Acquiring an entry visa or a temporary residence card only addresses the entry, exit and residence rights of foreign nationals in Vietnam. Any foreign national, including overseas Vietnamese individuals, who want to work in Vietnam must obtain work permits unless they qualify for any of the exemptions mentioned below. The DOHA or MOHA is responsible for issuing work permits to foreign nationals who would like to work for enterprises and organizations in Vietnam.

The government's current policy is to loosen the requirements for foreign nationals in order to attract highly skilled workers in industries designated as national development priorities, while still limiting the use of foreign nationals in positions/jobs that can be handled by Vietnamese persons. To prevent low-quality foreign labor, although the job‑posting requirement has recently been removed, if the foreign employee will (i) perform a labor contract; (ii) implement bid packages or projects in Vietnam; or (iii) perform labor contracts with foreign diplomatic missions or foreign organizations operating in Vietnam, the government still asks for the recruitment notice of Vietnamese employees for the same position before the official submission of work permit applications. In practice, there have been cases where the relevant authority did not allow companies to recruit foreign nationals for certain positions. However, there are no clear criteria on jobs that can be handled by Vietnamese employees. 

Recently, the new Decree on management of foreign employees working in Vietnam represents a strategic effort by the Vietnamese government to attract high-skilled foreign professionals, particularly in certain prioritized industries such as finance, science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation. For foreign employees working in these fields, the Decree introduces more favorable conditions, including reduced work‑experience requirements for experts and expanded eligibility for work‑permit exemption.

Among the various criteria for a work permit, a foreign worker must be a manager, executive, expert or technician.

The work permit application for managers and executives must include documents proving that the foreign nationals are managers or executives. They can be appointment letters or corporate licenses/certificates showing that they are working in managerial/executive positions.

The term "manager" is defined by the Law on Enterprises as (i) an owner of a sole proprietorship, a partner of a partnership, the chairperson of the board of members, a member of the board of members, the company's president, the chairperson of the board of directors, a member of the board of directors, the director/general director, or a person holding another managerial position according to the company's charter or (ii) the head or deputy head of the agency or organization.

An "executive" means any of the following persons: (i) the head of a branch, representative office or place of business of the enterprise; or (ii) a person leading and directly managing at least one function of an enterprise, and have at least three years of experience in a field relevant to the job position in Vietnam.

The application for experts must include documents proving that (i) the foreign national holds the requisite academic qualification and at least two years of suitable work experience for the job position in Vietnam, or (ii) the foreign national holds the requisite academic qualification and at least one year of experience relevant to the job position in Vietnam for experts in finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, or prioritized socio-economic development areas as determined by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, PPC, or according to cooperation agreements with the Vietnamese Government.

For technicians, the application must include documents proving or certifying that (i) they have been trained for a duration of at least one year, as issued by relevant organizations or authorities or foreign companies, and have at least two years of suitable work experience for the job position in Vietnam, or (ii) they have at least three years of experience in a job corresponding to that which they will hold in Vietnam.

Foreign experts and technicians whose work permits have been renewed once that would like to continue to work in the same job positions and titles as provided in these work permits can use the issued work permits as evidence of their eligibility as "experts" or " technicians" in the application for new work permits.

An intracompany transfer from a foreign enterprise to that enterprise's direct commercial presence in Vietnam is possible after the foreign national has worked at the foreign enterprise for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the transfer. The commercial presence exclusively includes the foreign invested economic entity, the representative office, the branch of the foreign trader in Vietnam and the operational office of the foreign investor in a business cooperation contract. Unless the foreign national falls under the categories of a work permit exemption, the foreign enterprise's commercial presence in Vietnam must submit an application dossier (which, aside from the generally required documents, must include documents proving that the foreign national has worked at the foreign enterprise for at least 12 consecutive months (immediately) prior to the transfer) to obtain a work permit for the foreign national.

