Vietnam will exempt 18 categories of foreign workers from permit requirements starting December 5, 2026, under a decree signed by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra on October 20. The new work permit exemption includes investors, certain educators, strategic technology specialists and people recruited through a national artificial intelligence program.
The measure, Decree No. 393/2026/ND-CP, sets out rules for foreign employment in Vietnam. It replaces the previous decree governing foreign workers and preserves separate filing steps for employers, depending on whether a worker needs a permit, an exemption certificate or a notification.
Some workers who qualify for an exemption must still obtain a certificate confirming it. Others fall under a notification requirement, while workers outside the exempt categories need a permit.
Employers still face filing deadlines for permits and exemptions
Employers seeking an exemption certificate must submit an application no more than 60 days before the foreign worker’s expected start date. Authorities have 5 working days to process a complete application.
Some exempt categories do not need the certificate but must notify the relevant authorities as required. The decree assigns obligations according to category, with the certificate and notification routes remaining distinct.
Employers applying for a work permit must file at least 10 working days before the expected start date and no more than 60 days in advance. Authorities have 10 working days to process a complete application.
Provincial People's Committees administer permits, including through agencies they delegate or authorize. The review covers the employer’s demand for foreign labor as well as issuance of the permit.
The exemptions range from company investors to educators and AI recruits
The decree carries forward categories in Article 154 of the Labor Code. They include owners or capital-contributing members of limited liability companies, and chairpersons or board members of joint-stock companies, if they meet the Government’s contribution thresholds.
For both company types, a qualifying investment is VND 3 billion or more, about US$116,000. Other continuing exemptions cover heads of representative offices or projects, and people responsible for operations of international organizations or foreign NGOs in Vietnam. Foreign lawyers licensed to practice in Vietnam, people covered by international treaties, and foreign nationals married to Vietnamese citizens who reside in Vietnam are also included.
The listed groups include foreign specialists providing professional or technical consulting, or carrying out research, construction, appraisal, monitoring, evaluation, management or implementation work on qualifying aid and development projects. The projects must use non-refundable aid, official development assistance or concessional or preferential loans, and operate under approved project documents, agreements or treaties with foreign authorities.
Other categories include press correspondents confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; people sent by foreign agencies or organizations to teach, manage or direct certain educational institutions; and foreign students and trainees with internship agreements or job offers from Vietnamese organizations or businesses. Apprentices on Vietnamese seagoing vessels are included, as are relatives of foreign diplomatic mission members when treaties allow them to work.
The rules also cover official-passport holders working for state agencies or political and socio-political organizations, people responsible for establishing a commercial presence in Vietnam, volunteers and workers implementing international agreements signed by central- or provincial-level bodies.
Short-term foreign workers appear among the exemption categories, but the decree sets a permit route under an employment contract when an employment relationship, labor use and salary payment arise. Intra-corporate transferees at businesses operating in the 11 service sectors listed in Vietnam’s WTO commitments are also covered.
Several newer exemptions focus on education and research. These include personnel at educational institutions involved in teaching, research, transferring international education programs, or running education cooperation and training programs approved by Vietnamese authorities. Participants in scientific research cooperation, technology transfer, innovation and international education projects also qualify.
Eligible academic personnel include people with a master's degree or higher in STEM, science, technology, digital transformation, finance, economics or business administration who teach or conduct scientific research. Doctoral degree holders teaching or researching at vocational or higher education institutions qualify, as do professors and associate professors engaged in teaching, research or academic exchanges there.
Additional groups include people certified by ministries, ministerial-level agencies or provincial authorities; eligible holders of special visa exemption cards under Decree No. 221/2025/ND-CP; foreign experts in designated strategic technology fields and their family members or relatives; and people hired through the National Artificial Intelligence Talent Development Program.
The previous short-stay rule brought disputes over proof of work status
The new rules replace Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP, which exempted managers, executives, experts and technical workers entering Vietnam for less than 90 days in one year. The year ran from January 1 to December 31.
A February 18, 2026 account published by Vietnam.vn described problems with the former notification-only procedure. Ms. Ngo Tuyet Tram, whose business was in Ho Chi Minh City, said customs requested confirmation from the Department of Interior before releasing personal-effects shipments. The Department of Foreign Affairs declined to legalize notices bearing receipt stamps because they were not official response letters.
The dispute left foreign experts, including Philippine nationals working under 90 days a year, unable to show proof of legal employment status. The Ministry of Interior cited provisions on short-term work and notification in the previous decree. It also said spouses of Vietnamese citizens who already had documents supporting a visa or temporary residence card only needed to notify the competent authority.
Permits remain limited to two years at a time
A permit remains valid for the term of an employment contract, assignment document or qualifying contract or agreement, up to a maximum of two years. It may be extended once for up to two additional years, subject to extension requirements.
The decree contains 5 chapters and 37 articles. Its December 5 start date gives employers a point to review whether each worker needs a permit, an exemption certificate or a notice.
