Photo: Collected

Work permit - or more precisely Work permit for foreigners working in Viet Nam, is a document issued by Vietnamese competent authorities to foreign employees when they meet certain conditions as stipulated by law. 

So, if you are a foreigner and are eligible for obtaining a Work Permit in Vietnam, you and your sponsor have to be aware of these new changes in accordance with Decree 70/2023/ND-CP amending Decree 152/2020/ND-CP regulating foreign workers working in Vietnam. 

Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs in Ho Chi Minh City has sent an official dispatch and a detailed guide to organizations, companies, and employers located in this city to follow the new rules accordingly.

In Decree 70/2023/ND-CP, employers and employees need to pay attention to 4 important amendments. 

First, at least 15 days before the official employment of foreign workers, an employer has to submit a request for acceptance of hiring foreign employees to the authorities in charge, whereas employers used to have 30 days to do so. In addition, in case of any changes, employers shall notify the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs at least 15 days in advance.

Second, regarding foreign employees’ metrics, they now only need to have a university degree or higher or equivalent and have at least 3 years of work experience relevant to the expected position, instead of requiring experts to have a university degree in the field they intend to work in. There are a lot of complaints about Decree 105/2021/ND-CP due to the lack of hands-on requirements for foreigners, which removes the requirement of "having at least 3 years of working experience in the trained specialty" for experts.

Conditions for foreign experts and workers working in Vietnam have been loosened (Photo: Freepik)

Third, from January 1, 2024, the announcement of recruitment of Vietnamese workers to positions expected to recruit foreign workers shall be made on the website of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (Employment Department) or the website of the Employment Service Center within at least 15 days from the expected date of the explanation report where the foreign worker is expected to work. 

Before January 1, 2024, all announcements made in person are still in effect and received by the authorities.

Fourth, cases of Work permit exemption have been amended to “He/she is sent by a foreign competent authority or organization to Vietnam to teach or act as a manager or executive at an educational institution, which is established in Vietnam under a proposal of a foreign diplomatic mission or intergovernmental organization; or of a facility which is established under international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory”

What are the requirements for foreigners to work in Vietnam?

According to Labor Code 2019, 

Article 151. Requirements for foreigners to work in Vietnam.

1. A foreign employee means a person who has a foreign nationality and:

a) is at last 18 years of age and has full legal capacity; 

b) has qualifications, occupational skills, practical experience and adequate health as prescribed by the Minister of Health;

c) is not serving a sentence; does not have an unspent conviction; is not undergoing criminal prosecution under his/her home country’s law or Vietnam’s law;

d) has a work permit granted by a competent authority of Vietnam, except in the cases stipulated in Article 154 of this Labor Code.

2. The duration of a foreign employee’s employment contract must not exceed that of the work permit. When a foreign employee in Vietnam is recruited, both parties may negotiate the conclusion of multiple fixed-term labor contracts.

3. Foreign employees working in Vietnam shall comply with and shall be protected by the labor law of Vietnam, unless otherwise prescribed by treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.