Procedures for social insurance registration in Vietnam

Social insurance is a guarantee to replace or partially compensate the income of social insurance participants when they have reduced or lost income due to illness, maternity, work accidents, occupational diseases, retirement, or death, based on contributions to the social insurance fund or guaranteed by the state budget. So what are the procedures for social insurance registration in Vietnam for the first time in 2025? Below, Viet An Law will provide information on this issue according to legal regulations.

What is social insurance registration?

Pursuant to Clause 9, Article 3 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, Social insurance registration means a process in which the employer and the employee submit documents containing information about the employer and the employee, salary, income on which social insurance premiums are paid, method of payment, and other relevant information to a social security authority to participate in social insurance.

Social insurance participants

According to Clause 1, 2, Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, the compulsory social insurance participants include:

Employees who are Vietnamese citizens

• People working under indefinite-term employment contracts;
• Officials and public employees;
• Workers, public employees in military forces;
• Officers and career military personnel of the People’s Army;
• Non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the People’s Army;
• Standing militia personnel;
• Employees go to work abroad under contracts;
• Spouses who accompany members of Vietnamese diplomatic missions overseas during their tenure, do not receive salaries from the state budget, and are entitled to subsistence allowances;
• Elected management positions of cooperatives and cooperative unions receive salaries;
• Part-time staff in communes and neighborhoods;
• People working under indefinite-term labor contracts who do not work full time and whose salaries in the month are equal to or higher than the lowest salary on which compulsory social insurance is paid;
• Owners of household businesses;
• Elected management positions of cooperatives and cooperative unions do not receive salaries.

Foreign employees working in Vietnam

Foreign employees working in Vietnam are compulsory social insurance participants when working under employment contracts with terms of at least 12 months with an employer in Vietnam, except in the following cases:

• They are circulated within the enterprise as prescribed by regulations of law on foreign workers in Vietnam;
• They have reached the retirement age by the time of conclusion of the employment contract as prescribed in the Labor Code;
• An International treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory prescribes otherwise

Employers

Employers subject to social insurance include state agencies; agencies, units, enterprises of the people’s armed forces, the police, and other socio-political organizations; foreign agencies and organizations, and international organizations operating within Vietnam’s territory; enterprises, other organizations, and individuals having employees working under employment contracts.

Application for first-time social insurance registration in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 27 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, the first-time social insurance registration dossier includes the following documents:

• The employer’s declaration form for participation in social insurance is enclosed with a list of employees who participate in social insurance;
• Employees’ declaration forms for participation in social insurance.

Note: In case the social insurance participant is a business owner or business manager as prescribed in points m and n, clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024:

• If submitted through the employer, the documents are the employer’s declaration form with a list of employees participating in social insurance;
• If self-submitted, the application is the Employee’s social insurance registration form.

Procedures for social insurance registration in Vietnam

Step 1: Submit dossier

Employees and employers prepare and submit a dossier to the social insurance agency in one of the following forms:

• Directly at the one-stop department of the Social Insurance Agency;
• Through postal services;
• Online at the National Public Service Portal the Vietnam Social Insurance Public Service Portal or the I-VAN Organization.

Step 2: Receive and process the dossier

The Social Insurance Agency receives the application and proceeds to process it under the regulations:

• Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the complete application as prescribed, the social insurance agency is responsible for issuing the social insurance book;
• In case of not issuing the social insurance book, a written response must be given stating the reason.

Step 3: Return results

Employees and employers come to receive social insurance books at the Social Insurance agency where the application was submitted or the results will be returned in the form that the employee and employer registered.

Social insurance premium under current Vietnamese law

Under Articles 33 and 34 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, the social insurance premiums of employees and employers are prescribed:

For employees

• For employees falling under the cases specified in points a, b, c, d, i, k, and l, clause 1 and clause 2, Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, the monthly social insurance payment rate is 8%;
• Employees working abroad under contract and their spouses who do not receive a salary from the state budget and are sent on a term of duty abroad and are entitled to a living allowance, the monthly social insurance payment rate is 22%;
• Registered business owners and elected management positions of cooperatives and cooperative unions who do not receive salaries shall pay monthly social insurance payments of 3% to the sickness and maternity fund and 22% to the retirement and death fund;

For employers

• Employers shall pay monthly social insurance premiums for subjects specified in points a, b, c, d, i, k, and l, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024 at the rates of 3% to the sickness and maternity fund and 14% to the retirement and death fund, respectively.
• The monthly social insurance premium that employers pay for the subjects specified in Point d and Point e, Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024 is 22%.

Regulations on temporarily suspend social insurance payments

Pursuant to Article 37 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, cases of temporary suspension of social insurance payments recognized by law are:

• In case a struggling employer has to suspend their production or business activities, making them and their employees unable to pay social insurance premiums;
• An employee who is covered by compulsory social insurance is detained or suspended from work.

How will it be handled when delaying paying social insurance?

Pursuant to Articles 40 and 41 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, the measures to handle acts of delay and evasion of social insurance payment are as follows:

• Enforced payment of the arrears plus an interest of 0,03%/day on the arrears to the social insurance.
• Administrative penalties as prescribed by law.
• Disqualification from commendation and awards.

Note: For acts of evading social insurance payments, depending on the severity of the violation, employees or employers may be prosecuted pursuant to the law.

Above is all the information on the regulations for procedures for social insurance registration in Vietnam in 2025. If you have any related questions or need legal support on social insurance, please contact Viet An Law for the best support!