Foreign employees need to understand the basic legal issues to be able to work and live in Vietnam. Currently, Vietnam is an ideal destination for many foreign investors. The increase in investment projects also entails a series of managerial positions, experts and foreign technical employees entering Vietnam to work and live. According to data from the Foreign Investment Department, the Ministry of Planning and Investment announced, as of 20 June 2022, the total newly registered capital, adjusted and contributed capital to buy shares, contributed capital of foreign investors reached over 14.03 billion USD, equaling 91.1% over the same period in 2021.
In this article, Apolat Legal mentions 03 legal notes for foreign employees when working and living in Vietnam.
1. Foreign employees working in Vietnam need to meet the following conditions
- Foreign employees working in Vietnam are foreign nationals and must meet these conditions:
- Being 18 years or older and having full civil act capacity;
- Having professional qualifications, techniques, skills, and working experience; being healthy as prescribed by the Minister of Health;
- Not being a person who is currently serving a sentence or has not yet had their criminal record cleared or is being examined for penal liability by foreign or Vietnamese laws;
- Having a work permit issued by a competent Vietnamese state agency, except for cases not subject to the issuance of a work permit.
- The term of the labor contract for foreign employees working in Vietnam must not exceed the term of the Work permit. When employing foreign employees to work in Vietnam, the two parties may agree to enter into multiple definite-term labor contracts.
- Foreign employees working in Vietnam must comply with Vietnamese labor law and be protected by Vietnamese law unless otherwise provided by an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.
2. Foreign employees entering Vietnam to work mainly focus on the group of employees holding
- Manager: the person who manages the enterprise according to the provisions of Clause 24, Article 4 of the Law on Enterprises or the head or deputy of the head of an agency or organization, for example, the owner of a private enterprise, general partners, Chairman of the Members’ Council, member of the Members’ Council, President of the company, Chairman of the Board of Directors, member of the Board of Directors, Director or General Director, and individuals holding other management positions as prescribed in the company’s charter.
- Chief Executive Officer: the person who heads and directly runs the unit under the agency, organization or enterprise.
- Expert: is a foreign employee in one of the following cases:
- Possessing a university degree or higher or equivalent and having at least 3 years of working experience in a specialized field of training suitable to the position in which the foreign employee is expected to work in Vietnam;
- Having at least 5 years of experience and having a practicing certificate suitable to the position that the foreign employee is expected to work in Vietnam.
- Technical employee: is a foreign employee in one of the following cases:
- Having been trained in technical or other disciplines for at least 1 year and working for at least 3 years in the trained specialty;
- Having at least 5 years of working experience in a job suitable to the position that the foreign employee is expected to work in Vietnam.
3. The process for foreign employees to enter Vietnam to work is as follows
Step 1: Apply for approval of the need to employ foreign employees
Step 2: Apply for a Work permit or confirm not being eligible for a work permit
Step 3: Apply for a visa for Foreign Employees to enter Vietnam
Step 4: Apply for a temporary residence card so that the Foreign Employee can live stably in Vietnam.
Temporary residence cards for foreign employees are granted for a period not exceeding 2 years.
Note: Article 7 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP stipulates cases not subject to work permit issuance. However, if these subjects hold other positions that are required by law to apply for a work permit, the Company must apply for a work permit.
For example, Mr. A is a capital contributor in a limited company with a contributed capital value of 3 billion VND or more and is also the director of the company and works in Vietnam, the Company must apply for a work permit for Mr. A with the position of an expert before appointing Mr. A as the Director of the company, and must apply for a temporary residence card for Mr. A so that Mr. A can live and work stably in Vietnam.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Apolat Legal is a Vietnamese law firm with experience and capacity to advise on matters related to Employment. Please click here to learn more about our services and contact our lawyers in Vietnam for advice via email info@apolatlegal.com.
