An Law Viet Nam Company Limited

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An Law Viet Nam Company Limited
Labor Consulting

Procedures for applying the work permit

Every year, thousands of foreign workers come to Vietnam for employment. Almost all of them are required to have a work permit to be able to work legally in Vietnam. It could be said that the work permit (besides VISA and Temporary Residence Card) is the most important document for foreign workers who are employees in Vietnam.

What is the work permit?

The work permit is a document issued by a competent Vietnamese state agency that allows foreigners to work in Vietnam.

Who needs the work permit?

  1. Foreign workers working in Vietnam, except for not issuing work permit cases. Whether the not issuing work permit case can work in Vietnam?
  2. Foreign workers who are not subject to a work permit can still work in Vietnam but need to go through procedures to obtain a document confirming that they are not issuing work permit cases.
  3. Some not issuing Work Permit cases: The owners or capital contributing member of a Limited Liability Company; the Chairman of the Board of Directors or a member of the Board of Directors of a joint stock company; Head of representative office, project or main responsibility for operations of international organizations or foreign non-governmental organizations; people who enter Vietnam for a period of less than 03 months to offer services, handle problems, technical situations, and complex technology; Foreigners marry Vietnamese and live in Vietnamese…

Why is the work permit necessary?

  1. To protect the legal rights and interests of foreign workers during the time they work in Vietnam.
  2. If the foreigner work without a Labor License (or the confirmation that a Labor License is not required), they and their company (where they are working for) will be sanctioned (up to 25 million for individual employees and 75 million for companies), and may force to deport from Vietnam.

Documents related to procedures for granting the work permit:

  1. Labor Code (Section 3 Chapter XI)
  2. Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP regulating foreign workers working in Vietnam
  3. Decree No. 70/2023/ND-CP amending Decree 152/2020

Conditions for issuance of work permit

  1. Be 18 years old or older and have full civil capacity;
  2. Have professional proficiency, techniques skills, and work experience; Have the good health according to regulations of the Minister of Health;
  3. Not a person who is serving a sentence or not having a criminal record or facing criminal prosecution or is being prosecuted for criminal liability according to Vietnam law and other countries ‘s law..
  4. Document approving the need to use foreign workers, except in cases where the need to use foreign workers is not required.

The issuance process of Labor License

  1. Written request using Form No. 11/PLI
  2. Health certificate or health examination certificate, which is issued by a competent medical agency or competent medical organization, is still valid within 12 months, from the date of signing the health conclusion
  3. Criminal record card or documents verify that the foreign worker is not serving a sentence or has not had criminal record erased or being prosecuted for criminal liability.
  4. Documents proving the individual’s managerial, executive, expert, or technical worker status or other regulated occupations and jobs
  5. 02 color personal photos (size 4cm x 6cm, white background, straight face, bare head, no colored glasses), taken within 06 months before the date of application.
  6. Document approving the need to use foreign workers, except in cases where the need to use foreign workers is not required.
  7. Certified copy of valid passport according to law.
  8. Relevant documents related to foreign workers.

Furthermore, some special cases may require additional documents in the application.
The documents specified in points 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 above must be originals or certified copies. If issued abroad, they must be legalized by consular, except for cases exempted from consular legalization. These documents also need to be translated into Vietnamese and authenticated according to Vietnamese legal regulations.

Procedures for granting a work permit:

  1. Determine the need to use foreign workers: submit an explanation (form No. 01/PLI) to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or the local Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs before employing foreign workers for at least 15 working days. If the permission is approved, the enterprise will be issued a document authorizing the need to use foreign workers. There are some exempted cases, for example: the head of a representative office of a foreign company, or the person responsible for establishing a commercial presence of a foreign enterprise in Vietnam…
  2. After having the approval of the need to employ foreign workers, the enterprise needs to submit an application for a work permit to the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.
  3. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will issue a work permit to the foreign worker according to the form.

After having work permit, the enterprise and foreign employee must sign a written labor contract according to regulations before the expected working date.

Procedures to define foreign workers are not subject to a work permit

  1. Application documents include:
    1. Written request for confirmation that foreign workers are not subject to a work permit according to Form No. 09/PLI
    2. Health certificate or health examination certificate as prescribed;
    3. Document approving the need to use foreign workers (except in cases where the need to use foreign workers is not required);
    4. Certified copy of valid passport as prescribed by law;
    5. Documents prove that the foreign worker is not subject to a work permit.
  2. The documents specified in points b, c, and e above must be originals or certified copies according to regulations.
  3. These documents will be submitted to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or the local Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.
  4. Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents, the receiving agency will send a confirmation document back to the enterprise (in denial case, there will be a written response with clear reasons).