreign employee has been trained in the technical or other specialization for at least 01 year and suitable for the job position they intend to work in Vietnam;

- Document proving that the foreign employee has at least 03 years of experience working in the trained specialization and suitable for the job position they intend to work in Vietnam.

Additionally,  for  some  professions,  the  document  proving  professional  or  technical  qualifications  of  the  foreign employee  can  be  replaced  with  one  of  the  following  documents:

- Certificate of recognition as an artisan for traditional professions issued by a competent authority of a foreign country;

- Document proving experience as a foreign football player;

- Airline transport pilot's license issued by a competent authority of Vietnam for foreign pilots;

- Aircraft maintenance license issued by a competent authority of Vietnam for foreign workers engaging in aircraft maintenance.

5. 02 color photos (size 4cm x 6cm, white background, clear face, uncovered head, no colored glasses), taken within 06 months up to the date of application submission;

6. Copy of passport or documents equivalent to a passport or international travel documents still valid according to legal regulations;

7. Depending on each case, additional documents related to the foreign employee must be submitted:

- For foreign employee who are managers, executive directors, experts, technical workers participating in the activities of foreign enterprises established with commercial presence in Vietnam, there must be documents proving their participation in the activities of such foreign enterprises.

- For foreign employee who are internal transferees, there must be documents from a foreign enterprise nominating them to work in the commercial presence of that enterprise in Vietnamese territory and documents proving they have been employed by the foreign enterprise for at least 12 months prior to working in Vietnam.

- For foreign employee performing contracts or agreements on economics, trade, finance, banking, insurance, science, technology, culture, sports, education, vocational education, and healthcare, there must be contracts or agreements signed between Vietnamese and foreign partners, in which it is agreed that they will work in Vietnam;

- For foreign employee who provide services under contract, there must be a service contract signed between Vietnamese and foreign partners and documents proving that the foreign worker has worked for the foreign enterprise without a commercial presence in Vietnam for at least 02 years.

- For foreign employee engaged in offering services, there must be documents from the service provider nominating them to Vietnam to negotiate service provision.

- For foreign employee working for foreign non-governmental organizations and international organizations in Vietnam authorized to operate under Vietnamese law, there must be a certificate from the foreign non-governmental organization or international organization authorized to operate under Vietnamese law.

- For foreign employee responsible for establishing a commercial presence, there must be documents from the service provider nominating the foreign employee to Vietnam to establish the commercial presence of that service provider.

Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the complete application, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam will issue the work permit or provide a written response clearly stating the reasons for non-issuance.

The work permit will be issued for a specific period, but not exceeding 02 years.

For cases where foreign employee are to be employed under labor contracts, after being granted a work permit, the enterprise and foreign employee must sign a labor contract in writing according to Vietnamese law before the expected starting date of work. Additionally, within 05 working days from the date of signing the labor contract, the enterprise must send a copy of the signed labor contract to the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs that issued the work permit.

Notice:

- Documents No. 2, 3, and 4 should be submitted with 01 copy attached to the original for comparison or 01 certified copy.

- Foreign documents must be consular legalized, translated into Vietnamese, and authenticated according to Vietnamese legal regulations.

- Documents No. 7 should be submitted with 01 copy attached to the original for comparison or 01 certified copy; if foreign documents, they are exempt from consular legalization but must be translated into Vietnamese and authenticated according to Vietnamese legal regulations.

- "Commercial presence" includes the following forms:

+ Foreign-invested economic organizations;

+ Representative offices, branches of foreign merchants in Vietnam;

+ Executive offices of foreign investors in business cooperation contracts.

If using foreign employee without a work permit or a certificate of exemption from the work permit requirement, the enterprise will be fined and may be suspended from operation for 01 to 03 months; the foreign employee will be deported from Vietnam.

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