Work permit

According to the labour law in Vietnam, enterprises that need to employ employees working in their organizations must fully meet the provisions on using foreign workers in the Labor Code 2012. Specifically, enterprises are only allowed to recruit foreign citizens to work as managers, executives, experts and technical workers that Vietnamese workers have not yet met the production and business needs. Before recruiting foreign citizens to work in the territory of Vietnam, enterprises must explain their employment needs and be approved in writing by competent state agencies. Therefore, enterprises wishing to recruit foreign workers to work in their company, need approval of competent state agencies, in particular, Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in the province / city where the business is located ("DOLISA")

With DOLISA's approval, enterprises need to prove that the recruitment of foreign workers for the required job position is consistent with the needs of the business, the situation of Vietnamese labor recruitment for those positions, the benefits achieved for businesses when recruiting foreign workers instead of Vietnamese employees.

After approval of the demand for foreign labor from DOLISA, the enterprise shall follow the procedures for applying for a work permit for foreigners in accordance with DOLISA's approval. Foreigners who work in Vietnam without a work permit will be expelled from the territory of Vietnam according to the regulations of the Government and employers, who use foreign citizens without a work permit, will be handled in accordance with the law, specifically the administrative fine from VND 30,000,000 to VND 75,000,000 shall be imposed on employers depending on the seriousness of their violations (Article 22 of the Decree 95/2013/ND-CP). Therefore, employers and employees need to comply with the work permit when working in Vietnam or employing foreign workers to work in Vietnam.

For foreign workers, in order to be eligible for a work permit, the following specific conditions are required: (i) Having full civil act capacity as prescribed by law; (ii) Be physically fit to the job requirements; (iii) Be a manager, executive director, specialist or technical worker; (iv) Not be a criminal or subject to criminal prosecution in accordance with the laws of Vietnam and foreign laws; (v) Approved in writing by a competent state authority on the employment of foreign workers.

These are necessary conditions before an employee applies for a work permit in Vietnam. Documents proving the fulfillment of the conditions for granting a work permit, if issued by foreign countries, must be consular legalized and translated into Vietnamese when submitted in Vietnam.

The issuance of a work permit must be made at least 15 days in advance from the date the employee is expected to work in Vietnam.

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