Insights

Vietnam work permit for foreigners 2026: cost, documents, process

By Nguyen Quoc Trung — Deputy General Director · Updated 2026-10-16

A foreign national working in Vietnam almost always needs a work permit, and in 2026 the rules changed: Decree 219/2025/ND-CP replaced the older decrees and merged the paperwork into a single application. This guide covers who needs a work permit, the current process and documents, how long it takes, how long it lasts, and what it costs — with the Nhan Kiet service fee shown as a single all-in price.

Key facts (2026):

Governed by Decree 219/2025/ND-CP (replaced Decree 152/2020 and 70/2023 from 7 August 2025).
Issued within 10 working days of a complete file; valid up to 2 years, renewable once.
Nhan Kiet service USD 650 per employee, all-in (incl. government fees), plus 8% VAT.
From 11 September 2026, documents from countries that apply the Apostille Convention with Vietnam need only an apostille, not consular legalisation (Decree 293/2026/ND-CP).
From 10 September 2026, employing a foreign worker without a valid permit — including an expired one — is fined under Decree 283/2026/ND-CP.

Who needs a work permit in Vietnam?

A foreign national working in Vietnam must hold a work permit unless they fall into an exemption. Under the 2019 Labour Code (Articles 151 and 152), enterprises may only recruit foreign workers into managerial, executive, expert and technical positions that Vietnamese workers cannot yet fill, and the worker must be at least 18, in good health, suitably qualified and not serving a sentence. Some people are exempt — for example capital contributors of VND 3 billion or more, and intra-corporate transferees — but exemption still requires a written confirmation, covered in our guide to work permit exemption and intra-company transfer.

Which decree governs work permits in 2026?

The governing document is Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, in force from 7 August 2025 and still current in 2026, which fully replaced Decree 152/2020/ND-CP and Decree 70/2023/ND-CP. Any checklist still citing the old decrees is out of date. The main changes are a merged file (the foreign-labour needs report now sits inside the permit application), licensing authority moved to the provincial People's Committee where the person will work, and issuance within 10 working days of a complete, valid file.

What changed for Vietnam work permits in 2026?

Three legal changes reshape the work permit process in 2026: Decree 219/2025/ND-CP merged the file and moved issuance to the provincial People's Committee within 10 working days; Vietnam's accession to the Apostille Convention, implemented by Decree 293/2026/ND-CP from 11 September 2026, lets an apostille replace consular legalisation for documents from countries that apply the Convention with Vietnam; and Decree 283/2026/ND-CP, in force from 10 September 2026, sets the fines for employing foreign workers without a valid permit and expressly covers a permit that has expired.

Change	Legal basis	In force	What it means in practice
One merged application, issued by the provincial People's Committee	Decree 219/2025/ND-CP	7 August 2025	The foreign-labour demand report sits inside the permit file; issuance within 10 working days of a valid file
Apostille instead of consular legalisation	Decree 293/2026/ND-CP	11 September 2026	Documents from countries applying the Convention with Vietnam skip the consulate step; notarised translation is still required
New penalty decree for labour violations	Decree 283/2026/ND-CP	10 September 2026	Working without a permit, or on an expired one, is fined by the number of workers involved

How do I get a work permit in Vietnam?

You get a Vietnam work permit through a sponsoring employer: the employer — not the worker — files one merged application with the People's Committee of the province where you will work, and the permit is issued within 10 working days once the file is complete and valid. There is no self-sponsored route; without an entity or a sponsoring employer in Vietnam, there is nothing to file under.

In practice the sequence has six steps:

Confirm the position qualifies: managerial, executive, expert or technical work that Vietnamese workers cannot yet fill, for a worker aged 18 or over, in good health and not serving a criminal sentence (Articles 151 and 152 of the Labour Code 2019).
Gather the personal documents: passport, a degree matching the position, a work-experience certificate, a criminal record and a health certificate from an eligible hospital.
Legalise or apostille the documents issued abroad and have them translated and notarised — usually the longest step.
The employer prepares its side: business registration, the foreign-labour demand report (now inside the merged application) and the draft labour contract.
File the merged application with the provincial People's Committee; the permit is issued within 10 working days of a valid file.
After issuance, the worker obtains an LD visa or a temporary residence card, signs the contract, and is registered for social insurance and personal income tax.

The table below sets out the same sequence with who does what at each step.

