A work permit application in Vietnam is made by the employer, not the employee. The employer files one dossier, consisting of its report explaining the need for foreign labour and requesting the permit on Form 03 plus the employee's documents, no more than 60 days and no fewer than 10 days before the employee is due to start work. It goes to the Public Administrative Service Centre of the province where the employee will work, or online through the National Public Service Portal (Article 18(1), Article 22(1) and Article 6(1) of Decree 219/2025/ND-CP). The authority then has 10 working days from receipt of a complete file to approve the labour demand and issue the permit in a single decision (Article 22(3)). The separate demand-approval step of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP no longer exists; Decree 219/2025/ND-CP replaced it on 7 August 2025 (Article 35).
If you are working out how to get a work permit in Vietnam for a new hire, three things tend to break the schedule: for some working forms, the job has to be advertised to Vietnamese candidates at least 5 days before filing; documents from abroad need an apostille or consular legalisation, a translation and certification; and the last filing day (10 calendar days before the start date) comes sooner than the 10-working-day decision. This guide follows the calendar from before you hire to the residence card. For the concept and the four job categories, see the handbook entry what is a work permit in Vietnam; for staff who may be exempt, see work permit exemption in Vietnam.
Work permit application in Vietnam: a 7-step timeline#
The short answer to how to get a work permit in Vietnam is to count back from the day the employee is due to start (day S). Steps marked "about" are our practical recommendation; the others are legal requirements.
| Step | Task | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 1. About S − 100 days | Decide whether the person needs a permit, a certificate of exemption or only a prior notice; choose the job category and working form | Labour Code Articles 152 and 154; Decree 219 Articles 2, 3 and 7 |
| 2. About S − 90 to S − 60 | Employee collects degrees, experience letters and a criminal record certificate; parent company signs the assignment letter if needed; apostille or legalise, translate and certify | Decree 219 Articles 5, 18 and 19; Decree 293/2026/ND-CP Articles 25 to 27 |
| 3. At least 5 days before filing | Advertise the job to Vietnamese candidates (working forms a, i and m) and keep the notice | Form 03, section II |
| 4. Before filing | Health check, photos, prepare and sign Form 03 | Decree 219 Article 18(1), (2) and (5) |
| 5. S − 60 to S − 10 | File online (procedure code 1.014199) or at the service centre | Article 6(1), Article 22(1) |
| 6. Within 10 working days | Receive the permit on Form 04, or a written refusal within 3 working days | Article 22(3) |
| 7. After the permit | Sign a written labour contract before day S (working forms a and m); obtain an LD2 visa, then a temporary residence card | Article 22(4); Immigration Law |
Illustration. An engineer is due to start on Thursday 10 December 2026. The filing window runs from 11 October (60 days before) to 30 November 2026 (10 days before). A complete file lodged on 30 November is due for decision on Monday 14 December, counting from the next day (Article 147(3) of the Civil Code) and skipping weekends: four days after the planned start, and the engineer cannot start until the permit is issued. Filing between 26 October and 10 November (45 to 30 days before) leaves room for a request for further documents. A public holiday inside the 10 working days pushes the decision back accordingly. The decree does not say how to count the first and last day of the window, so keep a day or two of margin at both ends.
Before you hire: the working form shapes the work permit application#
The first decision in a work permit application in Vietnam is the job category and the working form you enter on Form 03. The category (manager, executive director, expert, technical worker) decides which qualification and experience evidence you need (Article 19). The working form under Article 2(1) decides three things that guides often skip: the evidence of the working form (Article 18(6)), whether you must advertise the job locally (Form 03, section II), and whether you must sign a labour contract after the permit is issued (Article 22(4)).
| Working form (Article 2(1)) | Evidence of the working form | Local recruitment notice | Labour contract after the permit |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Labour contract | No specific document | Yes | Yes |
| (b) Intra-company transfer | Foreign employer's assignment letter and confirmation of at least 12 months' continuous prior employment | No | No |
| (d) Contractual service supplier | Service contract and proof of at least 24 months with a foreign company that has no commercial presence in Vietnam | No | No |
| (h) Transfer from a foreign organisation (other than an intra-company transfer) | Assignment letter matching the intended position | No | No |
| (i) Bidding packages and projects in Vietnam | Assignment letter with the contract or agreement | Yes | No |
| (l) Owners, members and board members contributing under VND 3 billion | Proof of manager status | No | No |
| (m) Labour contract with a foreign diplomatic mission or foreign organisation | No specific document | Yes | Yes |
The table covers the forms companies meet most often. Evidence for the remaining forms (such as (c) and (dd)) is also in Article 18(6), and none of them requires the recruitment notice under section II of Form 03.