In this scenario, the foreign national can still maintain the employment relationship with the parent company and does not sign any local employment contract. The advantage of this is that, while it is very difficult for an employer to terminate employees under Vietnamese law, the parent company can transfer the foreign national back to their home country and easily terminate them under the foreign law (assuming that termination at will is allowable in foreign countries). The foreign national can also maintain their current benefits (such as participation in pension and social security schemes) in their home country.

However, some of the common difficulties in sending a foreign national to Vietnam under an intracompany transfer is that the foreign national is working for an affiliate rather than the parent company of the commercial presence in Vietnam, or the foreign national has not worked for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the date that the application for a work permit was submitted.

The new regulation allows work permits to be granted to foreign nationals who are assigned by a foreign entity to Vietnam to work ("Assignees"). Generally, this category does not impose any strict conditions like intracompany transferees, so, in principle, foreign employees from affiliates can receive work permits under this category. The application for this category varies and depends on DOHA.

At the border gates, the foreign nationals must present visas to the immigration officers, except when the foreign nationals are exempt from visas. The immigration officer will grant a certification of temporary residence, which indicates the allowed time of stay in Vietnam, unless the foreign nationals present temporary or permanent residence cards. Generally, in most cases, the granted term of temporary residence is the same as the visa term.

Any foreign national that temporarily resides in Vietnam must, via the manager of the lodging establishment, declare their temporary residence status at the local police authority.

The manager of the lodging establishment shall complete the declaration form and submit it to the local police authority within 12 hours (or within 24 hours if the administrative division is in a remote area) of the foreign national's arrival at the lodging establishment. Hotels must file temporary residence information through an online account on the website of the provincial-level immigration department ("Information Portal") where the foreign national resides. Other lodging establishments may choose to declare the temporary residence via the Information Portal or via the declaration form, as prescribed by the MPS, and submit the same information to the communal-level police. If the foreign national changes their temporary residence address or resides in a place different from that written on their temporary residence card, they must submit a new declaration of temporary residence.

Foreign nationals working in Vietnam in the following forms are subject to the regulation on foreign labor management:

• Working pursuant to a labor contract
• Working in the context of an intracompany transfer
• Performing economic or social contracts or agreements 
• Providing a service pursuant to a contract
• Offering services
• Working as a volunteer
• Establishing a commercial presence in Vietnam
• Being transferred from foreign entities to Vietnam, excluding intra-corporate transferees
• Implementing a tender or project in Vietnam
• Being permitted to work as relatives of members of foreign diplomatic missions in Vietnam according to international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory
• Being permitted to work as owners or capital contributors of a limited liability company, or chairpersons/members of the Board of Management of a joint-stock company, with a capital contribution of less than VND 3 billion
• Performing labor contracts with foreign diplomatic missions or foreign organizations operating in Vietnam

If the foreign nationals are subject to work permits, the sponsor must do the following:

• Announce the recruitment of Vietnamese workers to the job positions in which foreign workers are expected to work at least 05 days before the expected date for the submission of the report explaining the demand for the use of foreign labor and request for issuance of work permit (only applied in specific cases concerning working forms of: (i) performing a labor contract; (ii) implementation of bid packages and projects in Vietnam; and (iii) performing labor contracts with foreign diplomatic missions or foreign organizations operating in Vietnam)
• Submit an application for a work permit within 60 days to 10 days prior to the date the foreign national intends to start working

By law, the work permit issuance process will only take 10 working days from the date of submission of a properly completed application dossier.

However, document preparations may take several months. Therefore, companies should prepare the work permit application and apply for the work permit well in advance of the employee's intended date of arrival in Vietnam.

The conditions for work permits vary according to the categories of foreign nationals, as mentioned above. However, the general conditions required of foreign nationals are as follows:

• They must be at least 18 years old with full civil act capacity in accordance with the law.
• They must be in suitable health certified by a health certificate.
• They must have a clean criminal record according to both Vietnamese law and foreign law.
• They must be business managers, executives, experts or technicians meeting certain conditions regarding relevant experience or qualifications, as detailed in the "Skilled workers" section above.

