Vietnam work permit guide: how to get a work permit in Vietnam

Updated 2026-09-25

A Vietnam work permit is the core document that lets most foreign nationals work legally in Vietnam. If you are hiring, transferring or sponsoring a foreign employee, the work permit in Vietnam process now runs under Decree 219/2025 and is handled through the provincial authority, usually Sở Nội vụ after the 2025 administrative merger. Read on for who qualifies, which documents to prepare, where the file is lodged, the 10-working-day timeline once a file is complete, and how the permit connects to the next temporary residence card step.

Who needs a Vietnam work permit?

Most foreign nationals coming to work in Vietnam need a work permit before they can work legally for the sponsoring enterprise. The permit also becomes the foundation for an employment-based temporary residence card, so it is not just an HR formality.

Some foreign workers are exempt under Article 7 of Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP — for example owners or capital-contributing members with a contribution of VND 3 billion or more (Art. 7(2)–(3)); managers, executive directors, experts or technical workers whose total working time in Vietnam is under 90 days in a calendar year (Art. 7(13)(a)); or the person setting up a commercial presence (Art. 7(10)). There is no general 'under 30 days, no more than 3 times a year' exemption in the decree. Exempt does not mean no filing: for these cases the employer notifies the authority at least 3 working days before work starts (Art. 9(4)); other exempt cases, such as intra-corporate transferees, need a written exemption certificate applied for 60 to 10 days before the start date (Art. 9(1)–(3)).

Eligibility under Decree 219/2025

A foreign worker generally needs to fit one of four categories: manager, executive director, expert, or technical worker. Decree 219/2025 lowered some experience thresholds compared with the previous rules, but the file still has to prove that the person's education, experience and role match the sponsored position.

The employer also needs a genuine need to use foreign labor for the role. Decree 219/2025 merged the former separate demand-reporting step into the work-permit application itself, so the application now has to explain both the worker's qualifications and the employer's need in one file.

• Expert: hold a university degree or higher and at least 2 years of relevant experience (only 1 year for certain priority fields such as finance, science and technology, and innovation)
• Technical worker: trained for at least 1 year with 2 years of relevant experience, or at least 3 years of experience
• A clean criminal record; a health certificate confirming fitness to work
• A sponsoring enterprise in Vietnam that has a genuine need to employ a foreign worker for that position

Form 03 under Decree 219/2025 — one integrated filing

Under Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP (effective 7 August 2025), the old two-step process — a separate foreign-labour demand report, then a work-permit application — is replaced by a single integrated document: Form 03 in the decree's appendix.

Form 03 combines the employer's explanation of foreign-labour need with the request to issue, re-issue or renew the work permit. The competent authority reviews both the need and the permit dossier in one procedure — within 10 working days once the file is complete.

What to get right on Form 03: employer details, business line, job title, work form, location and term must match the appointment letter, contract, degree and experience evidence. Mismatches are a common reason for supplementary requests or refusal of the labour need.

Form 03 is filed with the provincial authority — usually Sở Nội vụ after the 2025 merger — via the provincial public-service centre or the National Public Service Portal.

Vietnam work permit documents checklist

The exact document set depends on the job category, province and whether documents were issued in Vietnam or overseas. The practical checklist below is the starting point for most Vietnam work permit files.

Documents issued abroad have to be authenticated and translated into Vietnamese before filing. Since 11 September 2026 the authentication step is usually a single apostille from the issuing country — Vietnam joined the Hague Apostille Convention and Decree 293/2026/NĐ-CP of 23 July 2026 gives an apostilled document the same standing here as a consular-legalised one, with no extra step. Consular legalisation is still required for documents from Germany, Austria and Czechia (all three objected to Vietnam's accession), from Thailand until 28 February 2027, and from any country outside the Convention. Either way a notarised Vietnamese translation is still needed. This is the part that most often causes delay, so collect overseas documents before the intended start date rather than waiting until the employee arrives.

• Passport copy and current visa or entry status, where relevant
• Application forms and employer documents for the sponsoring Vietnam entity
• Degree, professional certificate or training evidence for the claimed category
• Experience letters or appointment documents matching the role
• Criminal record certificate issued within 6 months
• Health certificate issued within 12 months
• Portrait photos in the required size and format
• Apostille or consular legalisation, plus notarised Vietnamese translation, for foreign-issued documents

Where to file: Sở Nội vụ, not the old DOLISA route

Under Decree 219/2025, the work permit is issued by the provincial People's Committee (Ủy ban nhân dân cấp tỉnh), which delegates intake and processing to its specialized agency. In most provinces after the mid-2025 merger, that agency is the Department of Home Affairs, Sở Nội vụ.

This matters because older articles still refer to DOLISA or the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. For a current work permit in Vietnam, the file is submitted through the provincial Public Administration Service Centre or the National Public Service Portal, with Sở Nội vụ handling the file in most provinces.

Vietnam work permit processing time

When the file is complete and valid, the competent authority issues the permit within 10 working days under Decree 219/2025. A work permit is valid for a maximum of 2 years and may be renewed once.

That 10-working-day timeline does not include the preparation time for overseas documents. Criminal records, degrees, experience letters and their apostille or legalisation can take several weeks depending on the country, so the real project timeline is usually longer than the authority's processing window.

Vietnam work permit cost overview

There is no single national price for a Vietnam work permit because the total is built from several parts: provincial state fee, criminal record, health check, apostille or legalisation, translation and service fee if you use an agent.

The official issuance fee varies by province, and the most variable cost is often authenticating overseas documents — an apostille for most countries, consular legalisation for the rest. For a detailed breakdown of each component, read the Vietnam work permit cost guide.

• State issuance fee: set by each province
• Criminal record and health-check costs
• Apostille or legalisation, plus Vietnamese translation, for foreign documents
• Agent service fee, if you choose assisted preparation and filing

After the permit: TRC next step

Once the work permit is issued, many foreign employees use it to apply for a temporary residence card instead of repeatedly extending short visas. The TRC can make longer employment in Vietnam easier for the employee and, in some cases, family members.

The TRC has its own document set and validity rules. After the work permit is approved, compare the TRC requirements and the TRC vs visa tradeoffs before deciding the next immigration step.

When an agent is useful

A straightforward file can be handled internally if the employer has staff who know the provincial portal, the apostille and legalisation rules, and Vietnamese translation requirements. The risk is that one missing authentication step or weak experience letter can delay the file beyond the planned start date.

InTimeVisa is useful when you want eligibility checked before you spend money on overseas documents, a clear checklist for the worker and employer, and one team to prepare, lodge and track the work permit in Vietnam until issuance.