Take a plant manager. Hired locally on a Vietnamese labour contract (form a), the employer must advertise the job and sign the contract after the permit is issued. Seconded by the parent company under form (b) or (h), neither applies, but the assignment letter must be legalised or apostilled. Decree 219 does not explain where form (b) ends and form (h) begins; choose on the facts of the employment relationship and check with the receiving office. The permit term follows the basis for the working form (the expected labour contract, the assignment letter and so on) and is capped at 2 years (Article 21(1) of Decree 219; Article 155 of the Labour Code). An assignment letter for 12 months gets you a 12-month permit.
The recruitment notice and labour-demand report in a work permit application in Vietnam#
The Labour Code still requires employers to explain their need for foreign labour and obtain written approval before hiring, and to hire foreigners only for jobs that Vietnamese workers cannot yet fill (Article 152(1) and (2)). Decree 219 builds that explanation into Form 03, and the authority "considers approving the demand and issues the work permit" within the same 10 working days; a refusal of either must be in writing with reasons within 3 working days (Article 22(3)). Guides that still describe a separate demand-approval filing and a 15-day posting on a public employment portal reflect Decree 152/2020/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 70/2023/ND-CP), which ceased to apply on 7 August 2025 (Article 35(2) of Decree 219).
Local recruitment notice. Section II of Form 03 applies only to working forms (a), (i) and (m), on both a first application and an extension. The employer confirms that it advertised the job to Vietnamese workers under Article 11(1) of the Labour Code at least 5 days before filing, stating the position and field, working form, place, term and any required qualification, that it could not recruit locally, and it attaches the notice. The form says "05 days", not working days, and does not name a channel. Some guides speak of 5 working days or rule out social media; the decree contains neither condition, but a dated post on a recruitment channel running at least 5 working days is the safe course.
The rest of Form 03 sets out the occupation under the level-3 code of Vietnam's occupation list (Decision 34/2020/QD-TTg), workplaces, term, education and work history. These entries must match the degree, the experience letter and the assignment letter.
Work permit documents: a checklist for a first application#
The work permit documents for a first work permit application in Vietnam are the seven groups of documents in Article 18 of Decree 219. Decision 346/QD-BNV of 24 March 2026 rearranges the list by job category but adds nothing beyond Articles 18 and 19.
| Document | Requirements and practical notes | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Form 03 | Signed (with full name) and sealed by the employer; attach the recruitment notice for forms a, i and m | Article 18(1) |
| Health certificate | From a qualified clinic; not needed if results are already on the national health system. A foreign certificate is accepted only under a mutual recognition treaty or agreement and within 12 months of issue | Article 18(2) |
| Passport | Valid; ideally longer than the intended permit, because a residence card must expire at least 30 days before the passport | Article 18(3); Immigration Law Article 38(1) |
| Criminal record certificate (or a written confirmation that the person is not serving a sentence, has no unspent conviction and is not being prosecuted) | Foreign or Vietnamese, issued no more than 6 months before filing; not needed if requested jointly online | Article 18(4), Article 6(3) |
| Two colour photos | 4 x 6 cm, white background, facing forward, bare-headed, no glasses | Article 18(5) |
| Evidence of the working form | See the table above | Article 18(6) |
| Evidence of the job category | Manager: charter plus proof of the role, or appointment decision. Executive director: branch, representative office or business location certificate; or charter plus a letter confirming 3 years' experience. Expert: university degree plus 2 years' experience (1 year in priority fields). Technical worker: at least 1 year of training plus 2 years' experience, or 3 years' experience | Article 18(7); Articles 3 and 19 |
Someone who has worked in Vietnam before can use the earlier permit or exemption certificate instead of experience letters (Article 19). Artists, athletes, pilots, seafarers and teachers have sector-specific evidence (Article 19(3)(c) to (e)).