The application for a work permit must include substantial supporting documents, such as a criminal record, a health certificate, diplomas, certificates regarding the foreign national's skills and a certificate of work experience. Documents that are written or issued in a foreign language must be apostilled, consularized and translated into Vietnamese, and the translation must be notarized for submission.

Authority to issue and renew work permits and work permit exemptions is assigned to the relevant PPC. The PPC has the right to decide the delegation of powers to competent authorities to perform issuance, reissuance, renewal, and revocation of work permits and confirmations of exemption from work permit requirement as prescribed by law.

If a foreign employee works in multiple locations, the PPC or its authorized labor authority where the employer’s head office is located will act as the designated authority. 

For locally hired employees, the employer and the foreign employee may only enter into an employment contract after a work permit has been issued.

The term of the work permit will be set as the term of work in Vietnam but shall be no longer than two years. Work permits can only be extended once with the maximum same term, subject to the term of work in Vietnam. Then, a new work permit must be obtained.  

Foreign nationals who work in Vietnam without first obtaining a work permit may face expulsion from Vietnam. Furthermore, employers that recruit foreign nationals who are working without proper work permits or who are barred from working in Vietnam may be subject to a monetary fine. With respect to exemptions and required documents, an employer that would like to apply for a work permit for its foreign employee should seek professional assistance with regard to their particular circumstances, as regulations frequently change and authorities may also change their interpretation of existing regulations.

On 07 August 2025, the Government officially issued a decree detailing on foreign employees working in Vietnam including online work permit and work permit exemption certificate application applications procedures. Under this decree, several notable provisions are as follows:

• The online work permit application procedures must be carried out on the National Public Service Portal

Employers will be able to submit online applications for judicial record certificates together with work permit applications. The labor authorities will then coordinate with the police to process and return both documents electronically. 

The online procedures have provided employers with a more cost-effective and time-saving option in comparison with existing paper-based procedures.

Certain professions are exempt from obtaining a work permit, including the following:

• Capital-contributing members or owners with a capital contribution value of at least VND 3 billion, of limited liability companies 
• Members or the chairperson of the management board with a capital contribution value of at least VND 3 billion of joint-stock companies 
• Chiefs of representative/project offices of international organizations or nongovernmental organizations in Vietnam
• Foreign nationals staying in Vietnam for under three months to offer services for sale
• Foreign lawyers that have a professional practice license in Vietnam in accordance with the Law on Lawyers
• Foreign nationals staying in Vietnam for less than three months to deal with complicated technical or technological problems that (i) adversely impact or are at risk of having an adverse impact on production and business activities and (ii) cannot be handled by Vietnamese and foreign specialists who currently reside in Vietnam
• Foreign nationals married to Vietnamese citizens and residing in Vietnam
• Other cases in accordance with international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory
• Foreign nationals entering Vietnam to work as a manager, executive expert or technician for a period for less than 90 days per calendar year, with no limit on the number of entries.
• Foreign nationals entering Vietnam to work as a manager, executive, expert or technician that are intra-corporate transferees of a foreign enterprises established a commercial presence within 11 service industries in the commitment on services between Vietnam and the World Trade Organization (WTO); and has been continuously employed by the foreign enterprise for at least 12 months. 
• Foreign nationals who provide professional and technical advisory services or perform other tasks serving the research, construction, appraisal, assessment, management and execution of programs and projects funded by ODA according to the international treaties on ODA between the competent authorities of Vietnam and other countries
• Foreign nationals who are issued with the licenses for practicing communications or journalism in Vietnam by the MOFA
• Foreign nationals who are appointed by foreign agencies or organizations to teach or act as a manager or executive at an educational institution, which is established in Vietnam under a proposal of a foreign diplomatic mission or intergovernmental organization, or establishments or organizations formed in accordance with international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory
• Foreign students, and interns studying at educational institutions in Vietnam or abroad who have internship agreements or job offers from employers in Vietnam; interns and trainees on Vietnamese vessels. 
• Foreign volunteers working in Vietnam voluntarily without a salary to implement international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory and that must be certified by diplomatic missions or international organizations in Vietnam.
• Foreign nationals entering Vietnam to implement international agreements to which central or provincial state agencies and organizations are signatories
• Foreign nationals in charge of establishing a commercial presence in Vietnam
• Foreign nationals who are relatives of members of foreign diplomatic missions in Vietnam, who are exempt from work permit requirements according to international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory
• Foreign nationals holding public-affair passports entering Vietnam to work for state agencies, political organizations and sociopolitical organizations
• Foreign nationals entering Vietnam, as certified by the Ministry of Education and Training, to (i) teach, research, and transfer international education programs, or (ii) act as a manager, executive, principal or deputy principal of an educational institution, which is established in Vietnam under a proposal of a foreign diplomatic mission or intergovernmental organization
• Foreign nationals confirmed by relevant ministries or provincial People’s Committees to work in priority sectors such as finance, science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation.

