Employer-sponsored work authorisation and appropriate immigration status must both be in place before work; the September sanctions decree is not a new permit route.
Route overview
Work permit for foreign employee plus appropriate visa/temporary residence card
Typical timeline / duration: Work permit duration is generally tied to contract/assignment and may be renewable subject to current rules. Some short assignments/exemptions exist and should be listed separately.
Important notes
The employer must match the worker to the applicable manager, executive, expert or technical-worker category and submit the current provincial procedure's evidence.
Decree 219/2025 has applied since 7 August 2025. The ordinary decision clock is 10 working days from a complete file, not a guaranteed end-to-end start-work date.
Passport, role/qualification/experience, health and criminal-record evidence as required; authenticate qualifying foreign public documents and arrange Vietnamese translations.
Exemptions are category-specific: establish whether an exemption certificate or notification is required before work. Do not assume every exempt case has the same three-day notification rule.
Obtain the appropriate work visa/residence permission independently of the labour approval, and maintain both through any employer, role or location change.
Decree 283/2026 was signed 15 July and took effect on 10 September 2026. The government summary describes VND15–25 million worker fines for affected unauthorised or expired-document work and possible additional sanctions, including deportation. Exemption cases must be matched to the actual rules; no before/after fine increase is asserted.
From 11 September 2026, qualifying Chinese public documents use an Apostille instead of consular legalisation. Vietnamese translation and document acceptance remain separate; commercial/customs exclusions may apply. Earlier legalised documents need not be redone.
Decree 286/2026 was signed on 17 July and took effect on 15 September 2026. The register describes inter-agency immigration coordination; its title alone does not establish a new visa ban or automatic residence entitlement.
The older government 'Work permits' guide still cites Decree 152/2020; it is not used as the current exhaustive checklist. The January 2026 Ministry of Home Affairs explanation confirms the complete-file clock under Decree 219/2025.
Preparation checklist
Have the employer confirm the role category, local filing authority and any recruitment requirements.
Determine whether a permit, exemption certificate or notification is needed and retain written confirmation.
Obtain a document-specific authentication plan: check Apostille eligibility, issue country and translation requirements.
Prepare employer, qualification/experience, passport, health and background evidence against the current checklist.
Retain the authority's complete-file receipt and track the permit decision separately from visa/residence processing.
Confirm all required labour and immigration permissions are valid before work begins.