Working in Vietnam as a Foreign Employee: Visas, Work Permits, Tax, and Social Insurance in 2026

Foreign employees working in Vietnam must comply with visa, work-permit, employment, tax, and social insurance requirements. This guide explains the principal rules and procedures applicable in 2026.

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Vietnam remains an attractive destination for foreign professionals. Strong foreign investment, industrial expansion, and growth in technology, professional services, manufacturing, and infrastructure continue to support demand for international expertise.

Foreign nationals planning to work in Vietnam must navigate several interconnected requirements. A visa permits entry and residence, while a work permit or confirmation of exemption provides the legal basis for employment. Foreign employees must also determine their personal income tax residence, social insurance coverage, and rights under Vietnamese labour law.

Who can legally work in Vietnam?

Foreign nationals generally work in Vietnam in one of four recognised positions:

• Managers;
• Executive directors;
• Experts; or
• Technical workers.

Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP, effective from 7 August 2025, is the principal regulation governing foreign workers. It replaced Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP and its amendments.

Foreign nationals may work in Vietnam under several arrangements, including:

• Performing an employment contract;
• Transferring within a multinational enterprise;
• Implementing an economic or social contract or agreement;
• Providing services under contract;
• Offering services for sale;
• Working as a volunteer;
• Establishing a commercial presence;
• Participating in a tender or project; or
• Being assigned by an overseas organisation to work in Vietnam.

Employers must correctly classify the employee’s position and form of work because these determine the applicable work-permit documents, qualifications, and exemption rules.

Visa, work permit, and temporary residence card: What is the difference?

A visa, work permit, and temporary residence card serve different legal purposes.

Document	Purpose	Typical validity
Visa	Permits entry into and temporary stay in Vietnam for an approved purpose	Depends on the visa category
Work permit	Authorises employment in a specified position for a specified employer	Up to two years
Work-permit exemption confirmation	Confirms that the foreign worker falls within an exemption category	Up to two years
Temporary residence card	Permits longer-term residence and multiple entry during its validity	Depends on the underlying category

Employment-related visa categories

The main visa categories relevant to foreign employees include:

Visa	Applicable foreign national	Maximum validity
LD1	Foreign worker eligible for a work-permit exemption	Two years
LD2	Foreign worker who requires a work permit	Two years
DN1	Foreign national working with a legally established organisation or enterprise in Vietnam	One year
DN2	Foreign national entering to offer services, establish a commercial presence, or conduct activities under an international treaty	One year
DT1–DT4	Foreign investor, classified according to the investment amount and, in some cases, sector or location	One to five years
TT	Qualifying dependants and certain family members	One year
EV	Electronic visa for eligible purposes	Up to 90 days

The DN and EV categories can facilitate business visits, meetings, market research, and other permitted activities. They should not be treated as substitutes for work authorisation where the foreign national is performing employment duties in Vietnam.

Vietnam also operates unilateral visa-exemption policies for citizens of specified countries. From August 15, 2025, citizens of 24 countries became eligible for visa-free stays of up to 45 days, subject to immigration conditions. These exemptions facilitate entry but do not independently provide permission to work.

A separate limited-term visa-waiver scheme introduced under Decree No. 221/2025/ND-CP allows eligible high-value foreign contributors, including certain investors, experts, scientists, technology specialists, and prominent individuals, to obtain a special multiple-entry visa-exemption card valid for up to five years. Eligibility requires sponsorship or nomination by an authorised Vietnamese body.

Applying for a Vietnam work permit

The employer, rather than the foreign employee acting independently, normally manages the work-permit application.

Under Decree 219, an employer generally submits the application no earlier than 60 days and no later than 10 days before the foreign employee’s proposed start date. The procedure combines approval of the employer’s need to hire a foreign worker with the work-permit application.

Once a complete application is received, the competent authority generally has 10 working days to consider the application. If the application is refused, the authority must provide a written explanation.

A standard application may include:

• The employer’s application form;
• A valid passport;
• A health certificate;
• A criminal record certificate;
• Passport photographs;
• Documents establishing the proposed position;
• Evidence of the employee’s qualifications and relevant experience; and
• Documents confirming the form of employment or assignment.

Documents issued outside Vietnam may need to be consular legalised, translated into Vietnamese, and certified, unless an exemption or treaty applies. Document preparation should therefore begin well before the statutory filing window.

