Hiring a housekeeper, nanny, or driver in Vietnam

Not legal advice. Labour-code obligations for household staff, minimum-wage regions, and social-insurance thresholds change periodically. Confirm current rules with a licensed Vietnamese labour lawyer or accountant, or with your local Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA) office, before finalising any employment arrangement.

Hiring household staff is a normalised part of expat life in Vietnam — a large pool of experienced workers and cultural familiarity with live-in and live-out arrangements make it far more accessible than in most Western countries. That doesn't mean unregulated, though, and the details that catch foreigners out tend to repeat: unclear contracts, no plan for Tet bonuses, and confusion over which visa rules apply to which type of worker. This guide focuses on city-by-city pay bands, paperwork, and where the risk sits in 2026.

Who you're typically hiring

Four broad categories cover most household hires:

• Housekeeper / cleaner (giúp việc) — cleaning, laundry, ironing; part-time or full-time, live-in or live-out.
• Nanny (người giữ trẻ) — childcare-focused, often live-in for families with young children; ranges from an experienced Vietnamese carer to a bilingual or Filipina nanny.
• Cook — a dedicated household cook is less common than a cleaner or nanny, typically found in larger households or families who entertain.
• Driver — practical in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City given traffic, often doubles as a school-run and airport-transfer resource, sometimes an informal fixer for errands.

Many households combine roles — a cleaner-cook, or a nanny who also does light housekeeping — which is typically reflected in pay.

Salary ranges by city (2026, indicative)

Rates vary meaningfully by city, live-in versus live-out status, and whether the worker speaks English. Figures below are rough monthly ranges in USD equivalent for full-time arrangements; typically confirm current local norms before offering a rate.

Smaller cities and towns generally sit below the Da Nang / Hoi An column. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City pay broadly similar rates for equivalent roles; the gap is driven more by neighbourhood and household expectations than city-wide cost differences. See cost of living in HCMC for how domestic help typically fits into an overall household budget.

Whose visa status actually matters here

This is the part foreigners most often get backwards: in most household hires, it's a Vietnamese national doing the work, and no work permit or visa question arises — the same labour-code and social-insurance rules that apply to any Vietnamese employee apply here.

The visa question mainly becomes live in two scenarios:

• You're sponsoring a foreign nanny or caregiver — most commonly a Filipina nanny placed through an agency. In this case, the worker typically needs a work permit, and you (or the agency, depending on the arrangement) act as the sponsoring employer. This involves registering as an employer, providing supporting documents, and a processing window that can run several weeks to a few months — plan well ahead of a start date.
• You yourself are on a visa type that restricts your right to act as a household employer — for instance, some visa categories carry conditions worth checking with an immigration lawyer before you take on payroll-style obligations, even informal ones. If you hold a dependent visa or are between renewals, it may be worth confirming your own status is stable before committing to a long-term hire.

For the worker's side, a Vietnamese national needs no special visa or permit to work domestically for you — only the standard labour-contract and (for full-time roles) social-insurance considerations covered below.

Contracts and the labour-code baseline

Vietnam's Labour Code applies to household workers, though enforcement of informal short-hour arrangements is inconsistent in practice. A reasonable baseline:

• Written contract for anything approaching full-time or ongoing — even a simple one-page document in Vietnamese and English covering days, hours, tasks, pay, and notice period reduces the most common source of disputes.
• Social insurance contributions are, in principle, required for full-time employees, split between employer and employee. Percentages and thresholds are adjusted periodically — verify current figures with an accountant rather than relying on last year's numbers.
• Minimum wage by region applies; Hanoi and HCMC sit in the highest wage region, so check the current regional floor before setting pay.
• TếtTết (Tet)tetVietnamese Lunar New Year, the most important national holiday, typically in January or February; a time for family reunion, ancestor worship, and new-year rituals. bonus (thưởng Tết) — not typically a strict legal requirement for informal arrangements, but a near-universal cultural expectation. Budgeting roughly one month's salary as a 13th-month bonus for full-time staff, and a partial equivalent for part-time weekly help, is the norm; skipping it is a common reason staff leave in the new year.
• Notice period — 30 days under a formal fixed-term contract is typical; informal arrangements are often ended more casually in practice, though a written notice clause protects both sides.

For the fuller formal-hiring framework (applicable beyond domestic staff), see hiring locally in Vietnam.

Agencies versus word of mouth

Both routes are common, and most households end up using a mix over time.

• Agencies — useful for a first hire when you have no local network yet. They vet candidates, handle translation, and some offer a replacement guarantee within a set window. Fees are typically around one month's salary for domestic staff; Filipina-nanny placement agencies charge substantially more (often $1,500–3,000) given the visa and relocation work involved.
• On-demand apps (bTaskee, JupViec, and similar) — a practical way to trial a cleaner for one-off or weekly bookings before committing to anything full-time or live-in.
• Facebook expat groups — Hanoi and HCMC parent and expat groups are active and candid; a recommendation from someone whose household you can picture is often more reliable than an agency listing.
• Building management — serviced apartments and expat-oriented condos frequently maintain a roster of vetted staff.
• Word of mouth / inherited staff — a departing expat's trusted employee is a common, comparatively low-risk way to hire, since the track record is already known.

Cultural context and day-to-day expectations

A few norms consistently make arrangements go better:

• Give a clear, specific task list rather than open-ended instructions.
• Cleaning and cooking standards may differ from what you're used to; discuss expectations explicitly once rather than repeatedly correcting.
• Pay on time, every time, by the agreed method (cash or bank/VietQR transfer) — consistency matters more than the amount for maintaining trust.
• If you travel and don't need service that week, most households still pay the normal rate; otherwise the worker may take on another client and you risk losing them.
• For live-in arrangements, provide a private room and reasonable time off (at least one full day weekly), and treat the relationship as professional employment rather than an informal "part of the family" framing unless that develops genuinely over time.

Common pitfalls

• No written agreement — the single largest source of disputes over days off, duties, and Tet-bonus expectations.
• Skipping the probation period — most arrangements allow an initial trial; use it rather than committing immediately to a long-term contract.
• Ignoring social-insurance obligations for full-time staff — this can create a retroactive liability if a dispute arises later.
• Underestimating Filipina-nanny visa timelines — work-permit processing can take longer than expected; start paperwork well before you need the nanny in place.
• Assuming a licence check is sufficient for a driver — also confirm experience with the specific routes you'll need (school runs, highway trips), and ask for references.

Related

• Hiring domestic help in Vietnam
• Domestic help: cleaners and nannies
• Hiring locally in Vietnam
• Cost of living in Ho Chi Minh City