Work permits and temporary residenceGiấy phép lao động

Who needs a work permit

Most foreign nationals working in Vietnam for a Vietnamese or foreign-invested enterprise must hold a giấy phép lao động (work permit, commonly abbreviated GPL). The permit is issued to the employer, not the individual — a distinction that matters when changing jobs.

The Labour Code and its implementing decrees set out a number of exemptions. These include:

• Owners or members of a limited liability company holding a minimum capital contribution defined by regulation
• Heads of representative offices or project offices of foreign organisations
• Persons entering to offer technical assistance or handle situations that, by their nature, last fewer than 30 days in any 12-month period
• Those covered by an international treaty to which Vietnam is a party
• Intra-company transferees in certain service sectors defined under WTO commitments
• Foreigners married to Vietnamese citizens and residing in Vietnam

Exempted individuals are not free of all paperwork: many must apply for an exemption confirmation certificate from the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DoLISA) before starting work. The exemption categories have been amended several times; the current list should be verified against the most recent decree in force.

Documents the applicant must prepare

The applicant — in practice, usually the HR team or a representative — assembles a dossier well before the intended start date. Core documents typically include:

1. Degree or professional qualification certificate. The document must be legalised (apostilled or consularised) by the issuing country and then notarised and translated into Vietnamese by a recognised translation office in Vietnam. Qualifications from countries that have not joined the Hague Apostille Convention require full consular legalisation through the Vietnamese embassy in that country and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi.
2. Criminal record certificate. Issued by the competent authority of the applicant's country of origin or any country where they have resided for 12 months or more in the preceding three years. Must be no more than six months old at the time of submission, and requires the same legalisation chain as the degree.
3. Health certificate. Issued by a hospital or clinic designated or recognised by Vietnamese authorities. Some employers use international hospitals in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. The certificate must confirm the applicant is fit to work and is typically valid for 12 months.
4. Passport copy with at least six months' validity beyond the requested permit period.
5. Photographs in the format specified by the DoLISA at the time of application.
6. Curriculum vitae confirming the work experience relevant to the role.

Where a manager-level or executive position is claimed, evidence of relevant experience (typically five or more years) may be required in lieu of or in addition to a formal qualification. Requirements for specialist roles, such as teachers or medical professionals, include additional sector-specific licences.

The employer's obligations

Under Vietnamese labour law the employer carries primary responsibility for the work permit process. Before an application can be submitted, the employer must:

• Report the need for a foreign worker to the provincial DoLISA, explaining why the role cannot be filled by a Vietnamese national. This demand explanation must be approved before the permit application opens.
• Submit the full dossier to the DoLISA of the province where the employee will principally work. For employees working across multiple provinces, the DoLISA where the employer's headquarters is registered typically has jurisdiction.
• Ensure the employment contract or appointment letter is in place before the permit is used for residence purposes.
• Notify the DoLISA if the permit holder's position, workplace or contract is terminated early.

Employers who allow foreign nationals to work without a valid permit face administrative fines and may be ordered to terminate the employment. The foreign worker may also be subject to deportation.

Timelines and validity

The DoLISA is required by regulation to process a work permit application within five working days of receiving a complete dossier. In practice, back-and-forth over documents — particularly legalisation queries — can extend the real-world timeline considerably. Most practitioners advise allowing six to ten weeks from the point of beginning document collection to permit in hand, longer if qualifications come from countries with complex legalisation requirements.

Work permits are issued for a maximum of two years and may be renewed once for a further two years before a new application must be submitted. The renewal dossier requirements are similar to the initial application.

A permit does not in itself authorise the holder to remain in Vietnam: the holder must also hold a valid visa or, more commonly after the permit is issued, apply for a temporary residence card (thẻ tạm trú). This card, administered through the immigration police, is typically issued for the same duration as the work permit and eliminates the need for periodic visa runs during that period.

Temporary residence cards

Once a work permit is in hand, the foreign national — and eligible dependants — may apply for a thẻ tạm trú (temporary residence card, TRC) rather than maintaining a visa. The TRC application is submitted to the immigration authority of the province of residence, not the DoLISA.

Required documents for the TRC typically include the work permit, the employment contract, the passport, photographs, and a completed application form. Dependants require additional documents establishing the family relationship, such as a marriage certificate or birth certificate, again legalised and translated.

The TRC is stamped into the passport in the form of a sticker and records the holder's permitted duration of stay, the sponsoring employer and any conditions. Holders must notify immigration of a change of address within a short window defined by regulation, and must check out and back in through the local police when travelling domestically for extended periods — a rule rarely enforced for short trips but technically in force.

On expiry of the TRC, if the work permit is also expiring, the holder must either renew both documents, depart Vietnam or switch to another legal basis of stay.

Common reasons applications fail or are delayed

Rejection or significant delay most often results from one of the following:

• Incomplete legalisation chain. A degree apostilled for one country may be rejected if the receiving Vietnamese authority considers the chain incomplete. Errors here can add weeks while documents are returned for re-processing.
• Criminal record certificate too old. If processing time at the DoLISA extends beyond the certificate's six-month validity, a fresh certificate is required.
• Mismatch between qualifications and role. The role description in the demand explanation must align with the qualification submitted. A computer-science graduate cannot straightforwardly be approved as a marketing director without additional supporting evidence.
• Failure to obtain the demand explanation first. Submitting a permit application before the employer's advance report is approved results in automatic rejection.
• Passport validity. Some DoLISA offices apply their own interpretation of the validity margin required beyond the permit period.
• Previous overstays or immigration violations. These appear in immigration records and can trigger refusal without formal explanation.

Where an application is rejected, the DoLISA issues a written decision stating the reason. The employer may resubmit with corrected documents; there is no formal appeal to a higher administrative body in most cases, though judicial review is theoretically available.

A note on regulatory change and professional advice

Vietnamese immigration and labour regulations governing foreign workers have been amended repeatedly, most recently through a series of decrees issued under the Labour Code of 2019. The specific decree numbers, fee schedules and procedural forms in force at any given time are published by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the Ministry of Public Security. This page reflects the framework in place as of mid-2025 and should be read alongside current official publications.

Following the administrative restructuring of 1 July 2025, which reduced Vietnam's provincial-level units from 63 to 34 and abolished the district tier, the DoLISA offices responsible for permit processing have changed. Applicants should confirm which provincial DoLISA now has jurisdiction for their workplace location, as boundaries and competent offices may differ from pre-July 2025 guidance.

This page is a reference overview and does not constitute legal advice. Companies and individuals dealing with complex cases — such as intra-company transferees, multiple simultaneous work locations, or applicants with a previous immigration history in Vietnam — are advised to consult a qualified Vietnamese lawyer or licensed immigration service provider.