Work Permit in Vietnam: The Employer Reality Check
Beyond the documents list: what employers actually do wrong, what to push back on, and how to protect yourself.
The work-permit page covers the document list. This page is about what happens between you and your employer — where things actually go wrong.
The fundamental rule
The work permit is your employer's obligation, not yours. Article 151 of the Labour Code requires the employer to apply on your behalf. Costs, document handling and timelines are theirs. If a recruiter says "you need to pay for your own work permit", walk away or treat it as an immediate red flag about the rest of the relationship.
What employers commonly try to skip
- Health check at an approved hospital — they tell you the certificate from your home country is fine. It is not. You must be examined at a Vietnamese hospital on the MoLISA approved list (Vinmec, FV, Cho Ray, etc.). Costs ~$80.
- Apostille / legalisation of your degree — they will insist a notarised copy is enough. It is not. Your degree must be either apostilled (if your country is in the Hague Convention — note: Vietnam is not in Hague but accepts apostille from member countries via the embassy) or consular-legalised at the Vietnamese embassy in the issuing country.
- Background check — they tell you any criminal record check is fine. It must be issued within the last 180 days at submission.
- "Start now, paperwork later" — illegal. Working without a permit risks fines for both parties and deportation for you. Departing the country and re-entering does not reset this.
The two-year and renewal trap
Work permits are issued for the contract duration up to a maximum of two years. Many employers issue rolling one-year contracts to keep you flexible. Each renewal restarts the document collection because the background check expires every 180 days. Get a long-validity background check at the start; some countries issue 1-year valid ones (UK ACRO is 12 months; US FBI checks have no formal expiry but Vietnam treats them as 6 months).
The TRC link
A work permit valid for 12+ months unlocks a Temporary Residence Card (TRC) for the same length. Insist your employer applies for the TRC immediately after the work permit issues. Without it you are stuck on stapled-in visas that need renewing every 12 months at extra cost.
Salary vs declared salary
Vietnamese employers sometimes propose paying part of your salary "off-book" to reduce PIT and social-insurance contributions. Refuse. The declared salary is what:
- Appears in your work permit and tax records
- Determines your TRC eligibility
- Is provable for visa applications (your spouse's, your kids' DP visas)
- Will be used in any future loan, mortgage or rental application
A $3,000 salary partly declared as $1,500 looks like $1,500 on paper, and that paper is what matters.
Common employer types and their behaviour
| Employer type | Work-permit competence |
|---|---|
| Large multinational (Intel, Samsung, Unilever) | Excellent — dedicated HR, in-house immigration |
| Major school chain (ILA, BIS, UNIS) | Good — done it many times |
| Mid-size local company | Variable — uses external agency, ask for the agency name |
| Small startup | Often weak — first foreign hire, learning on you |
| Restaurant / bar | Often non-existent — be very cautious |
Changing employer
If you change jobs, your old permit is cancelled and a new one issued by the new employer. Your TRC is also cancelled with the old work permit, and you need a new TRC from the new employer. Don't sign a notice on the old job until you have a signed contract and IRC confirmation from the new one.
Honest take
A good employer treats the work permit as their problem. A weak one treats it as your problem. Use it as a barometer. If they're sloppy on this, they will be sloppy on payroll, on your contract, on everything.
Related
Comments
No comments yet.