Work Permit Vietnam for Foreigners: 2026 Process & Cost

A work permit in Vietnam is the official document that authorizes a foreign national to work legally for a company, organization, or project inside the country. Under the Labor Code 2019 and the newly issued Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP, most foreign managers, experts, and technical workers must obtain one before their first day on the job. If you are researching a work permit in Vietnam for foreigners — whether as an employee preparing to relocate, an HR manager sponsoring a candidate, or a business owner setting up operations — the rules changed substantially in 2025 and 2026. A new decree replaced the previous framework, the issuing authority moved from labor departments to provincial governments, and a further amendment is currently under public consultation. This guide explains, in plain terms, who needs a work permit, who is exempt, which documents to prepare, how the current application process works, how long it takes, what it costs, and what happens if a foreign employee works without one.

Last updated: July 2026 · Legal information reviewed by the labor law team at Nam Sơn Law (Công ty Luật TNHH MTV Nam Sơn)

What Is a Vietnam Work Permit, and Who Needs One?

A Vietnam work permit (giấy phép lao động) is a legal authorization issued under the Labor Code 2019 and Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP that allows a foreign citizen to be lawfully employed inside Vietnam. In general, any foreign national working under a labor contract, or assigned as a manager, executive director, expert, or technical worker for three months or more, must hold a valid work permit before starting work — regardless of whether the employer is a Vietnamese company, a foreign-invested enterprise, a foreign contractor, a representative office, or an international NGO.

The employer is legally responsible for confirming the need for foreign labor and preparing the dossier; the foreign employee is responsible for supplying personal documents such as a health certificate and criminal record certificate. Working without a valid permit — or working outside the position, employer, or location stated on it — exposes both the individual and the company to administrative fines, covered later in this guide.

Which foreign workers must have a work permit?

Under Article 151 of the Labor Code, four categories of foreign workers generally require a work permit: managers, executive directors, experts, and technical workers.

• Manager or executive director — a person who directs, manages, or is legally responsible for a Vietnamese entity, branch, or representative office.
• Expert (chuyên gia) — typically a university graduate with relevant specialized experience, or a professional whose qualifications are confirmed by a competent foreign or Vietnamese agency.
• Technical worker — trained for at least one year in a technical field with at least three years of relevant work experience, or with five years of practical experience matching the job.
• Any foreign employee under a Vietnamese labor contract, including intra-company transferees assigned by a parent company to a Vietnamese subsidiary or branch.

For example, when a Singapore-headquartered retail group appoints its regional operations director to run a new subsidiary in Ho Chi Minh City, that appointment falls squarely within the “manager” category and requires a work permit before the director can legally begin work at the Vietnamese entity.

What changed under Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP?

Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP took effect on 7 August 2025 and fully replaced Decree 152/2020/NĐ-CP and its amending Decree 70/2023/NĐ-CP, which are no longer in force for foreign-worker matters. The new decree — five chapters and 36 articles — restructures almost every part of the process: who issues the permit, how many steps the dossier requires, which categories are exempt, and how long an extension can last.

Work Permit vs. Work Visa vs. Temporary Residence Card: What’s the Difference?

A work permit authorizes employment, a work visa (LD visa) authorizes entry and short-term stay, and a temporary residence card (TRC) authorizes longer-term residence — most foreign employees need all three, in that order. Confusing the three is one of the most common mistakes among first-time applicants and their employers.

Validity periods are indicative; actual duration depends on the labor contract, assignment decision, and the immigration authority’s decision in each case.

In practice, the sequence usually runs: work permit exemption confirmation or work permit approval first, then an LD-type visa to enter and begin work, and finally a TRC once the employment relationship is confirmed as longer-term. Employers who apply for these three documents out of order are the most frequent source of delay.

Who Is Exempt From a Vietnam Work Permit?

Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP lists 15 statutory categories of foreign workers who do not need a work permit, ranging from company owners and short-term technical visits to intra-company transfers within specific service sectors. Being exempt from the permit itself does not automatically remove separate registration or notification duties.

