Vietnam: Cases in which the foreign workers are exempt from applying for the work permits

According to Article 169 of the Labor Code 2012 of Vietnam, a foreign citizen wishing to work in Vietnam must fully meet the following conditions:

- Possessing full civil act capacity;

- Possessing technical and professional qualifications and skills and health appropriate to the work requirement;

- Not being a criminal or subject to penal liability examination according to Vietnamese and foreign laws;

- Possessing a work permit granted by a competent Vietnamese state agency, except the cases in which the foreign workers are exempt from applying for the work permits.

Thus, according to the above regulation, when recruiting foreign workers to work in Vietnam, the recruiting enterprises and foreign workers must fully satisfy the conditions mentioned above. In particular, one of the important conditions for foreign workers to work in Vietnam is to have a work permit issued by the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker is expected to work. However, there are also cases in which the foreign workers are exempt from applying for work permits when working in Vietnam as prescribed by law.

Specifically, according to Article 172 of the Labor Code 2012 of Vietnam guided by Section2 Chapter II of Decree No. 11/2016/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, 19 cases in which the foreign workers are exempt from applying for the work permits include:

1. Capital-contributing members or owners of limited liability companies.

2. Members of the Board of Directors of joint-stock companies.

3. Chiefs of representative offices and directors of projects of international organizations or non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.

4. Those who stay in Vietnam for under 3 months to offer services for sale.

5. Those who stay in Vietnam for under 3 months to deal with complicated technical or technological problems that adversely impact or are at risk of exerting adverse impacts on production and business activities and these problems cannot be handled by Vietnamese and foreign experts who are currently in Vietnam.

6. Foreign lawyers possessing a professional practice license in Vietnam in accordance with the Law on Lawyers.

7. It is in accordance with a treaty to which Vietnam is a contracting party.

8. Those who are studying and working in Vietnam, provided that the employer shall notify their employment to the provincial-level state management agency of labor 7 days in advance.

9. The workers are internally reassigned in the companies which engage in 11 service industries in Vietnam's WTO commitments on services, including: business, communication, construction, distribution, education, environment, finance, health, tourism, culture, entertainment and transportation.

10. The workers enter Vietnam to provide professional and technical advisory services or perform other tasks serving the research, construction, appraisal, assessment, management and execution of programs and projects funded by ODA according to the International Treaties on ODA between the competent authorities of Vietnam and other countries.

11. The workers are issued with the licenses for the practice of communications or journalism in Vietnam by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

12. The workers are appointed by foreign agencies or organizations to teach or do research in international schools under the management of foreign diplomatic missions or international organizations in Vietnam or the workers are permitted to teach or do research in educational and training institutions in Vietnam by the Ministry of Education and Training.

13. The workers are volunteers who have obtained the certification of the foreign diplomatic missions or international organizations in Vietnam.

14. The workers enter Vietnam to hold the positions of experts, managers, chief executive officers or technicians for a period of under 30 days and an accumulated working period of under 90 days per year.

15. The workers enter Vietnam to implement international agreements to which central or provincial agencies and organizations are signatories in accordance with the law.

16. Students who are studying in schools or training institutions in foreign countries execute their practicum at agencies, organizations or companies in Vietnam upon agreements.

17. Relatives of members who are executing their functions in foreign missions in Vietnam and exempt from work permits under the international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.

18. Workers are holders of Official Passports for working in state agencies, political organizations or sociopolitical organizations.

19. Other cases decided by the Prime Minister at the request of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Above are 19 cases in which the foreign workers are exempt from applying for the work permits. If the foreign worker does not fall into the above cases, he/she is required to apply for a work permit. In case of non-compliance with regulations on applying for a work permit, enterprises and foreign workers shall be penalized as follows:

- Fines ranging from VND 15,000,000 to VND 25,000,000 shall be imposed on any foreign worker in Vietnam that accepts job offers without holding work permits or without written confirmations of their exemption from work permit requirements as required by law; (Clause 3 Article 31 of the Decree No. 28/2020/NĐ-CP)

- Fines shall be imposed on any employer that employs foreign workers to work in Vietnam without work permits or written confirmations of their exemption from work permit requirements at one of the following rates: (Clause 4 Article 31 of the Decree No. 28/2020/NĐ-CP)

+ Fines ranging from VND 30,000,000 to VND 45,000,000 to be imposed if the violation involves 01 – 10 workers;

+ Fines ranging from VND 45,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 to be imposed if the violation involves 11 – 20 workers;

+ Fines ranging from VND 60,000,000 to VND 75,000,000 to be imposed if the violation involves 21 or more workers.

Ty Na

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