Qualification requirements

The evidence required depends on the approved position.

An expert will generally need:

• A university degree or equivalent qualification; and
• At least two years of relevant experience appropriate to the position in Vietnam.

For specified priority sectors, the experience threshold may be reduced to one year.

A technical worker will generally need:

• At least one year of technical or professional training; and
• At least two years of relevant work experience.

Managers and executive directors must provide evidence establishing their corporate position or management experience. Employers should ensure that the job title, employment contract, corporate records, assignment letter, and work-permit application are consistent.

Validity and extension

A work permit can be issued for up to two years, depending on the employment contract, assignment, project, service agreement, or other underlying document.

A work permit may generally be extended once for a further period of up to two years. Employers must submit the extension application within the prescribed period before expiry. A new application may be required where the employee’s employer, position, form of work, or other material details change.

Foreign employees should avoid beginning work before the permit or required exemption confirmation has been issued. Working without valid authorisation can expose the employee to fines and removal from Vietnam and the employer to separate administrative penalties.

Who is exempt from a work permit?

Vietnamese law provides several exemptions, but exemption from holding a work permit does not necessarily mean exemption from all procedures.

Depending on the category, the employer may need to:

• Obtain a formal confirmation that the employee is exempt; or
• Notify the competent authority before the employee starts work.

Common exemption categories include:

• Capital-contributing owners or members of limited liability companies who meet the statutory capital threshold;
• Chairpersons or board members of joint-stock companies who meet the statutory capital threshold;
• Qualifying intra-company transferees;
• Foreign lawyers licensed to practise in Vietnam;
• Foreign nationals married to Vietnamese citizens and residing in Vietnam;
• Managers, executive directors, experts, or technical workers working for no more than 90 days in a calendar year;
• Students and trainees working under qualifying arrangements;
• Volunteers;
• Certain foreign employees implementing official development assistance projects;
• Foreign journalists authorised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and
• Foreign professionals confirmed by a ministry or provincial authority as working in finance, science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, or another priority development sector.

For an intra-company transfer exemption, the employee will generally need to have worked for the overseas enterprise for at least 12 consecutive months before the transfer. The enterprise must have established a commercial presence in Vietnam, and the transfer must fall within an eligible service sector under Vietnam’s international commitments.

Short-term status should also be assessed carefully. Decree 219 allows qualifying managers, executive directors, experts, and technical workers to work for an aggregate period of up to 90 days in a calendar year without a work permit. Notification requirements may still apply, and the exemption should not be used to support continuing employment that exceeds the statutory limit.

Employment contracts for foreign workers

Vietnam recognises:

• Indefinite-term employment contracts; and
• Definite-term employment contracts of up to 36 months.

In practice, foreign employees are normally engaged under definite-term contracts because an employment contract with a foreign worker cannot extend beyond the validity of the work permit.

The contract should clearly address:

• Employer and employee information;
• Job title and responsibilities;
• Workplace and approved working locations;
• Contract duration;
• Salary, allowances, and payment arrangements;
• Working and rest hours;
• Leave entitlement;
• Social and health insurance;
• Occupational safety;
• Confidentiality and intellectual property, where applicable;
• Termination rights; and
• Relocation or repatriation obligations.

For an employee working under an employment contract, the parties should conclude the contract after the work permit is issued and before employment begins. The employer may also need to submit the signed contract to the competent authority.

Vietnam has introduced a formal framework for electronic employment contracts. Employers using electronic onboarding or regional HR platforms should ensure that electronic contracts comply with Vietnamese requirements concerning identity verification, integrity, access, storage, and transmission.

Salaries and minimum wages in 2026

Expatriate compensation varies substantially according to the employee’s role, qualifications, sector, location, and assignment structure. Packages may include:

• Base salary;
• Housing allowance;
• Schooling support;
• Private medical insurance;
• Relocation expenses;
• Home-leave travel;
• Performance or Tet bonuses; and
• Tax equalisation or tax-protection arrangements.

Employers should specify whether compensation is gross or net of Vietnamese personal income tax. Ambiguity can create substantial payroll and assignment costs, particularly for senior employees taxed at the higher progressive rates.

Decree No. 293/2025/ND-CP increased Vietnam’s regional minimum wages by an average of 7.2 percent from 1 January 2026. See our article here for key information: Vietnam’s Regional Minimum Wage Effective from 1 January 2026.  

