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| Foreigners living in Can Tho City participate in an event to celebrate the New Year festival held by the Municipal People’s Committee__Photo: Trung Kien/VNA |
Employing foreign workers is an essential need of numerous Vietnamese businesses, particularly those engaged in the fields that need experience and skills of foreign experts and managers. On September 18, the Government issued Decree 70/2023/ND-CP revising a number of articles of Decree 152 dated December 30, 2020, on Vietnam-based foreign workers and the recruitment and management of Vietnamese employees working for Vietnam-based foreign organizations and individuals. This Decree takes effect on the date of its issuance with a number of novel points aimed at creating more favorable conditions for businesses to employ foreign workers and addressing problems facing those businesses during performance of administrative procedures for getting work permits for their Vietnam-based foreign employees.
Easier requirements on foreign experts, chief executive officers and technical workers
As per Decree 152 of 2020, while carrying out procedures for getting work permits for their employees, businesses were required to prove that the recruited workers satisfy various conditions, including conditions on experience and qualifications. Under the new Decree, such requirements are relaxed for foreign experts, chief executive officers (CEOs) and technical workers.
Specifically, Article 1.1 of Decree 70 says that the aforesaid persons are only required to possess a university or higher degree or an equivalent diploma and have at least three years’ experience relevant to the working positions they are expected to hold in Vietnam. Previously, they were asked to possess a university degree in the major/discipline in which they are expected to work.
As per the new regulation, a CEO is not only the head who personally manages a unit of an agency, organization or enterprise but may also act as the head of a branch or representative office or business location of such enterprise; or as the head who personally manages at least one field and submits to the direction and administration by the head of such agency, organization or enterprise.
Foreign technical workers are no longer required to work only in the fields in which they have been trained, provided they have been trained for at least one year and have at least three years’ experience relevant to the working positions that they are expected to hold in Vietnam.
More cases in which foreign workers are exempt from work permits
The new Decree adds some categories of foreigners who are not required to obtain Vietnamese work permits for being employed in Vietnam, including:
(i) Foreigners who are sent by foreign authorities to Vietnam to work as teachers/lecturers or administrators/CEOs of education institutions proposed by foreign diplomatic missions or inter-governmental organizations to be established in Vietnam; and,
(ii) Foreigners who are certified by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam as having entered Vietnam to work as administrators, CEOs, principals or vice principals of education institutions proposed by foreign diplomatic missions or inter-governmental organizations to be established in Vietnam.
This would contribute to attracting foreign experts to enter Vietnam for working as teachers/lecturers or educational administrators.
Reporting on the demand for foreign workers
Under the new Decree, before employing foreign workers, Vietnam-based employers other than contractors are required to carry out procedures for determining their own need for employment of foreign workers for different working positions for which Vietnamese workers are not yet qualified and send explanatory reports thereon to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) or provincial-level Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of localities where such foreign workers are expected to work.
The period for completion of such procedures is now shortened from current 30 days to 15 days before the projected date of employment of a foreign worker.
Employers should report any change in the demand for foreign workers in terms of working position or title, form of job performance, number of foreign workers and workplaces to the MOLISA or provincial-level Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs at least 15 days before the projected date of employment of foreign workers, instead of 30 days under the previous regulations.
Another important novel point is the change in the competence to permit the employment of foreign workers provided in Article 1.2. Accordingly, the MOLISA or provincial-level Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (instead of provincial-level People’s Committees under the previous regulations) are competent to issue or refuse to issue permissions for the employment of foreign workers for the job positions reported by employers. This is attributable to ensuring more unified state management of recruitment and management of Vietnam-based foreign workers by the labor, invalids and social affairs sector from the central to local level[1].
The time limit for issuing such a permission is 10 working days after the MOLISA or the concerned provincial-level Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs receives an explanatory report on the demand or change in the demand for foreign workers.
Moreover, Article 1.2 of Decree 70, which amends Article 4 of Decree 152 of 2020, eliminates four groups of foreigners who are not subject to procedures for determining the demand for foreign workers, including:
(i) Foreigners who enter Vietnam to work as professional or technical consultants or perform other tasks to serve the study, formulation, appraisal, monitoring, evaluation, management and implementation of ODA-funded programs and projects under regulations or agreements concluded between Vietnamese and foreign partners;
(ii) Foreigners who are licensed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam to carry out information and press activities in Vietnam;
(iii) Foreigners who enter Vietnam to work as unpaid volunteers to implement treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party as certified by Vietnam-based foreign diplomatic missions or international organizations; and,
(iv) Foreigners who are certified by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam as having entered Vietnam to work as teachers/lecturers, researchers, administrators, CEOs, principals or vice principals of education institutions proposed by foreign diplomatic missions or inter-governmental organizations to be established.
Meanwhile, the new regulation adds two categories of foreigners for whom it is not required to certify the demand for foreign workers. They are foreign lawyers who have been licensed for lawyer practice in Vietnam; and foreigners who are married to Vietnamese people and currently residing in Vietnam’s territory.
Grant of e-permits for foreign workers
Under the new regulation, the MOLISA or provincial-level Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of localities where foreign workers are expected to work may grant work permits to foreign workers under regulations.
In addition to work permits in paper form as currently provided, Article 1.6 of Decree 70 makes it possible to grant electronic work permits made according to Form No. 12/PLI provided in Appendix I to Decree 152 of 2020.
Businesses and organizations may compile and file their dossiers of application for work permits for their foreign workers via the information system for settlement of administrative procedures at https://dvc.vieclamvietnam.gov.vn/, or to the single-window divisions of provincial-level Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. They have to pay a charge of VND 400,000 per permit.
Worthy of note, for the first time ever a foreign worker may be licensed to work for an employer in more than one province or city, provided his work permit clearly states that he can work anywhere in Vietnam’ territory. In this case, the employer must, within three working days after the employee commences his job performance, send an online report to the MOLISA and the concerned provincial-level Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of the locality where he comes to work.
Annulment of a number of provisions on tasks of industrial park and economic zone management boards
As of September 18, management boards of industrial parks and economic zones will no longer grant, re-grant, extend or revoke work permits or certify that foreign workers are not subject to grant of work permits for working in the industrial parks and economic zones.
They will also not receive reports on the employment of foreign workers via the National Public Service Portal or explanatory reports of businesses located in industrial parks and economic zones on the demand for foreign workers for different working positions for which Vietnamese workers are not yet qualified.
The above tasks will be now performed by the MOLISA and provincial-level Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of localities where foreign workers are expected to work.-
According to statistics released by the MOLISA’s Department of Employment, by October 2023, there are 132,381 foreign workers across the country, including 10,458 (7.8 percent) who are not subject to grant of work permits and 121,923 (92.2 percent) who are subject to grant of work permits. Of those who are subject to grant of work permits, 89,004 have obtained new permits, 15,362 have their permits renewed, 9,753 have their permits re-granted, and the rest are undergoing procedures for grant of work permits.
According to reports of localities, foreign workers employed by foreign-invested businesses account for over 72 percent of total foreign workers in Vietnam, working mainly in such fields as science and technology, electronic manufacturing, services, education and training.
[1] More specifically, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs performs the unified state management of the recruitment and management of foreign workers nationwide and manages Vietnamese employees working for Vietnam-based foreign entities and individuals while provincial-level Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs uniformly manage and issue work permits for foreign workers in localities.