• Owner or capital-contributing member of a Vietnamese limited liability company (subject to a minimum capital-contribution threshold)
• Chairman or member of the Board of Directors of a joint-stock company meeting the relevant capital or shareholding condition
• Head of a representative office or project office of a foreign organization, in defined cases
• Lawyers holding a valid foreign lawyer’s practising certificate in Vietnam
• Foreign nationals moving to Vietnam to provide short-term consulting or technical services (subject to the cumulative day limit described below)
• Certain intra-corporate transferees within specific committed service sectors under Vietnam’s WTO/FTA schedules
• Experts, managers, executives, or technical workers coming to Vietnam for less than 30 days, up to a maximum of three times a year, in defined cases
• Foreign nationals married to a Vietnamese citizen and residing in Vietnam
• Volunteers and certain personnel of officially registered international organizations or NGO programs
• Foreign experts in finance, science, technology, innovation, or national digital transformation confirmed by a competent ministry or provincial authority

This list is illustrative rather than exhaustive — Article 7 of Decree 219 sets out the complete 15 categories with precise conditions, and eligibility should be checked against your specific contract, ownership structure, and length of stay before you assume an exemption applies.

Do company owners and investors need a work permit? (the VND 3 billion rule)

An owner or capital-contributing member of a Vietnamese limited liability company is generally exempt from the work permit requirement if their capital contribution meets the statutory minimum, commonly cited at around VND 3 billion. For example, a foreign investor who owns 100% of a Vietnamese limited liability company with charter capital of VND 5 billion is typically exempt from holding a work permit while acting as the company’s own general director — because the exemption is based on ownership, not on the managerial role itself.

The exact capital threshold and any per-worker limits should always be confirmed against the current text of Decree 219 and the company’s charter capital documents before an employer relies on this exemption, since capital-based exemptions are among the details regulators periodically recalibrate.

What is the 90-day cumulative short-term exemption?

A foreign worker whose total working time in Vietnam is less than 90 days within a calendar year (1 January to 31 December) does not need a work permit, but the employer must still notify the competent authority at least three working days in advance. This cumulative-day rule replaced the older, more generous “under 30 days per visit, up to three visits a year” exemption under Decree 152/2020 — a rule that many older English-language guides still describe, incorrectly, as current.

For example, a European automation engineer sent by a parent company in Germany to commission machinery at a factory in Bac Ninh for four separate two-week visits during the year would need to track the cumulative total against the 90-day ceiling, and the Vietnamese entity hosting the visits must still file the short-term notification each time.

Do I still need a confirmation of exemption?

In most exemption categories, the employer must still apply for a written confirmation of exemption from the competent authority before the foreign worker begins work — the permit itself is waived, but the paperwork is not. Employers who assume “exempt” means “no filing required” are one of the most common sources of avoidable fines under this framework.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements for a Work Permit?

To qualify for a Vietnam work permit, a foreign national must be at least 18 years old, in good health as confirmed by a medical certificate, free of a relevant criminal record, and able to demonstrate the qualifications or experience matching the intended role. These conditions apply on top of the category-specific requirements described above for managers, experts, and technical workers.

• At least 18 years of age and with full civil legal capacity
• Physical and mental health suitable for the job, confirmed by a medical certificate
• Not currently serving a criminal sentence or subject to ongoing criminal prosecution, in Vietnam or abroad
• Qualifications, experience, or professional certification matching the position (manager, expert, or technical worker criteria)
• Approved by a competent Vietnamese authority to work in the specific position, for the specific employer, at the specific location

What qualifications and experience do experts and technical workers need now?

Decree 219 relaxed the experience threshold for experts: a bachelor’s degree plus two years of relevant experience is generally sufficient, or a bachelor’s degree plus just one year of experience for priority sectors such as finance, technology, innovation, and digital transformation. This is a meaningful loosening compared with the previous framework, which typically expected three years of relevant experience regardless of sector, and it is one of the clearest signals that Vietnam is actively competing for specialized foreign talent in high-priority industries.

What Documents Are Required for a Vietnam Work Permit?

A standard Vietnam work permit dossier includes the single application form, the employer’s business documents, and a set of personal documents from the foreign employee — several of which must be legalized and translated before submission.

