Newsletter

Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP issued by the Government on 7 August 2025, regulating foreign workers working in Vietnam, replacing Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP and Decree No. 70/2023/ND-CP amending and supplementing Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP

Some notable new provisions of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP regarding foreign workers in Vietnam include:

(1) The requirement of 3 years of experience for experts to obtain a work permit has been removed.

According to Clause 3, Article 3 of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP, an expert is a person who:

1. a) Hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (or equivalent) and have at least 2 years of relevant working experience;
2. b) Hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in relevant major and have at least 1 year of relevant working experience, applicable for experts working in fields of finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, or priority socio-economic development fields.

Previously, according to Clause 3, Article 3 of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP, all experts were required to have a minimum of 3 years of relevant working experience or at least 5 years of experience and a professional certificate relevant to the job position that the foreign worker was expected to work in Vietnam.

(2) Provincial People’s Committee to issue work permits for foreigners from 7 August 2025

According to Article 4 of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP, the Provincial People’s Committee is the authority responsible for issuing work permits to foreigners. The Provincial People’s Committee may also delegate this authority to its subordinate specialized agencies.

(3) Online simultaneous processing of work permit and judicial record certificate

Clause 3, Article 6 of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP introduces an integrated procedure allowing the simultaneous online processing of both the work permit and the judicial record certificate via the National Public Service Portal. Accordingly, employers may submit both applications online at the same time:

• Application for a work permit;
• Application for a judicial record certificate (on behalf of the foreign worker, via authorization).

This integrated process involves coordination between the National Public Service Portal, the work permit-issuing authority (under the Provincial People’s Committee), and the police authority responsible for issuing the judicial record certificate. As a result, both the electronic work permit and the electronic judicial record certificate will be issued and returned simultaneously.

(4) Article 7 of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP specifies 15 cases in which foreigners are exempt from work permit in Vietnam

The new regulation adds exemptions for foreigners working in sectors such as finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, and other socio-economic development priority areas, provided they are certified by relevant ministries, ministerial-level agencies, or provincial-level People’s Committees.

(5) Foreigners working less than 90 days per year are not required to obtain a work permit

According to Point a, Clause 13, Article 7 of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP, foreign workers in Vietnam whose total working period does not exceed 90 days in a calendar year (from 1 January to 31 December) are not subject to work permit requirements. However, pursuant to Clause 4, Article 9, the employer must notify the competent authority responsible for issuing such confirmation to the competent authority at least 3 days before such foreign worker starts to work in Vietnam

Previously, Clause 2, Article 7 of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP also granted a similar exemption for those working less than 30 days per occasion and not exceeding 90 days per year, but did not clearly require notification responsibilities.

(6) Change in notification requirements for cases exempt from confirmation of work permit exemption

Pursuant to Clause 4, Article 9 Decree No. 219: For cases specified in Clauses 4, 5, 6, and 8 of Article 154 of the Labor Code, and Clauses 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, and point a of Clause 13 of Article 7 hereof, there is no need to carry out the procedure for issuance of confirmation of exemption from work permit requirement. However, the employer must notify the competent authority responsible for issuing such confirmation in the province or city where the foreign worker is expected to work at least 3 days before such foreign worker starts to work in Vietnam.

Previously, under Article 8 of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP, in cases where confirmation of exemption was not required, employers only had to report to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs or the provincial Department of Labor.

(7) Work permit issuance period is 10 working days

According to Clause 3, Article 22 of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP:

“Within 10 working days from the date receiving a complete application for issuing a work permit, the competent authority shall review and approve the application and issue the work permit for the foreign worker using Form No. 04 in the Appendix attached to this Decree.”

Previously, Clause 2, Article 15 of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP stipulated a shorter processing time of 5 working days from the date of receiving a complete application.

(8) Work permit issued in one province allows working in multiple localities

Clause 5, Article 22 of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP allows:

Foreign workers who already possess a valid work permit to work in multiple provinces or centrally affiliated cities. However, the employer must inform the competent authority in the province or city where the foreign worker is expected to work at least 3 days prior to the expected start date.

(9) Work permits may only be extended once, for a maximum of 2 years

Under Decree No. 219, a work permit can be extended only once, and for a duration not exceeding 2 years.

Previously, Decree No. 152 allowed extension for up to 2 years without limiting the number of extensions.

(10) New regulations on revocation of work permits and work permit exemption confirmations

According to Articles 30 and 32 of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP, cases in which a work permit or confirmation of exemption may be revoked include:

• Expired documents;
• Violations by the foreign worker or enterprise related to issuance, renewal, or misuse of the work permit;
• The foreign worker is prosecuted or subject to criminal liability;
• The enterprise ceases operations;
• A written notice from the foreign dispatching party indicating that the worker will stop working.

Previously, Decree No. 152 mentioned revocation grounds sporadically across various articles, and did not provide provisions for revoking exemption confirmations.