Application for foreign exempt from work permit in Vietnam

Foreign workers working in Vietnam need to apply for a work permit, but there are a few special subjects who are not subject to a work permit. However, these subjects still have to apply for confirmation that they are not subject to a work permit. To assist clients in carrying out this procedure, Viet An Law Firm would like to provide the following sample application for foreign exempt from work permit in Vietnam.

Legal basis

• Labor Code 2019;
• Decree 152/2020/ND-CP regulating foreign workers working in Vietnam and recruitment and management of Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam, as amended and supplemented by Decree 35/2022/ND-CP and Decree 70/2023/ND-CP.

What is a work permit?

According to the provisions of Article 151 of the Labor Code 2019, foreign workers who want to work legally in Vietnam will have to have a work permit. A work permit is a type of legal document that allows workers of foreign nationality to work in Vietnam legally. Therefore, the subjects required to apply for a work permit are foreign workers working in Vietnam in one of the forms specified in Article 2 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, except for some cases where the law has other rules.

Foreign workers exempt from work permit in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 154 of the Labor Code, foreigners who are not subject to work permits include the following subjects:

• Be an owner or capital contributing member of a limited liability company with a capital contribution value of 3 billion VND or more.
• Be the Chairman of the Board of Directors or member of the Board of Directors of a joint stock company with a capital contribution value of 3 billion VND or more.
• Be the Head of a representative office, or project or be primarily responsible for the activities of an international organization or foreign non-governmental organization in Vietnam.
• Enter Vietnam for less than 03 months to offer services.
• Entering Vietnam for less than 03 months to handle problems, and complex technical and technological situations that arise that affect or threaten to affect production and business that Vietnamese experts and Foreigners currently in Vietnam cannot handle.
• Be a foreign lawyer who has been granted a License to practice law in Vietnam according to the provisions of the Law on Lawyers.
• In cases under the provisions of international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.
• Foreigners marry Vietnamese people and live in Vietnamese territory.
• Moving within an enterprise within the scope of 11 service sectors in Vietnam’s service commitment schedule with the World Trade Organization, including business, information, construction, distribution, education, and environment education, finance, healthcare, tourism, culture, entertainment, and transportation.
• Entering Vietnam to provide professional and technical consulting services or perform other tasks serving research, development, appraisal, monitoring, evaluation, management, and program implementation, The project uses official development assistance (ODA) according to regulations or agreements in international treaties on ODA signed between competent agencies of Vietnam and foreign countries.
• Licensed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to operate information and press activities in Vietnam according to the provisions of law.
• Be sent to Vietnam by a competent foreign agency or organization to teach or work as a manager or executive director at an educational institution requested by a foreign diplomatic representative agency or intergovernmental organization established in Vietnam; establishments and organizations established under international treaties that Vietnam has signed and participated in.
• Volunteers specified in Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP.
• Enter Vietnam to work as a manager, executive director, expert, or technical worker with a working period of less than 30 days and no more than 03 times in 01 year.
• Enter Vietnam to implement international agreements signed by agencies and organizations at the central and provincial levels according to the provisions of law.
• Pupils and students studying at schools and training facilities abroad have internship agreements in agencies, organizations, and businesses in Vietnam; interns and trainees on Vietnamese ships.
• Relatives of members of foreign representative agencies in Vietnam specified in Point l, Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP.
• Have an official passport to work for state agencies, political organizations, or socio-political organizations.
• The person responsible for establishing a commercial presence.
• Certified by the Ministry of Education and Training for foreign workers entering Vietnam to teach, research or work as managers, CEOs, principals, vice principals of educational establishments run by foreign representative agencies. foreign assignment or intergovernmental organization requesting establishment in Vietnam.

Application for foreign exempt from work permit in Vietnam

According to the provisions of law, in the cases specified in Clauses 4 and 6, Article 154 of the Labor Code and Clauses 1, 2, 8, and 11, Article 7 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, confirmation procedures are not required. accepting foreign workers who are not subject to a work permit but must report to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker is expected to work: full name, age, nationality, passport number, name of a foreign employer, start date, and end date of employment at least 3 working days in advance from the expected date the foreign worker started working in Vietnam.

The application for not being subject to a work permit is all the documents that need to be prepared for the competent authority to consider and confirm that it is not subject to a work permit.

According to Clause 3, Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, application documents not subject to work permit issuance include:

Note:

The 2nd, 3rd, and 5th documents must be 01 original or certified copy. If from a foreign country, they must be consular legalized, translated into Vietnamese, and certified unless exempted from consular legalization according to international treaties to which Vietnam and related foreign countries are members or according to the principle of reciprocity or according to the provisions of law.

Confirmation procedures for foreign exempt from work permit in Vietnam

The procedure for confirming not to be subject to a work permit is the sequence of steps for a foreign worker to be confirmed not to be subject to a work permit. According to Clause 4, Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, the procedure for confirming not being subject to a work permit includes the following steps:

• Step 1: Submit 01 set of documents including the above documents and papers to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker works.
• Step 2: Process documents and confirm that you are not subject to a work permit
• Within 05 working days from the date of receiving complete documents requesting confirmation of not being eligible for a work permit, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall issue a document Confirmation of not being subject to a work permit according to Form No. 10/PLI Appendix I issued with Decree 152/2020/ND-CP.
• In case of non-confirmation, there will be a written response clearly stating the reason.

Consulting services on work permit issuance by Viet An Law Firm

• Consulting on types of documents included in the application dossier that are not subject to work permit issuance;
• Drafting a sample document requesting confirmation that workers are not subject to a work permit ;
• Advice the method of submitting applications for not being subject to a work permit according to the provisions of law ;
• The client’s representative applies to not being subject to a work permit at the competent authority.

Clients who need advice on application forms that are not subject to work permit issuance, please contact Viet An Law for the best support.