Register to recruit foreign employees by the contractor in Vietnam

Under the provisions of the Labor Code 2019, the contractor is only allowed to recruit foreign employees to the position of manager, operator, expert and technical worker that Vietnamese employees have not yet met are according to production and business needs. Therefore, to register to recruit foreign employees to serve the needs of production and business, what information does the contractor need to know? Here, Viet An Law will answer your questions. What are the conditions for foreign employees to work in Vietnam?

Foreign employees working in Vietnam are foreign nationals and must satisfy the following conditions:

• is at least 18 years of age and has full legal capacity;
• has qualifications, occupational skills, practical experience, and adequate health as prescribed by the Minister of Health;
• is not serving a sentence; does not have an unspent conviction; is not undergoing criminal prosecution under his/her home country’s law or Vietnam’s law;
• has a work permit granted by a competent authority of Vietnam, except in the case stipulated in Article 154 of this Labor Code

In addition, foreign employees working in Vietnam must comply with Vietnamese labor law and be protected by Vietnamese law, except for international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is Members have other rules.

Note: The term of the labor contract for foreign workers in Vietnam cannot exceed the term of the work permit. According to Article 155 of the Labor Code 2019, The maximum duration of a work permit is 02 years. A work permit may be extended once for up to 02 more years. When employing foreign employees to work in Vietnam,

both parties may agree to enter into several times  fixed-term labor contracts.

Contractor’s registration procedures to recruit foreign employees?

Under the provisions of the Decree 11/2016/ND-CP guiding the Labor Code in foreign employees in Vietnam and Circular 10/2016/TT-BLDTBXH guiding Decree 11/2016/ND-CP guiding the Labor Code on foreign workers in Vietnam issued by the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and procedures for registration of contractor’s demand for foreign labor recruitment. Currently issuing work permits for foreigners as follows:

Step 1: Prepare the contractor’s application to register the need to recruit foreign workers

Before recruiting foreign employees, the contractor is responsible for declaring the number, qualifications, professional qualifications, and experience of the foreign employees that needs to be mobilized to execute the bidding package in Vietnam and requesting the recruitment. Vietnamese employees (with the investor’s confirmation) with the President of the People’s Committee of the province where the contractor performs the bidding package. Applications include:

• Document form 04 issued together with Circular 40/2016/TT-BLDTBXH guiding Decree 11/2016/ND-CP guiding the Labor Code on foreign employees in Vietnam issued by the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.
• Letter of recommendation/ power of attorney (for the case that the applicant is not the legal representative of the business).

Step 2: Submit the contractor’s application for registration of demand for foreign employees at

• Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province/city where the contractor executes the contract
• Or via the portal: http://dvc.vieclamvietnam.gov.vn/

Step 3: Search, introduce and supply Vietnamese workers for the contractor

• The Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee shall direct local agencies and organizations to introduce and supply Vietnamese employees to the contractor.
• Execution time:
• Within a maximum period of 01 month from the date of receipt of the request to recruit 500 Vietnamese employees or more.
• Within a maximum period of 01 month from the date of receipt of the request to hire less than 500 Vietnamese employees.

Step 4: Report the results of searching, introducing and supplying Vietnamese employees is finished to the contractor, local agencies and organizations shall report the results of searching, introducing and supplying Vietnamese employees to the contractor in writing.

Step 5: The contractor’s decision to approve the recruitment of foreign employees

Based on the report results of local agencies or organizations, in case of failure to introduce or supply Vietnamese employees to the contractor, the President of the Provincial People’s Committee shall consider and decide on the Contractor is allowed to recruit foreign employees to positions that cannot be recruited from Vietnam.

Service applying for work permits of Viet An Law Firm

• Counseling on procedures for issuing judicial application cards for foreigners in Vietnam (to be able to carry out procedures for issuing judicial application cards to foreigners, it is necessary to confirm temporarily residing in Vietnam)
• Counseling on applications of application for work permits for foreigners according to regulations;
• Counseling procedures for medical examination in Vietnam to apply for a work permit;
• Translation, consular legal service for the work permit in Vietnam;
• Complete application applications for the work permits in Vietnam for customers;
• Counseling on cases that are not required to issue a work permit and carry out procedures for certification in case of not having to apply for a work permit;
• Representatives of enterprises and employees to carry out procedures for applying for work permits at competent state agencies;
• Counseling and guiding the preparation of applications for temporary residence cards for foreigners after being granted work permits.

Viet An Law Firm & Viet An Intellectual Property Agent who is a leading company providing legal services on commercial business and intellectual property services. We specialize in trademark registration consulting, consulting on copyright registration, trademark renewals and patenting and intellectual property disputes.