Step	Who does it	Output
1. Check the position and any exemption	Employer	Qualifying role, or a route to an exemption confirmation
2. Collect personal documents	Worker	Passport, degree, experience certificate, criminal record
3. Apostille or legalise, then translate and notarise	Worker and service provider	Documents usable in Vietnam
4. Health check at an eligible hospital	Worker	Health certificate
5. Prepare the employer's file	Employer	Business registration, merged demand report, draft contract
6. File with the provincial People's Committee	Employer	Work permit within 10 working days of a valid file
7. Visa or TRC, contract, insurance and tax	Employer and worker	Legal stay and registrations

What documents does a Vietnam work permit need?

The application must prove the worker meets the Labour Code conditions and identify the sponsoring employer. Typical documents are a valid passport, a university degree matching the position, a work-experience certificate, a judicial/criminal record, a health certificate from an eligible Vietnamese hospital, passport photos, and the employer's file (business registration, foreign-labour demand approval and the labour contract). Documents issued abroad need consular legalisation — or, from 11 September 2026, only an apostille if the issuing country applies the Apostille Convention with Vietnam — and notarised translation into Vietnamese; this is the most time-consuming step, so plan for it; see consular legalisation and notarised translation.

How much does a Vietnam work permit cost?

The Nhan Kiet work-permit advisory and application service is USD 650 per employee, inclusive of government fees and exclusive only of 8% VAT. You pay one all-in service fee rather than tracking separate line items. Notarised translation of overseas documents is priced separately (from USD 260) because volume varies by case, and for an intra-corporate transfer consular legalisation is quoted after reviewing the dossier. The full service menu is in PEO cost in Vietnam 2026.

How long does a work permit take?

The permit is issued within 10 working days of a complete and valid file, but that clock only starts once the dossier is valid. Before it, you need time to gather qualifications and records, legalise foreign documents at a consulate or obtain an apostille, and have them translated and notarised — often the longest part. A realistic plan counts backwards from the intended start date and allows several weeks for the full sequence, especially if documents come from abroad.

What is the fastest way to get a work permit in Vietnam?

The fastest lawful way is to submit a complete file the first time, because the 10-working-day clock only starts once the provincial People's Committee receives a complete and valid dossier; most delays come from documents issued abroad, not from the authority. Five habits shorten the timeline in practice.

Check first whether the person qualifies for an exemption — an exemption confirmation is a lighter procedure, explained in work permit exemption and intra-company transfer.
Order the criminal record, degree copy and experience certificate in the home country at the same time, not one after another.
From 11 September 2026, use an apostille instead of consular legalisation when the issuing country applies the Apostille Convention with Vietnam.
Book the health check at an eligible Vietnamese hospital while the documents are being translated.
Let the employer prepare its side — business registration, the merged demand report and the draft contract — in parallel.

How long is a work permit valid, and can it be renewed?

A Vietnam work permit is valid for up to 2 years, and it may be renewed only once for up to a further 2 years (Article 155 of the 2019 Labour Code). The specific term follows the intended labour contract or secondment period, capped at 2 years. Set a reminder well before expiry: if the permit lapses while the person keeps working, it is treated as working without a permit, which carries fines by headcount and, for the worker, expulsion.

What is the penalty for working without a work permit in Vietnam?

Employing a foreign worker without a work permit or a written exemption confirmation — now expressly including a permit that has expired — is fined under Article 13(5) of Decree 283/2026/ND-CP, in force from 10 September 2026 and replacing Decree 12/2022/ND-CP. The fines rise with the number of workers involved, and an enterprise pays double the individual rate under Article 7(1) of the same decree. The foreign worker may also be expelled from Vietnam.

Workers involved	Fine for an individual employer	Fine for an enterprise (double)
1 to 10	VND 30–45 million	VND 60–90 million
11 to 20	VND 45–60 million	VND 90–120 million
21 or more	VND 60–75 million	VND 120–150 million

Can a US citizen work in Vietnam?

Yes — a US citizen can work in Vietnam, under exactly the same rules as other foreign nationals: Vietnamese law grants no nationality-based shortcut, so an American needs a sponsoring employer and a work permit, or a written exemption confirmation, before starting work. The same applies to UK, EU, Australian and other passport holders.