Criminal record certificate: home country or Vietnam?#
For a work permit application in Vietnam, Article 18(4) accepts a certificate issued abroad or in Vietnam, no more than 6 months old on the filing date, not on the decision date. A Vietnamese certificate can be requested jointly: the employer files the criminal record request, under the employee's authorisation, together with the permit application on the National Public Service Portal; the police send an electronic certificate to the permit authority, and the processing time is the sum of the two procedures (Article 6(3)). Some commentaries read Decree 219 as dropping the criminal record requirement; it does not, it only adds this joint route. Our reading is that a Vietnamese certificate covers only time spent in Vietnam, so for someone who has never lived here the home-country certificate remains the practical choice; ask the receiving office before relying on the joint route.
Foreign documents: apostille or consular legalisation?#
Foreign documents must be consularly legalised unless exempt, then translated into Vietnamese and certified; copies must be certified against the original before translation (Article 5 of Decree 219). From 11 September 2026, public documents carrying a valid apostille from a Convention state that applies the Convention with Vietnam are exempt from legalisation, and Vietnamese authorities may not ask for further certification, except in the refusal cases of Article 26 (Article 25(2) and (3) of Decree 293/2026/ND-CP); the translation must still be notarised or certified (Article 27(1)). Degrees and police certificates are usually public documents, and so are notarial acts (Article 3(3)). Experience letters and assignment letters signed by a company are not, and documents outside the public-document scope still go through consular legalisation (Article 35(2)(b)); our reading is that they can be notarised locally and the apostille then attached to the notarial act. Documents from states without Convention relations with Vietnam still go through consular legalisation.
Filing a work permit application in Vietnam: online or at the service centre?#
Authority. A work permit application in Vietnam goes to the provincial People's Committee where the employer has the head office, branch, representative office or business location at which the employee will work; for one employer in several provinces, the province of the head office (Article 4(1)). Provinces may delegate (Article 4(2)). In Hanoi, new permits are handled by the Department of Home Affairs under Decision 81/2025/QD-UBND, while extensions and reissues are delegated to commune-level People's Committees from 20 June 2026 to the end of 2028 (Decision 1052/QD-SNV, cited in Decision 861/QD-TTPVHCC of 17 June 2026). Elsewhere, check the provincial delegation decision.
Channels. Article 22(1) still allows filing in person, by public post, through a service provider or an authorised agent; Article 6(1) adds online filing. Some commentaries say every application must be filed online; the decree does not say so. To file online, search for procedure code 1.014199 (Decision 346/QD-BNV) on dichvucong.gov.vn; Hanoi lists it as a fully online service. Choose online delivery of the result in item 5 of section III of Form 03.
Fees. Decree 219 sets no amount; Decision 346/QD-BNV (section IV) refers to the regulations under the Law on Fees and Charges, and each province sets its own rate. Hanoi charges VND 400,000 per new permit, or nothing for online filing (Resolution 77/2025/NQ-HDND, as cited in Decision 861/QD-TTPVHCC). Health checks, translation, certification and apostilles are extra.
Timing. 10 working days from receipt of a complete file (Article 22(3)). If the authority asks for more documents, our reading is that the clock restarts once the file is complete, so one request can push the decision past day S.
Employers that are members of the International Financial Centre in Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang file with the Centre's executive body, submit no labour-demand report and no recruitment notice, get a decision within 3 working days, and may obtain permits of up to 10 years (Article 4, Article 8(1) and (2) and Article 9 of Decree 325/2025/ND-CP).
After the permit: labour contract, LD2 visa and temporary residence card#
The permit itself does not end the process; the contract, the visa and the residence card remain.
