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Obtaining a work permit or a work permit exemption certification in Vietnam is often a concern for foreigners. Decree 152 on requirements to hire foreign employees caused some issues, especially with regard to the requirement to have a degree matching the job. This is no longer required. There is a new requirement to post the vacancy before starting the recruitment.

Obtaining a work permit or a work permit exemption certification in Vietnam is always a concern for foreigners. Following several meetings between government authorities and business associations, the government issued Decree No. 70/2023/ND-CP (Decree 70) on Sept. 18 to amend Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP (Decree 152).

Decree 70 took effect on Sept. 18 as well, except for the requirement to publish the vacancy on a specific website. This article will highlight significant changes to the regulations governing work permits and work permit exemption certification. These changes encompass various aspects, each of which is detailed below.

Qualifications and Experience of Experts and Technical Workers

The requirement for foreign employees’ education or training background to be relevant to their job position has been eliminated for expert positions. Now, there is no need for the degree to match the experience and job position. Technical workers no longer need their training field to be related to their experience and job position in Vietnam. They need only be trained for at least one year and have at least experience appropriate to the position. Also, the term “university degree” has been replaced with “university graduated,” making certificates more acceptable.

Work Permit Exemption

Among other exemptions, Decree 70 states that foreigners in roles as manager, executive, principal and deputy principal for educational institutions established by foreign diplomatic representative agencies or intergovernmental organizations can obtain work permit exemption certification as foreign teachers.

On a separate note, Decree 70 also amends the definition of “executive” to be the head of the branch, representative office or business location of an enterprise; or the head who directly administers at least one field of the agency, organization or enterprise and is under the direct direction and administration of the head of the agency, organization or enterprise. This enables the applicant to select an appropriate position for the work permit.

Certification of Documents

Vietnamese enterprises or organizations can certify copies of a foreigner’s passports, eliminating the need for notarized or certified true copies, which will expedite the application process. Decree 70 also recognizes the fact that Vietnamese translations of legalized documents issued by foreign organizations can be either notarized or certified instead of certified only as prescribed in Decree 152.

Job Posting

As of Jan. 1, enterprises or organizations using foreigners must submit job postings 15 days before applying for foreign labor to the labor management authorities through the electronic information portal of the Department of Employment of the Ministry of Labor or the Portal of the Employment Service Center to be designated by the chairman of the provincial or centrally municipal People’s Committee. This should be done at least 15 days before the explanation report will be sent to the Ministry of Labor or the relevant Department of Labor. If a foreigner will work in different locations within the same province, all work locations must be included in the application. Additionally, if they work in different provinces, the application should be submitted to the Ministry of Labor. Within three working days from the start date, the employer must also notify the Ministry of Labor and Department of Labor where the foreigner is working about their presence in a prescribed form under Decree 70.

Determination of Foreign Employee Demand

Decree 70 requires enterprises and organizations, except contractors, to determine the demand for a foreigner for every job position for which a Vietnamese is underqualified and send an explanation report to the Ministry of Labor or Department of Labor where the foreigner is expected to work. This should be done at least 15 days before the date on which a foreigner is expected to be employed. It used to be 30 days under Decree 152.

It is worth noting that in the event of a company name change with the same enterprise number, work permit reissuance is accepted without the need for a new foreign employee demand approval.

Authorities

Economic and industrial zone authorities no longer issue work permits or work permit exemption certifications. These responsibilities are now with the Ministry of Labor and Department of Labor. The management of foreign employees is unified from central to local levels, with the Ministry of Public Security providing monthly reports to the Ministry of Labor.

Anh Pham is an attorney with ACSV Legal in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. © ACSV Legal 2024. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission of Lexology.