Vietnam work permit

Work permit for foreign laborers working in Vietnam
Purpose
To manage the recruitment of foreign laborers by enterprises and organizations in Vietnam

What is it?
License
Who should apply?
All enterprises and organizations recruiting foreign laborers to work in Vietnam, except:
- Foreign laborers entering Vietnam to work for a period of less than 03 (three) months; and those entering Vietnam to resolve and emergency situation such as a breakdown or a technically or technologically complex situation which suddenly arises and which affects, or has the risk of affecting production or business and which Vietnamese experts and foreign experts in Vietnam are not able to resolve
- Foreigners who are members of the Board of Management or member’s council (in the case of a limited liability company) established under Vietnamese laws with legal status
- Foreigners who are head of representative offices or branches in Vietnam
- Foreign lawyers to whom Ministry of Justice has issued a certificate to practice in accordance with laws

Where to apply?
Department of Labor War Invalid and Social Affair in the locality where enterprises locate their headquarters

Validity of the License
Duration:
Same duration as the duration of the labor contract or as set out in the decision of the foreign party on appointment, but shall not exceed 36 months.
Eligibility of Applicants
1. Being 18 years of age or older
2. Being physically fit to the work requirements
3. Must have highly technical skills or highly professional qualifications (including: engineers and persons of a standards similar to or higher than engineers; traditional trade artisans) and be very experienced and be senior professionally in the direction of production or business operation or in management work which Vietnamese employees are not yet able to perform.
4. Have no previous conviction or criminal record and must not currently be subject to criminal prosecution or any criminal sentence in accordance with Vietnamese and foreign laws
5. Foreign employees engaged in private medical or pharmaceutical practices or directly carrying out disease examination and treatment in Vietnam must satisfy all conditions stipulated by the Vietnamese laws in relation to private medical or pharmaceutical practice.

Application conditions and documents
Application dossiers, which should be prepared in 2 copies, shall consist of the following:
1. Application for issuance of work permit of the labor users;
2. Application for working in Vietnam;
3. Form of criminal record issued by the competent authority from the foreign countries they lived. In case where the foreigners have resided in Vietnam for over six months, they should also submit the Form of criminal record issued by the Department of Justice in the locality where they are living.
4. CV of the foreign laborer’s resume, made according to a form set by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, including an attached photograph of the foreigner.
5. Medical certificate issued in the foreign countries; if the laborer is residing in Vietnam, health certificate must be granted under the regulations of the Health Ministry
6. Legal copies of certificates on professional skills such as: bachelor, master, doctor and certificates on qualifications granted under the existing law of the foreign countries. If foreigners are craftsmen of traditional crafts or are persons having experience, but no formal certificates, shall provide written documents provided by competent authorities of their country attesting to their qualifications and experience.
7. 3 (three) color photos (size 3cm x 4 cm) with bare head, taken frontally, showing clearly the face and 2 ears and no glasses

The process
1. Labor users take responsibility of making preparation for a dossier under provisions of laws and submit to Department of Labor, War Invalid and Social Affair.
2. Within 15 working days as from the date of receipt of a valid dossier, the competent authority shall grant the work permit.

How long it will take to process the application?
15 working days Inspecting authorities
Department of Labor, War Invalid and Social Affair in centrally run cities and provinces.

Non-compliance penalty
- A fine between 5.000.000 VND to 10.000.000 VND is applied to employers using foreign laborers who have no work permit.
- Sanction of expelling foreign laborers is applied when foreigners working in Vietnam for over 3 months have no work permit or use the invalid work permits as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 133 of supplemented and amended Labor Code