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Under Vietnam labor law, any foreigner must obtain a Work Permit to work legally in Vietnam. There are various types of Work Permit including Work Permit for teachers, workers, legal representatives, directors,… In this article, we will provide the A to Z procedure to help foreign teachers (teaching English, French, Japanese, Chinese,…) apply for and obtain their Work Permit in Vietnam. While other kinds of Work Permit just require University degree as a proof for education background, a professional certificate in teaching is also a must for teaching cases. The government of Vietnam will deport any foreigner who is working in Vietnam without a work permit, or on an expired one. As for employers, an administrative penalty ranging from VND5 million to VND10 million will apply if they fail to, or insufficiently report, any employment of foreigners to the authorized agencies.

Pursuant to the new Decree No 11/2016/ND-CP issued on 3 February 2016 detailing on the implementation of Labor Code regarding to the foreign labor working in Viet Nam, if the current work permit within valid period is lost, damaged or the content of the work permit is changed, foreign workers must apply for a replacement one. The work permit reissued application dossier for foreign nationals must be submitted to the local Department of Labour and Social Welfare at least 5 days but less than 45 days before the expiry date of the current work permit.

Beside Temporary Residence Card (TRC) for relatives of foreigners living in Vietnam, Department of Vietnam Immigration also issues the TRC for foreign wife/ husband/ child of Vietnamese citizens. With the Temporary Residence Card – Type: TT, he or she is able to live in the country up to 03 years. Procedure for apply this TRC is less complicated than the other (type: DN, ĐT, LĐ…). However, please take a note that Temporary Residence Cards will not be issued if the applicant’s passport is valid for less than one year, and the duration of the residence card will always be at least one month shorter than the duration of the holder’s passport.

Vietnam Government has authorized 5-year visa exemption for foreign nationals who have Vietnamese family members and regularly travel to Vietnam for visiting relatives but don’t want to apply for visa each time. The visa exemption is valid for 5 years with multiple entries and must be 6 month shorter than the validity of the current valid passport. With this 5-year visa exemption, you can maximally stay 06 months per entry. After 06 months, you need to exit Vietnam and enter again or apply for visa extension for continuously staying in the country. if holders of 5-year visa exemptions done in Vietnam cannot use it to exit Vietnam immediately. They must exit with the Vietnam visa which they used to enter Vietnam. Then, the next time you enter with 5-year Vietnam visa exemption, you are able to use it to exit the country.

Visa for foreign investors in Vietnam is symbolized as ĐT Code and it is valid for from 01 year to 5 years maximum. It is used for foreign investors and lawyers practicing in Vietnam, who set up or combine capital for the company performance in Vietnam, are granted Vietnam visa or the temporary residence card for long term business in Vietnam. The short-term investment visa can be obtained at Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate in their own country or Vietnam’s international airports.

According to the Immigration Department of Vietnam, passport holders of all countries are allowed to enter Vietnam via Visa on Arrival (VOA). In this case, you can apply for Tourist/ Business Approval Letter beforehand, then have Vietnam visa stamp on your passport at any Vietnam International Airport. The applicants must possess with passport at least 06-month validity to apply for the Approval letter. The stamping fee is various depending on type of visa (Tourist or Business) and visa’s validity (1 month/ 3 months/ 6 months/ 1 year with single/multiple entry).