Each situation would need to be evaluated to determine if the intended activities in Vietnam could be exempt from the work permit requirement.

In most of the above cases, for those foreign nationals who are exempt from work permit requirements, their employer must request that the DOHA or MOHA in the locality of the foreign national's workplace issue the work permit exemption certificate (with a maximum term of two years subject to the foreign national's working term in Vietnam) and provide supporting documentation. In some cases, the requirement to obtain an approved foreign labor usage plan still applies.

However, in the following cases, it is not necessary to obtain a work permit exemption certificate:

• Chiefs of representative/project offices of international organizations or nongovernmental organizations in Vietnam
• Foreign nationals staying in Vietnam for less than three months to deal with complicated technical or technological problems that (i) adversely impact or are at risk of having an adverse impact on production and business activities and (ii) cannot be handled by Vietnamese and foreign specialists who currently reside in Vietnam
• Foreign lawyers who have been granted practicing licenses in Vietnam in accordance with the Law on Lawyers
• Foreign nationals married to Vietnamese citizens and residing in Vietnam
• Foreign nationals who are issued with the licenses for practicing communications or journalism in Vietnam by the MOFA
• Foreign nationals entering Vietnam to work as managers, executives, directors, experts or technicians for a period of less than 90 days per calendar year, with no limit on the number of entries
• Foreign nationals in charge of establishing a commercial presence in Vietnam
• Foreign nationals entering Vietnam for a period of less than three months to offer services
• Foreign nationals who are owners or capital contribution members of limited liability companies with a capital contribution value of at least VND 3 billion
• Foreign nationals who are chairpersons or members of the board of directors of joint-stock companies with a capital contribution value of at least VND 3 billion
• Foreign nationals who are relatives of members of foreign diplomatic missions in Vietnam, who are allowed to work in Vietnam according to international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory

In the above cases, although a work permit exemption certificate is not required, employers must report to the MOHA or the DOHA about the foreign employees at least three working days before the tentative date of work commencement.

APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) program

By a decision of the prime minister in 2006, Vietnam began participating in the ABTC program for APEC countries. The ABTC is a travel card granted to businesspeople of APEC countries that participate in the program to facilitate their business travel among the APEC countries. Under this program, Vietnam committed to granting a visa waiver for ABTC holders. The ABTC is valid for five years from the date that the card is issued and cannot be extended. When the issued card expires, the card holders may apply for a new card, if necessary.

Visa waiver

Vietnam has a visa waiver program for foreign nationals of many countries, both through unilateral and bilateral commitments. Vietnam has entered into various bilateral visa waiver treaties and agreements with other countries. However, these commitments vary with regard to the length of stay permitted, the type of visa and various other conditions, and so it is advisable to check with your nearest Vietnamese consular office or visit the consular bureau of the MOFA's website for more detailed and current information.