• Application form (Form No. 03) — the single-dossier application that now incorporates the former labor-demand explanation
• Medical certificate confirming the employee is fit to work, issued within the validity period recognized by Vietnamese authorities
• Criminal record certificate from the employee’s home country (or countries of prior long-term residence), consular-legalized and translated into Vietnamese
• Passport copy valid for the intended working period, plus recent passport-style photographs
• Proof of qualification or experience — degree certificates, professional certifications, or employer confirmation letters, legalized as required
• Labor contract, assignment decision, or internal transfer document confirming the employment relationship with the Vietnamese entity
• Employer’s business registration certificate or equivalent proof that the hiring entity is legally established in Vietnam

Almost every document originating outside Vietnam needs both consular legalization and a notarized Vietnamese translation before submission — this step alone is the most common cause of delay, since legalization timelines vary widely by country and embassy.

How Do You Apply for a Work Permit in Vietnam, Step by Step?

Since Decree 219 took effect, the process runs through a single integrated dossier submitted to the Provincial People’s Committee (in practice, usually its Department of Home Affairs), rather than the previous two-step labor-demand-then-application procedure.

1. Confirm the category and gather documents. Identify whether the role qualifies as manager, expert, technical worker, or an exempt category, then collect and legalize the required personal and corporate documents.
2. Prepare the single dossier (Form No. 03). Under Decree 219, the employer’s explanation of foreign-labor need is now built into this one application rather than filed and approved separately.
3. Submit the dossier online via the National Public Service Portal, or directly to the competent provincial authority, at least 10 days and no more than 60 days before the intended start date.
4. Authority review. The competent authority reviews the complete dossier within 10 working days; if the dossier is incomplete or invalid, it must issue a written explanation within 3 working days so the employer can correct it.
5. Work permit and criminal-record certificate issued together. Under the integrated online process, the work permit and the accompanying criminal record certificate can be issued through the same digital workflow.
6. Apply for the LD work visa and, later, the TRC so the employee can legally enter, remain, and eventually reside in Vietnam for the duration of the assignment.

How does the new single-dossier online process work?

The single-dossier process folds the former “labor demand explanation” approval step directly into the work permit application, and allows the whole file to be submitted online through the National Public Service Portal. For example, under the old two-step process, a company appointing a new intra-company transfer as branch manager first had to secure approval of its labor demand and only then file the separate work permit dossier; under Decree 219, both elements are prepared and submitted together as one file, cutting out a full administrative round trip.

Which authority issues work permits now?

Work permits are now issued by the Provincial People’s Committee where the employer’s head office is located, which in practice often delegates day-to-day processing to its Department of Home Affairs (Sở Nội vụ). This is a direct consequence of the 2025 restructuring described later in this guide: the former issuing body — the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA), under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) — no longer exists in that form.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Work Permit?

By law, the competent authority must decide on a complete work permit dossier within 10 working days, but the realistic end-to-end timeline — including document collection, legalization, and translation — is usually closer to three to four months. The statutory clock only starts once every required document is in order; almost all of the real-world delay happens before the 10-day review window even begins.

Timelines vary by nationality, provincial workload, and how quickly supporting documents can be legalized abroad.

How Much Does a Vietnam Work Permit Cost, and Who Pays?

The employer is generally responsible for the state fee charged by the issuing province, while document-related costs — medical checks, criminal record certificates, legalization, and translation — are typically split between employer and employee according to company policy. There is no single national fee schedule, because Decree 219 allows each provincial People’s Council to set its own state fee.

Figures are indicative and vary by province and case. Confirm current fees with the issuing authority or with Nam Sơn Law before budgeting.

How Long Is a Work Permit Valid, and How Do You Renew It?

A Vietnam work permit is valid for up to two years and, under Decree 219, can now be extended only one time, also for a maximum of two years — after that, a fresh application is required rather than a further renewal. This is a tightening compared with the earlier framework, which allowed multiple successive extensions, and it means employers now need to plan further ahead for long-term foreign hires.

Employers should begin the extension process well before the current permit’s expiry date, since document legalization and provincial review still take real time even for a renewal. If the one-time extension has already been used, or the permit has lapsed, a completely new application — with a fresh dossier — is generally required rather than a simple renewal.

What Happens If You Work in Vietnam Without a Permit?