Labour contract. For working forms (a) and (m), once the permit is issued the parties must sign a written labour contract before the planned start date and send a copy to the authority if asked (Article 22(4)). In our view, a conditional offer letter ("subject to the work permit being issued") is the way to fix terms early, with the contract itself signed after the permit date. The contract may not run longer than the permit, and fixed-term contracts may be renewed more than once (Labour Code Article 151(2)); see types of employment contracts in Vietnam. A contract of 12 months or more brings social insurance for foreign employees, and salary is subject to personal income tax for foreigners.
LD2 visa. The LD2 visa is for foreigners who must hold a work permit; it lasts up to 2 years, and a foreigner entering to work must have the permit when applying (Article 8(16a), Article 9(5) and Article 10(4)(c) of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam). For an employee still abroad, the employer files the visa request with the immigration authority, which answers within 5 working days, and the employee collects the visa from the Vietnamese visa-issuing office abroad (Article 16(3) and (4)). An employee already in Vietnam who was sponsored by the employer or entered on an e-visa can switch the visa purpose once the permit is issued (Article 7(4)(c) and (d)).
Temporary residence card. A foreigner temporarily residing in Vietnam who qualifies for an LD2 visa can obtain an LD2 temporary residence card (Article 36(1)(b), as amended by Article 2(9) of Law 118/2025/QH15 from 1 July 2026). The file is the sponsor's request, a declaration form with photo, the passport and evidence of eligibility (in practice, in our reading, including the work permit); the decision takes 5 working days (Article 37). An LD2 card lasts up to 2 years and must expire at least 30 days before the passport; when it expires a new card is issued (Article 38(1), (5) and (6)), usually alongside a work permit extension.
If the employee will also work for you in another province, notify that province at least 3 days in advance (Article 22(5)); no second permit is needed.
Already holding a permit: when the application file is shorter#
A new work permit application in Vietnam is not only for first arrivals. Three cases still go through the Article 22 procedure, with a lighter file (Article 20 of Decree 219):
- Moving to another employer, same position and field (clause 1): no health certificate and no criminal record; add a letter confirming the employee is currently working, a copy of the existing permit and, for managers and executive directors, evidence of the role.
- New position or working form, same employer (clause 2): Form 03, passport, photos, copy of the permit, plus evidence of the new position or working form.
- Already extended once, staying in the same position (clause 3): no criminal record; only managers and executive directors resubmit evidence of the role.
When an employee changes employer, the old permit lapses when the old contract ends, and the former employer must collect and return it within 15 days (Labour Code Article 156(2); Decree 219 Article 30(1) and Article 31(1)). Article 20(1) refers to a permit that is "still valid", so our reading is that the new employer should file before the old contract ends and set the start date so that no working day falls without a valid permit.
Risks of getting a work permit application in Vietnam wrong#
Since 10 September 2026, fines are set by Article 13 of Decree 283/2026/ND-CP, which replaced Decree 12/2022/ND-CP. The amounts in Article 13 are for individuals; companies, branches and representative offices pay double (Article 7(1) and (2)(b)):
- Letting a foreigner work without a permit, including while the application is pending: VND 60 to 90 million for 1 to 10 employees, VND 90 to 120 million for 11 to 20 and VND 120 to 150 million for 21 or more (Article 13(5)). The employee is fined VND 15 to 25 million (Article 13(3)) and may be deported (Article 13(6)(b); Labour Code Article 153(2)).
- Altering documents or using forged documents in the file, short of criminal liability: VND 80 to 120 million for a company (Article 13(4) states VND 40 to 60 million for individuals), with confiscation of the documents (Article 13(6)(a)).
Before filing a work permit application in Vietnam, cross-check five points in the work permit documents: the criminal record is under 6 months old on the filing date; the recruitment notice has run for 5 days (forms a, i and m); the years and field in the experience letter match the work history in Form 03 and the thresholds in Article 3; the name and passport number are consistent across every document and translation; and the requested term does not exceed the basis under Article 21.
Our work permit service handles the whole work permit application in Vietnam: deciding the category and working form, listing what must be prepared abroad, drafting Form 03, filing online or at the service centre, following up to the decision and setting the extension calendar.
