Process Of Requesting Confirmation Of The Work Permit Exemption

1. A competent authority confirming the Work Permit exemption 

Currently, a document confirming the work permit exemption is only issued by 02 competent authorities, including: 

• Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (‘MOLISA’) 
• Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (“DOLISA’) 

Accordingly, if foreign employees plan to work in many provinces and centrally run cities, they will request a document confirming the work permit exemption issued by the MOLISA. If the foreign employee plans to work at one or more locations in the same province or city, a document confirming the work permit exemption must be issued at the DOLISA where the employee plans to work. 

2. Cases requested for confirming the work permit exemption 

Foreign employees are requested to confirm the work permit exemption when they fall into one of the following cases:

• Gets married with a Vietnamese citizen and wishes to reside in Vietnam. 
• An intra-company transferee within 11 sectors in the schedule of commitments in services between Vietnam and WTO, including business services, communication services, construction services, distribution services, educational services, environmental services, financial services, health services, tourism services, recreational and cultural services, and transport services.  
• Enters Vietnam to provide professional and engineering consulting services or perform other tasks intended for research, formulation, appraisal, supervision, evaluation, management, and execution of programs and projects using official development assistance (ODA) by regulations or agreement in international treaties on ODA signed between the competent authorities of Vietnam and foreign countries.
• Foreigners are granted a communication and journalism practicing certificate in Vietnam by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as per the law.
• Foreigners sent by a foreign competent authority or organization to Vietnam to teach or act as a manager or executive at an educational institution established in Vietnam under a proposal of a foreign diplomatic mission or intergovernmental organization; or of a facility which is established under international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.
• Volunteers are an unpaid foreign employee who voluntarily works in Vietnam to implement an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory with certification of a foreign diplomatic mission or international organization in Vietnam. 
• Enters Vietnam to implement an international agreement to which a central or provincial authority is a signatory as per the law.
• Student studying at a foreign school or training institution that has a probation agreement with an agency, organization, or enterprise in Vietnam; or a probationer or apprentice on a Vietnam sea-going ship.
• Foreign employees obtain an official passport to work for a regulatory agency, political organization, or socio-political organization.
• Foreign employees take charge of establishing a commercial presence.
• Confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Training as a foreign employee entering Vietnam for the following purposes: Teaching, research; or Acting as a manager, executive, principal, or deputy principal of an educational institution, which is established in Vietnam under a proposal of a foreign diplomatic mission or intergovernmental organization. 

3. Procedure to request confirmation the work permit exemption  

Step 1. Prepare dossiers to request confirmation the work permit exemption 

At least 10 days in advance from the date the foreign employee is expected to work, the employer must prepare a set of documents to request confirmation of the work permit exemption, including:

• An application form for certification of exemption from work permit No. 09/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree 152; 
• A fitness to work certificate;
• Document approving the need to use foreign employees, except in cases where the need to use foreign employees is not required;
• A valid certified true copy of passport or copy of passport certified by the employer that is still valid according to the provisions of law; and;
• Documents justifying that the foreign employee is exempt from a work permit.   

Note: Documents (2), (3), and (5) mentioned above must be submitted as 01 original or certified true copy. If a document is written in a foreign language, it must be consularly legalized, translated into Vietnamese, and certified, unless it is exempt from consular legalization under an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the concerned foreign country are signatories or under the principle of reciprocity or as per the law. 

Step 2. Apply the MOLISA or DOLISA where the foreign employee plans to work

Applications can be submitted in person or online through the National Public Service Portal. Foreign employees in the Ho Chi Minh City area can submit applications online through the Ho Chi Minh City Administrative Procedures Information System. 

Step 3. Issue a document confirming the work permit exemption 

Within 5 working days after receiving a duly completed application, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall issue a certification of exemption from work permit, using Form No. 10/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree 152. If the application is rejected, a written explanation is required.

The confirmation document for foreign employees not subject to the issuance of a Work Permit has a validity period of 02 years. After the expiration of this confirmation, the employer must initiate the procedure to request a reissuance of the confirmation (with a maximum duration of 02 years). Failure to request a re-issuance may result in a fine for foreign employees ranging from 15 million to 25 million VND and deportation from Vietnam. Additionally, depending on the number of foreign employees in violation, the employer may also incur corresponding penalties.  

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