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Global Mobility Insights - Herbst / Fall 2023 Foreign Employees and Work Permits in Vietnam Author: Marco Förster, Dezan Shira & Associates Apart from helping businesses, the Resolution has issued guidelines on easing regulations for issuing, extending, and certification of documents for work permits of foreigners in Vietnam. This has relaxed some measures that were in Decree 152, which was issued earlier in February of this year. Some work permit requirements eased: Resolution 105 To ease restrictions, the government has asked the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) to instruct local provincial authorities to relax restrictions and some conditions on the issuing and renewing of work permits. Specifically, these include: As per Decree 152, the university degree had to be related to the job position in Vietnam. Now as per Resolution 105, authorities have been asked to be flexible where the degree does not have to necessarily be related to the job position in Vietnam. Second, the training field does not have to be related to the job role or relevant experience. Thirdly, for experts and technicians, previously issued work permits can be accepted as work experience rather than work experience of the foreign company from the home country. Certificates may also be used. Lastly, as per the Resolution, foreign workers with valid work permits can be sent to another province or city for not more than six months without having to reapply for a work permit. However, the employer must report to the labor department where the foreign workers have gone to work. The Ministry of Education and Training has been tasked with cooperating with MoLISA to provide further guidance and qualifications for foreign teachers teaching at short-term training centers, high schools, vocational training centers, and universities as per international best practices. In addition, notarization requirements for passports have been removed; just a copy of the passport is sufficient. 38 convinus.com
Global Mobility Insights - Herbst / Fall 2023 The government has also tasked relevant agencies to streamline entry procedures for foreign employees to enter Vietnam as well as the recognition of a vaccine passport. The government is likely to issue further guidance on these issues. Nevertheless, businesses have welcomed the government decision particularly on easing work permit requirements for foreign workers. Decree 152 highlights Prior to this, the government introduced Decree 152/2020/ND-CP (Decree 152), which came into effect on February 15. The Decree overlooks the management of foreign workers in Vietnam as well as the hiring of Vietnamese employees that work for foreign businesses. Decree 152 replaced Decree 11 and Decree 75 and states how businesses can employ foreign individuals. The regulations were stricter compared to previous decrees with several businesses voicing concerns on hiring and entry of foreign workers. Employers that require hiring a foreign employee must submit a written request to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), 30 days before the commencement of employment. A response is typically received within 10 days after submission. The employer should then request a work permit from the MoLISA. This should ideally be applied 15 days before the foreign worker commences their employment. Work permit processing times take up to 10 business days. A work permit cannot be applied directly by the workers/foreigners, but with the assistance of their employers from Vietnam. Work permit requirements As per Decree 152, a foreign expert is defined as: Having a bachelor’s degree or higher and having at least three years of experience working in the relevant field to the job position that the foreign employee has been hired for; Have at least five years of experience with a practice certificate relevant to the job that the foreign employee has been hired for; Special cases that fall under the discretion of the Prime Minister as per the MoLISA. 39 convinus.com
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