Region	Minimum monthly wage (VND)	Minimum hourly wage (VND)
Region I	5,310,000	25,500
Region II	4,730,000	22,700
Region III	4,140,000	20,000
Region IV	3,700,000	17,800

These are statutory wage floors rather than market benchmarks for foreign professionals. Nevertheless, employers must identify the correct regional classification and ensure that employment contracts and payroll systems comply with the applicable minimum.

Annual leave and public holidays

Employees working under normal conditions are generally entitled to at least 12 working days of paid annual leave. Longer statutory entitlements apply to minors, employees with disabilities, and employees working in particularly arduous, hazardous, or dangerous conditions.

Annual leave increases by one additional day for every five years of service with the same employer.

Vietnam now provides 12 statutory paid public holiday days:

• New Year’s Day: one day;
• Lunar New Year, or Tet: five days;
• Hung Kings Commemoration Day: one day;
• Reunification Day: one day;
• International Labour Day: one day;
• National Day: two days; and
• Vietnam Culture Day on November 24: one day.

Vietnam Culture Day became a paid public holiday in 2026.

Foreign employees are additionally entitled to:

• One traditional public holiday in their home country; and
• One national day of their home country.

For information on Vietnam’s 2026 official holiday calendar, see our article here.

Social insurance for foreign employees

The 2024 Law on Social Insurance and Decree No. 158/2025/ND-CP took effect on July 1, 2025.

Foreign nationals are generally covered by compulsory social insurance when they:

• Work for an employer in Vietnam; and
• Have a definite-term employment contract of at least 12 months.

Important exclusions apply to foreign employees who:

• Qualify as intra-company transferees under the foreign-worker regulations;
• Have reached the statutory retirement age when signing the employment contract; or
• Are excluded under an international treaty to which Vietnam is a party.

Foreign employees participating in compulsory social insurance can qualify for benefits covering sickness, maternity, workplace accidents and occupational diseases, retirement, and survivorship.

Contribution rates

The principal contribution rates applicable to covered foreign employees are:

Contribution	Employee	Employer
Compulsory social insurance	8%	17%
Occupational accident and disease insurance	–	Generally 0.5%
Health insurance	1.5%	3%
Unemployment insurance	Not applicable	Not applicable

The employee’s 8 percent social insurance contribution is allocated to the retirement and survivorship fund. The employer’s 17 percent contribution covers sickness and maternity and retirement and survivorship, with workplace accident and occupational disease coverage generally contributed separately.

Contribution calculations are subject to statutory salary bases and ceilings. Employers should determine which contractual amounts are included in the contribution base rather than assuming that only the employee’s stated basic salary is relevant.

Foreign workers and unemployment insurance

Foreign workers are not currently covered by Vietnam’s compulsory unemployment insurance system. Employers should therefore not deduct the employee-side unemployment insurance contribution from a foreign worker’s salary.

This distinction is important when configuring payroll because the contribution profile for a foreign worker differs from that of a Vietnamese employee.

Personal income tax in 2026

Vietnam enacted Personal Income Tax Law No. 109/2025/QH15, which took effect on 1 July 2026. The provisions governing employment income earned by resident individuals apply from the 2026 tax year.

A foreign employee’s liability depends first on whether the employee is a Vietnamese tax resident.

Determining tax residence

An individual will generally be treated as a Vietnamese tax resident if they:

• Are present in Vietnam for at least 183 days during a calendar year or during 12 consecutive months from their first arrival; or
• Maintain a qualifying permanent or habitual residence in Vietnam and cannot establish tax residence in another country.

A resident individual is generally taxed on worldwide income, regardless of where the income is paid.

A non-resident is generally taxed only on Vietnam-sourced income. Employment income earned for work performed in Vietnam may be taxable even where the employee is paid offshore.

Employees should maintain detailed travel records because days of arrival and departure can affect the residence calculation.

PIT rates for resident employees

From the 2026 tax year, taxable employment income of residents is subject to five progressive rates:

Monthly taxable income (VND)	PIT rate
Up to 10 million	5%
Over 10 million to 30 million	10%
Over 30 million to 60 million	20%
Over 60 million to 100 million	30%
Over 100 million	35%

For 2026:

• The personal deduction is VND15.5 million per month; and
• The deduction for each registered dependant is VND6.2 million per month.

