Vietnam’s visa and work permit procedures, can be confusing for first time visitors. Vietnam Briefing explains the steps and what foreigners should pay attention to when planning a long-term visit.
The number of foreign skilled workers coming to Vietnam has steadily increased in recent years, surging to over 80,000 at the end of 2018. Most foreign workers that come to Vietnam are employees of foreign contractors, working for, or establishing, foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, coming from over 100 countries.
A Vietnamese entity is permitted to recruit foreign workers in order to work as managers, executive directors and experts where local hires are not yet able to meet production and business requirements. Unlike in certain other Asian countries, Vietnamese representative offices are also able to hire staff directly.
To demonstrate the necessity of a foreign employee, 30 days prior to recruiting the foreign employee, the entity must publicly announce recruitment for this position to Vietnamese job seekers in a Vietnamese newspaper or online portal.
Evidence of this announcement must be presented in the application for a work permit for a foreign employee. The other option is to recruit foreigners through a government-owned employment service center.
When hiring foreign staff in Vietnam, there are a number of procedures and legal frameworks that must be understood.
Follow the links below learn more about:
- Types of visas
- Work permit procedures and requirements
- Temporary residence cards
- Permanent residence cards
This is an excerpt from an article appearing in Vietnam Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. For the latest economic, regulatory and business news from Vietnam, visit vietnam-briefing.com.
