Currently, the companies employ foreign workers is gradually becoming popular due to particular works; good investment capital approach policy as well as improved investment environment. So what are the conditions for foreign workers to be able to work in Vietnam, to ensure the stability of vietnam's labor market, to protect foreign and Vietnamese employee’s benefit

Foreign workers need to meet conditions for woking in Vietnam

Article 151 of the Labor Code 2019 provides for the conditions for foreign workers to work in Vietnam:

Foreign workers working in Vietnam, have foreign nationality and must meet the following conditions

1. Being full 18 years or older, and having full civil act capacity;

2. Possessing professional and technical qualifications, skills and working experience; being physically fit under regulations of the Minister of Health;

3. Not being in the period of serving his/her penalty or having his/her criminal records not yet expunged or being subject to penal liability examination according to foreign law or Vietnam’s law;

4. Possessing a work permit granted by a competent Vietnamese state agency, except the cases specified in Article 154 of this Code.

Exceptions: Cases where foreign workers working in Vietnam do not need a work permit, as stipulated in Article 154 of the Labor Code 2019

1.  Owners or capital contributors of limited liability companies receiving capital contributions as prescribed by the Government.

2. Chairman or members of the Boards of Directors of joint-stock companies receiving capital contributions as prescribed by the Government.

3. Head of representative offices, directors of projects, or persons taking main charge of the operation of international organizations or foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.

4. Foreigners who enter and stay in Vietnam for under 3 months to offer services.

5. Persons who enter Vietnam for a duration of under 3 months to handle complicated technical or technological incidents or circumstances which adversely impact or are likely to exert adverse impacts on production and business activities and cannot be handled by Vietnamese and foreign experts currently in Vietnam. 

6. Foreign lawyers who have been granted a permit to practice law in Vietnam in accordance with the Law on Lawyers.

7. Cases prescribed in treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

8. Foreigners who marry Vietnamese persons and are currently living in Vietnam’s territory.

9. Other cases as prescribed by the Government.

What conditions do enterprises recruiting foreign workers need?

In order to be able to hire foreign workers, the enterprises in Vietnam need to ensure the following conditions:

1. Only foreign workers can be recruited to serve as managers, executives, experts and technical workers that Vietnamese workers have not met according to production and business needs.
2. Before recruiting foreign workers

•  The enterprise must explain the employer's needs and obtain written approval from the competent authority

Time limit for explanation: At least 30 days from the expected date of recruiting foreign workers

Receiving agency: Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or provincial-level People's Committee where foreign workers are expected to work.

The employee is the Head of the representative office of the international organization in Vietnam; enter vietnam with less than 03 months to offer services; is the owner or contributing member of a limited liability company with capital of VND 3 billion;

• The contractor must specifically declare the job positions, professional qualifications, techniques, work experience, working time that need to employ foreign workers to implement the bidding package and obtain the written approval of the competent authority.

Place to submit the declaration: The Chairman of the Provincial-level People's Committee where the contractor executes the bidding package.

Pursuant to: Article 152 of the Labor Code 2019 and Article 4, Article 5 of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP.