Do foreigners who get married with Vietnamese citizens need to apply for work permits in Vietnam?

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Question date: 01/04/2023

Do foreigners who get married with Vietnamese citizens need to apply for work permits in Vietnam? Is it necessary to submit a written acceptance from the competent authority for foreign workers employment who are not subject to a work permit in Vietnam? What does application for exemption from work permit in Vietnam comprise?

My company has signed an employment contract with a foreigner, it is known that this person has a Vietnamese wife. So, do I need to apply for a work permit for this person? And through research, I know that if foreigners are not eligible for a work permit in this case, I only need to report it to the competent authority. So is this true? Thank you!

    • Do foreigners who get married with Vietnamese citizens need to apply for work permits in Vietnam?

      Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP stipulating on certification of exemption from work permit as follows:

      2. The employer shall request the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province where the foreign worker is expected to work to certify that such foreign worker is eligible for exemption from a work permit at least 10 working days before he/she starts to work.

      For any of the circumstances in clauses 4, 6 and 8 Article 154 of the Labor Code and clauses 1, 2, 8 and 11 Article 7 of this Decree, the employer is not required to apply for the certification of exemption but it must report the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of province where the foreign worker is expected to work, at least 3 days before such foreign worker starts to work in Vietnam, on the following: full name, age, nationality, passport number, name of employer, starting date and completion date.

      The validity period of a certification of exemption from work permit is up to 2 years and coincides with the validity period of any case as prescribed in Article 10 below. If a certification of exemption from work permit is re-issued, the corresponding validity period is up to 2 years.

      According to Clause 8, Article 154 of the 2019 Labor Code, work permit exemption for foreign employees in Vietnam as follows:

      8. Gets married with a Vietnamese citizen and wishes to reside in Vietnam.

      According to this Article, in order to be eligible for a foreign worker's work permit, he or she must marry a Vietnamese and reside in Vietnam. In your case, it is necessary to consider whether this foreign worker lives in the territory of Vietnam to consider not being eligible for a work permit.

      Is it necessary to submit a written acceptance from the competent authority for foreign workers employment who are not subject to a work permit in Vietnam?

      In Article 4 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP stipulating the employment of foreign workers as follows:

      1. Determination of demand for foreign workers

      a) At least 30 days before the date on which foreign workers are expected to be employed, the employer (except contractor) shall determine the demand for foreign workers for every job position for which Vietnamese workers are underqualified and send a corresponding report to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or the People’s Committee of province or central-affiliated city (hereinafter referred to as province) where the foreign workers are expected to work, using Form No. 01/PLI Appendix I hereto appended.

      During the process, in case of any change to the demand for foreign workers, the employer shall send a report to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or the People’s Committee of province, using Form No. 02/PLI Appendix I hereto appended at least 30 days before the date on which the foreign worker are expected to be employed.

      b) If the foreign worker falls under any case of clause 3, 4 and 5 Article 154 of the Labor Code and clauses 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 Article 7 of this Decree, the employer is not required to determine the demand for foreign workers.

      2. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or the People’s Committee of province shall issue a document specifying accepted job positions and non-accepted job positions, using Form No. 03/PLI Appendix I hereto appended within 10 working days after receiving the foregoing report on demand for foreign workers or report on change thereof.

      According to the above provisions in Vietnam, only the cases in Clause 3, 4 and 5 Article 154 of the Labor Code and clauses 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 Article 7 of this Decree, the employer is not required to determine the demand for foreign workers. Therefore, in case a foreigner with a Vietnamese wife who is not required to apply for a work permit under Clause 8, Article 154 of the Labor Code 2019, still has to determine the demand for foreign workers and have written approval of the use of foreign workers for the work as prescribed above.

      What does application for exemption from work permit in Vietnam comprise?

      According to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 8 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, application for exemption from work permit is as follows:

      3. Required documents in an application for exemption from work permit:

      a) An application form for certification of exemption from work permit No. 09/PLI Appendix I hereto appended;

      b) A fitness to work certificate in accordance with clause 2 Article 9 hereof.

      c) An acceptance of demand for foreign workers, unless it is not required;

      d) A valid certified true copy of passport as per the law;

      dd) Documents justifying that the foreign worker is exempt from work permit;

      e) Any document mentioned in points b, c and dd of this clause is 1 original or certified true copy; if a document is written in a foreign language, it must be consularly legalized, translated into Vietnamese and certified, unless it is exempt from consular legalization under an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the concerned foreign country are signatories or under the principle of reciprocity or as per the law.

      Thus, in order to be confirmed that the employer is not eligible for a work permit, the employer needs to make a dossier according to the above provisions and send it to the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker is expected to work in Vietnam.

      Best Regards!

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    "This English translation is for reference purposes only and not a definitive translation of the original Vietnamese texts"

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