Documents To Process A Work Permit In Vietnam – Procedure For Getting Vietnam Work Permit 2024

Vietnam work permit is an official certificate issued by the Department of Labor, Invalid and Society to allow its holder to work in Vietnam legally. It cannot be applied directly by the workers/foreigners, but can be applied 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. So what are the required documents to process a work permit in Vietnam? How to apply a Vietnam work permit?

1/ 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.
• Have a high degree of specialized knowledge, technology, and qualification; experienced in business, management and other professions that Vietnamese labors are currently unable to conduct efficiently.

2/ Vietnam Work Permit Exemption

Do you need a work permit to work in Vietnam? In fact, some foreigners are eligible for Vietnam work permit exemption. Below are cases which can be exempted from work permit:

• Working in Vietnam for less than 3 months
• In a company’s board of the corporation that is created under the regulation of the Vietnamese government.
• Head of the representative office or branch of an international company in Vietnam
• Entering and working in Vietnam to resolve the emergent errors or situation that the Vietnamese labors or current foreign workers in Vietnam cannot solve.
• Lawyers that are given permission by the Vietnamese Department of Justice.

3/ Required documents to get a work permit for Vietnam?

The list of documents that the applicants need to prepare to apply for the work permit for Vietnam:

• Request form for Vietnam work permit (Form No. 7 issued together with the Circular No. 40/2016/TT-BLDTBXH);
• Health check certificate;
• Criminal records (issued within 180 days), if applicants have stayed more than 6 months in Vietnam, they will have to provide both Vietnamese criminal records, & the criminal record from their home countries (you can see step-by-step guide to get criminal record in Vietnam here);
• Certified copy of your certificate/degree;
• Working experience confirmation document from former employers;
• Passport and valid visa (Copy);
• Approval certificate which allows the employer to use foreign workers from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs or the People’s Committee where the employer resides. This certificate should be applied for at least 30 days before the expected date of the recruitment of foreign workers by the employer;
• Certified copy of the Employer’s Business Registration Certificate;
• 02 4*6cm photos;
• Employment contract.

4/ How to apply for a Vietnam work permit?

Your employer/his agent in Vietnam need to follow the steps below to get the Vietnam work permit for you:

• Prepare the required documents mentioned above, and their scans as well;
• Register an account and fill in a declaration form and submit a dossier of the work permit application to the work permit-granting agency.
• Get informed via email of whether the declaration and dossier are legally satisfactory and the work permit will be granted or not within 5 working days after the work permit-granting agency receives the submission.
• Submit the prepared documents (in papers) directly or by post to the work permit licensing agency after receiving the positive reply via email from this agency for checking, comparison, and storage according to regulations.
• Wait and get the Vietnam work permit as it will be delivered to the employer/his agent directly or by post to his registered address after receiving full required documents.

5/ Vietnam work permit processing time and cost

The work permit request processing time is totally 20 working days (after receiving full required documents), including:

12 working days for online approval;

08 working days for granting the work permit.

But all are highly recommended to carry out the procedure at least 30 days before the expected work start date of the foreigners.

6/ Termination of Vietnam work permit

A work permit may be terminated if:

• The work permit has been 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 launched by authorized state agencies 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 3 years. And then, if you wish to work in Vietnam for longer, you can apply for work permit extension/renewal. 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 Foreign 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.

For more information about work permit, please contact us through email info@vietnam-evisa.com