Vietnam Work Permit (Giấy Phép Lao Động)

The work permit — Giấy phép lao động — is the only legal route to taking paid employment from a Vietnamese entity. It's employer-sponsored, requires substantial documentation, and is the foundation on which a Temporary Residence Card is later issued.

Rules current as of 2026-05-17. Confirm via the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA) of the relevant province before applying.

Who needs one

Any foreign national taking paid work for a Vietnamese-registered company, JV, or representative office. The work permit attaches to a specific employer; changing employer = a new work permit.

People who do NOT need a work permit but are sometimes confused for needing one:

• Foreign remote workers paid by foreign employers, doing no Vietnamese-source work (this is a legal grey area — see the reality check; a work permit is not the right instrument)
• Investor-visa holders running their own Vietnamese company in some structures
• Spouses on a TT visa (marriage visa) who don't take local employment
• Tourists doing meetings, conferences, or short business trips on an e-visa

Eligibility

The applicant must be at least one of:

• Bachelor's degree plus 3+ years of relevant experience in the field of the proposed role, OR
• 5+ years of vocational experience evidenced with a "specialist letter" from a former employer, OR
• Specific specialist categories defined by Vietnamese labour law (engineering, language teaching, certain technical roles).

The employer files first — applicants do not initiate work permits themselves.

Documents (typical)

Apostille / legalisation depends on whether your country is a Hague Apostille signatory. The US, UK, Australia, most EU countries → apostille. Canada (until recently) → consular legalisation. Confirm with your home-country issuing authority.

Process

1. Employer applies for "demand for foreign labour" approval at provincial People's Committee. This takes 15–30 days and is the longest-lead step.
2. Employer + employee assemble the document dossier (the items in the table above).
3. Employee enters Vietnam on an e-visa or visa-free 15-day, completes the local health check, signs the employment contract.
4. Employer submits the work permit application to DOLISA. Officially 5–7 working days; in practice 7–14.
5. Work permit issued as a physical document (the green-edged paper card). The employer holds the original; you keep a scan.
6. Apply for the LD visa (work-class entry visa) and then the Temporary Residence Card (TRC). The TRC is what lets you exit and re-enter without a new visa each time. See TRC.

Validity

Up to 2 years, matching your employment contract length. Renewable for another 2 years; further renewals possible but require a new DOLISA cycle each time. Maximum continuous duration is governed by labour law and the contract term, not a hard ceiling.

Cost

• DOLISA fees: ~$200–500 in administrative fees, typically paid by the employer.
• Health check: 1.5–4 million VND ($60–160), paid by the employer or you depending on the contract.
• Apostille/legalisation in home country: $20–200 depending on jurisdiction.
• Translation/notarisation in Vietnam: ~$30–80 per document.
• Specialist agent (optional): $500–2,000 if you use one to handle the paperwork.

Employers usually cover most or all of these for senior hires; junior teachers often pay their own apostille and home-country documents.

After the permit is issued

• Tax obligations begin from your start date — your Vietnamese employer withholds and remits PIT on your behalf. Foreign income may or may not be in scope depending on your residency status. See Vietnam tax residency.
• Social insurance is mandatory for work-permit holders since 2018 — both employer and employee contributions.
• The work permit is tied to the specific employer and position. Material changes require notification or a new application.

Common pitfalls

• Working before the permit is issued. Common in language teaching. Technically illegal; sometimes results in fines + visa cancellation if discovered.
• Apostille age-out. Criminal record checks must be issued within 6 months — many applicants apostille old documents and find them rejected.
• Translation errors. Use a Vietnamese translation agency that has done foreign-worker documents before. Generic translators get small things wrong (your name's middle initials, dates) that send applications back.
• DOLISA backlog around 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.. Plan around the lunar new year; processing all but stops for 2–3 weeks.

For digital-nomad-style remote workers paid by foreign employers, a sham work permit is not the answer — and the often-recommended "Vietnam DTV" is not a confirmed visa (it conflates Thailand's DTV with Vietnam). Read the reality check and the long-stay visa comparison before planning.

What this does NOT let you do

A Vietnamese work permit is an employer-specific authorisation — it is narrow by design. Holding one does not open a general right to work or reside freely in Vietnam.

• Work for any employer other than the sponsoring entity. The permit names a specific company and position. Taking up a second job, a side contract, or freelance engagements with a Vietnamese client requires a separate permit for each employer.
• Continue working if the sponsor relationship ends. Resignation, redundancy, or contract non-renewal immediately invalidates the work permit. You would need to depart or apply for a different visa status — you may need to verify exit and re-entry requirements with your immigration lawyer.
• Substitute for a Temporary Residence Card. The work permit alone does not grant multi-entry or long-stay rights. A separate LD visa and then a Temporary Residence Card are required for extended stays.
• Authorise a family member to work. Dependants who accompany a work-permit holder on TT (family) visas have no automatic right to take local employment; they may need to verify their own eligibility with DOLISA.
• Cover remote or freelance work paid exclusively by a foreign employer. Foreign-source income paid offshore by a non-Vietnamese entity sits in a legal grey area — a work permit is not the correct instrument, and claiming otherwise may not withstand scrutiny.

Refer to the digital nomad reality check where remote work comes up — Vietnam has no confirmed general route for location-independent foreign workers.

Verify before acting. Visa rules change. Confirm with the Vietnamese embassy in your country or evisa.gov.vn before relying on any specific limitation here.