Info

1. POST WORK PERMIT

Vietnam work permit is an official certificate issued by the Department of Labor, Invalid and Social Affairs to allow its holder to work in Vietnam legally. It cannot be applied directly by the workers/foreigners, but with the assistance of their employers or a service center in Vietnam. And Vietnam work permit is an important paper to apply for a temporary residence card or a working visa for Vietnam. It is currently well governed by the Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14 and the Decree No. 52/2020/ND-CP.

In order to be eligible for Vietnam work permit application, the foreigners have employment in a company/entity registered and recognized in Vietnam.

Now, in this post, we will take you through details about the work permit for Vietnam.

Vietnam Work Permit Requirements

To get a work permit in Vietnam, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Over 18 years old
• Have a good health condition that satisfies the job’s specific demands and requirements.
• Free of any criminal record in their country or a national security offense, not currently facing criminal prosecution, or not serving a criminal sentence by the Vietnamese and foreign policemen during the assignment.
• Meet the requirements for the job positions for Vietnam work permit as follows:
  • For foreign experts:
    • Having a bachelor’s degree or higher or equivalent and a certificate of at least 3 years of experience working in the trained field relevant to the job position the foreign worker is expected to work for in Vietnam; or
    • Having a certificate of at least 5 years of experience working in the trained field relevant to the job position the foreign worker is expected to work for in Vietnam.
  • Technical workers:
    • Having been trained in technical or other fields for at least 01 year and having worked for at least 03 years in that field, or
    • Having a certificate of at least 05 years of working experience in a job suitable for the position expected to be work in Vietnam,
    • The company where the foreigner is working has a suitable line of business on its business registration certificate.
  • Directors, CEOs …:
    • Decision on the appointment, and
    • Having a certificate of at least 03 years of working experience in the relevant position.
• Have documents issued in foreign countries legalized.

Vietnam Work Permit Validity and Extension

As provided for in Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP, a work permit is valid for up to 02 years, and it can be extended once for further 02 years following this Vietnam work permit extension procedure. When the extended work permit becomes expired, the employer shall follow the same procedure to obtain a new work permit if he/she wishes to further employ such a foreign employee.

Vietnam Work Permit Termination

A work permit may be terminated if:

• The work permit has expired.
• Labor contract has been terminated.
• The content of the labor contract is not consistent with the granted work permit.
• The contracts of business, trade, finance, banking, insurance, science and technology, culture, sports, education, or medicine have been expired or terminated.
• The foreign employer announced the termination of the foreign employee working in Vietnam.
• Work permit issued by authorized state agency has been withdrawn.
• The operation of the company, organization, and partners in Vietnam has been terminated.

The validity of the work permit for Vietnam is 2 years. And then, if you wish to work in Vietnam for longer, you can apply for work permit extension. But if you want to return to your home country or move to another country for work, before leaving Vietnam, your Work Permit needs to be canceled with the assistance of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. Foreign employees should return the permit to their employer within fifteen (15) days from the date that their employment ends. It is the employer’s responsibility to submit the permit with a notification letter to the local office of the Labor Department.

2. POST VISA

HOW TO VISIT VIETNAM?

There are many ways for a foreigner to enter into Vietnam, it depends on your nationality and your visit purpose.

1. Visa exemption

Up to date, Vietnam grants visa exemption for 25 countries as below:

– Chile, Panama: 90 days

– Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Singapore, Thai, Kyrgyzstan: 30 days

– Philippines: 21 days

– Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Russia, Japan, Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belarus: 15 days

– Brunei, Myanmar: 14 days

If you plan to visit Vietnam for a short term and you hold one of the above nationalities, you DO NOT need to apply for visa.

2. E-visa

Foreigners from 80 nationalities can apply for electronic visa, follow this link for more information: https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/…/cap-thi-thuc-dien-tu

E-visa is a 30 days (Maximum) tourist visa, single entry

25 USD is the payable upon online application which covered the visa stamp fee.

The disadvantage of e-visa, that you cannot extend it.

3. Tourist visa

If you are not listed in the above 80 countries, you can obtain a tourist visa which is sponsored by the tourist company.

The tourist company can apply for a visa approval letter. It is visa on arrival.

By showing this letter when entering into Vietnam, you will get the visa stamp with the stamp fee of 25 USD payable at the airport/land border gate.

Tourist visa for 30 days maximum, single entry, without extension possibility.

4. Business/investor visa

Business/investor visa is applicable when you have a sponsor company.

That company can apply for a visa approval letter.

Business/investor visa can be valid for 03 month maximum, and single or multiple entries are up to your choice.

This visa is not a visa on arrival (except for the case your country does not have a Vietnamese embassy). Only Vietnamese Embassy issue this Visa, you must go to a Vietnamese embassy in a prescribed country to get the visa stamp and pay the stamp fee.

Business/investor visa CAN extend:

– First time of extension will be another 3 months maximum, thereafter you can get (5-7 times) extension, from one month to 15 days per each

This is the current policy, it may change next time.

5. Family visa

Family visa is applicable when you have direct family relationship with a person who will get/already get a business/investor visa/Resident Card or who is Vietnamese.

Family visa can be valid until the same term of your family member’s visa. Single or multiple entries are also up to your choice. Similar to business visa, this is also not a visa on arrival (except for the case your country does not have a Vietnamese embassy). It means you need to go to a Vietnamese embassy to get visa stamp after obtaining the visa invitation letter.

In this option, one critical document is a paper proving the family relationship (e.g., birth certificate, marriage certificate). If this document is issued in overseas, that paper needs to be notarized, legalized and translated into Vietnamese.