Two points catch people out. A tourist entry or a business (DN) visa does not authorise employment — working on one is treated as working without a permit, which carries fines for the employer by headcount and, for the worker, expulsion. And the sponsor must be an entity in Vietnam: a US company with no Vietnamese entity hires lawfully by using a Vietnamese sponsoring employer, or by establishing its own presence first.

What is the longest visa you can get in Vietnam?

For a working foreign national, the longest stay is granted through a temporary residence card (TRC) rather than a visa: an employee's LD1 or LD2 card runs up to 2 years, tracking the work permit's 2-year cap, and is renewed together with it, while the LD visa is likewise tied to the permit. The longest card of all sits outside employment: an investor holding an DT1 card can receive up to 10 years.

Family members of a foreign worker can hold a TT card of up to 3 years. For an employed foreign national, though, the practical ceiling stays at 2 years per cycle — the permit, the visa or TRC, and the registrations all renew on that rhythm, so plan renewals together.

What changes for work permits on 5 December 2026?

Decree 393/2026/ND-CP, issued on 20 October 2026, replaces Decree 219/2025/ND-CP from 5 December 2026 (Article 36). Applications filed until the end of 4 December 2026 still follow Decree 219, and permits issued under Decree 219 stay valid until they expire (Article 35(1)). The changes that matter most for employers:

Point	Decree 219/2025 (until 4 December 2026)	Decree 393/2026 (from 5 December 2026)
Expert without a degree	Not available	At least 5 years of relevant experience (Article 4(3)(e))
Executive director experience	3 years	2 years (Article 4(2)(b))
Intra-company transfer	Includes technical workers	Only managers, executive directors and experts with 12 months in the group (Article 3(1))
Exemption cases	15	18 (Article 8)
Extension	Health certificate and criminal record required	Decided within 5 working days, no health certificate or criminal record (Articles 28–29)
Advertising the job to Vietnamese workers	5 days	5 working days before filing (Form 03)
Sub-leasing foreign workers	Not addressed separately	Prohibited; employers report twice a year (Article 37(6))

The last point affects companies with no Vietnamese entity: from 5 December 2026 a foreign national has to be employed by the business that actually uses them, so in our reading an employer-of-record arrangement no longer fits foreign staff, and a PEO arrangement under your own entity does. The full article-by-article comparison is in Decree 393/2026 on foreign workers in Vietnam.

What if the company has no legal entity in Vietnam?

Only an entity with a presence in Vietnam can sponsor a work permit, so a foreign company with no Vietnamese entity cannot apply directly. The lawful routes are to establish a presence, or to use a Vietnamese entity as the sponsoring employer — the labour formalisation model — while for foreign staff under your own entity, PEO keeps you as the employer and runs the permit for you. The full legal background is in our guide to foreigners working in Vietnam.

Which guides cover work permits, visas and residence cards in Vietnam?

A work permit is one part of a sequence that also covers the visa, the temporary residence card, document legalisation, social insurance and, where the company has no entity, the employment model; each step has its own guide in this series.

Why Nhan Kiet

Nhan Kiet Supplying Manpower Co., Ltd (tax code 0308022768, established 2009) holds a labour sub-leasing licence (No. 15/2019/SHCM) and an employment-services licence (No. 22139/2023/45/SLDTBXH-VLATLD) issued in Ho Chi Minh City, and is certified to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 45001, ISO 14001 and ISO/IEC 27001:2022. We prepare and file the work permit under your entity's sponsorship and handle the visa, TRC, insurance and PIT alongside it. For a quotation, call +84 908 636 108 (Mr Trung) or +84 28 3505 4224. This is general information, not legal advice.

Update 16/10/2026: added what changed in 2026 (Decrees 219/2025, 293/2026 and 283/2026), a step-by-step table, the fastest route to a permit, the fines for working without a permit, and a guide to related visa, TRC and legalisation articles.

Update 12/10/2026: added a step-by-step guide to getting the permit, the rules for US and other foreign citizens, and the longest visa and TRC terms.

Legal sources

Official texts (in Vietnamese) on the Vietnamese Government's legal portals:

Labour Code 2019 (No. 45/2019/QH14)
Decree 283/2026/ND-CP: administrative penalties in labour and social insurance
Decree 219/2025/ND-CP: foreign workers employed in Vietnam

Need advice for your own headcount?
Call +84 908 636 108 or see labour compliance, payroll outsourcing, EOR Vietnam.

← All articles