Qualifying compulsory insurance contributions and specified charitable or humanitarian contributions may also be deductible.

Non-resident employees are generally subject to PIT at 20 percent on Vietnam-sourced employment income, without the personal and dependant deductions available to residents.

The new PIT framework also provides preferential treatment for certain qualifying professionals in high-technology, digital technology, innovation, and other priority fields. Eligibility should be assessed against the detailed statutory and implementing requirements rather than assumed from the employee’s job title.

Employer withholding and annual finalisation

Vietnamese employers must generally:

• Register the employee for tax;
• Obtain or update the employee’s tax identification information;
• Withhold PIT from employment income;
• Issue withholding or income documentation where required;
• Declare and remit the tax; and
• Support or conduct annual PIT finalisation.

A foreign employee may authorise the employer to finalise PIT on their behalf if the applicable conditions are met. Otherwise, the employee may need to file directly, particularly where they:

• Earn income from more than one source;
• Receive income from an overseas employer;
• Have underpaid or overpaid tax;
• Terminate their Vietnam assignment;
• Change tax-residence status; or
• Claim treaty relief.

Assignment-end tax planning should begin before the employee leaves Vietnam. Departure can affect filing deadlines, tax-residence calculations, refunds, and the employer’s ability to obtain supporting documents.

Can a double tax agreement provide relief?

Vietnam has an extensive network of double tax agreements. These can prevent the same employment income from being taxed twice, but relief is documentation-dependent and is not automatic.

Under the standard employment-income provision, remuneration for work performed in Vietnam may remain taxable only in the employee’s home jurisdiction when all of the following conditions are satisfied:

• The employee is present in Vietnam for fewer than 183 days during the relevant period;
• The remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer that is not resident in Vietnam; and
• The remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the overseas employer in Vietnam.

The economic substance of the assignment matters. Where a Vietnamese entity bears or recharges the employee’s remuneration, directs the employee’s activities, or functions as the economic employer, treaty relief may be unavailable even if salary is paid from overseas.

Employees claiming relief should retain residence certificates, assignment documents, travel records, payroll information, recharge arrangements, and evidence supporting the identity of the economic employer.

Can a foreign employee establish a business in Vietnam?

Foreign nationals may establish and invest in businesses in Vietnam, but company ownership does not automatically provide unrestricted permission to work.

A foreign investor must consider:

• Vietnam’s foreign-investment market-access conditions;
• Whether the sector is restricted or conditional;
• Investment Registration Certificate requirements;
• Enterprise Registration Certificate requirements;
• Minimum or commercially appropriate capital;
• Sector-specific licences;
• Capital contribution deadlines;
• Tax, accounting, and electronic-invoice registrations;
• Beneficial ownership reporting;
• Employment registrations; and
• The investor’s own immigration and work-authorisation status.

Certain capital-contributing owners, members, chairpersons, or board members may qualify for a work-permit exemption if they meet the statutory conditions. Investors below the relevant threshold may still require a work permit if they perform an operational or management role.

Vietnam’s Investment Law No. 143/2025/QH15 took effect on 1 March 2026. Foreign investors should therefore assess their establishment plans against the updated investment framework rather than relying on procedures applicable when the original article was published.

Compliance checklist for foreign employees and employers in Vietnam

Before the assignment begins:

• Confirm the employee’s role and form of work;
• Determine whether a work permit or exemption applies;
• Select the correct immigration category;
• Review passport-validity requirements;
• Collect and legalise overseas documents;
• Assess Vietnamese tax residence;
• Draft a locally compliant employment or assignment agreement;
• Agree whether compensation is gross or net of PIT; and
• Confirm insurance and payroll treatment.

During employment:

• Monitor the validity of the passport, visa, work permit, and residence card;
• Ensure the employee works only for the approved employer, position, and location;
• Withhold and remit PIT;
• Make compulsory insurance contributions where applicable;
• Maintain travel and payroll records;
• Update the authorities when regulated information changes; and
• Begin extension procedures before existing documents expire.

At the end of the assignment:

• Complete PIT finalisation;
• Settle outstanding payroll and benefits;
• Consider social insurance benefit or lump-sum entitlement;
• Return or revoke employment and residence documents where required;
• Notify the relevant authorities; and
• Retain compliance records.