Working in Vietnam without a required work permit can result in fines of roughly VND 15–25 million for the foreign employee, possible deportation, and fines of roughly VND 30–75 million for the sponsoring employer, scaling with the number of workers involved. Under Decree 12/2022/NĐ-CP, employer-side fines are also doubled for corporate entities compared with individual employers, and enforcement inspections have intensified in major hubs such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Beyond the direct fines, an employer found using unauthorized foreign labor can face reputational damage with immigration and labor authorities that complicates future work permit applications — another reason to treat exemption categories and short-term notification duties carefully rather than assuming informal arrangements are low-risk.

Can Your Spouse and Children Join You in Vietnam?

Yes — once a foreign employee holds a valid work permit and the corresponding LD visa or temporary residence card, their spouse and children can generally apply for a dependent visa, and later a dependent TRC, to reside with them in Vietnam. The dependent’s status is tied to the primary work permit holder’s valid status, so any lapse in the employee’s own permit or TRC can directly affect the family’s residence documents. Planning the family’s paperwork alongside the employee’s own timeline — rather than as an afterthought — avoids avoidable gaps in the household’s legal status.

Can Digital Nomads and Remote Workers Get a Vietnam Work Permit?

Vietnam does not currently offer a dedicated digital-nomad visa, and a foreign national working remotely for an overseas employer while staying in Vietnam on a tourist or e-visa sits in a legal gray zone rather than a clearly regulated category. A work permit is specifically tied to employment with, or assignment to, a Vietnamese entity — it is not designed for someone who simply works online for a company with no Vietnamese presence.

Anyone planning an extended stay to work remotely should be cautious about assuming a tourist visa fully covers ongoing paid work, and should seek current guidance before treating Vietnam as a long-term remote-work base, since immigration enforcement priorities and visa categories continue to evolve alongside the broader 2025–2026 legal reforms described below.

How Did Vietnam’s 2025–2026 Reforms Change the Process?

Two overlapping administrative reforms reshaped who handles Vietnam work permits: the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) was merged into the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) on 1 March 2025, and Vietnam’s provinces were consolidated from 63 down to 34 on 1 July 2025. Together with Decree 219 itself, these changes explain why so much English-language guidance about “DOLISA” or “MOLISA” issuing work permits is now out of date.

The practical takeaway for employers: if your company operated in a province that was merged into a larger one, double-check which Provincial People’s Committee — and which physical filing office — now has jurisdiction over your dossier before assuming your previous filing location still applies.

What’s Changing Next? The 2026 Draft Amendment to Decree 219

In May 2026, the Ministry of Home Affairs published a draft decree that would further amend Decree 219, with a public comment period that closed on 9 June 2026 — but as of this writing, it has not been confirmed as adopted, so none of these proposed changes are current law yet.

• Accepting health certificates issued by qualified medical institutions abroad, not only Vietnamese-issued certificates
• Removing the years-of-experience requirement entirely for technology and innovation experts
• Removing the requirement for provinces to separately compile local priority-sector lists
• No longer requiring consular legalization of passports, or resubmission of documents already held in shared government databases
• Adding clearer expert criteria for strategic technology fields and specialized sectors such as culture, sports, and education
• Strengthening employer reporting and record-keeping obligations for foreign workers

Because this remains a draft under consultation, employers and employees should treat it as a signal of direction — likely further simplification for skilled and technical roles — rather than something to rely on for a filing today. Confirm the latest status with a qualified lawyer or the Ministry of Home Affairs before assuming any of these changes already apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion: How Nam Sơn Law Can Help

Vietnam’s work permit framework for foreigners has gone through more change in the past two years than in the previous decade — a new governing decree, a merged ministry, a redrawn provincial map, and a further amendment already on the table for 2026. For foreign employees and the companies that sponsor them, getting the category, documents, and timing right the first time is far cheaper than correcting a rejected or delayed dossier later.

Nam Sơn Law (Công ty Luật TNHH MTV Nam Sơn) provides legal consulting and hands-on support for foreign nationals and businesses navigating work permits, work visas, and related labor law matters in Vietnam — from confirming whether an exemption applies, to preparing a complete dossier under Decree 219, to planning ahead of the 2026 draft amendment.