Immigration News & Alert

Keep up to date on the ever changing rules and regulations for Immigration to Vietnam.

New Decree 102 elaborating some articles of the labor code on foreign nationals working in Vietnam

The new Decree 102/2013/ND-CP, issued by MOLISA on Sept 6, 2013, provides guidelines on the implementation of provisions of the new labor code on the management of foreign nationals working in Vietnam. This new decree will take effect on November 1, 2013 and shall replace Decree 34/2008/ND-CP dated 25 March 2008 and Decree No. 46/2011/ND-CP dated 17 June 2011.

The key points of the new Decree 102/2013/ND-CP are:

1/ Work Permit Exemption:

– New categories of foreigners working in Vietnam that shall be exempted of work permits include:

• Teachers working for foreign organizations assigned to Vietnam by the foreign country’s authority to teach at an international university that is under the management of the foreign country’s authority representative or an international organization in Vietnam.
• Foreigners who hold a Master’s Degree or equivalent assigned to work in Vietnam for consultation, teaching, conducting research at universities/ colleges for a period of less than 30 days.
• Foreigners working in Vietnam within the framework of an international agreement involving central authorities and political/social organizations at the central level.- The Work Permit exemption form should be lodged at the provincial Labor Department with supporting documents as usual, but if these documents were issued overseas, only an official translation in Vietnamese is required as per Vietnamese Law. Notarization and legalization in the country of origin of the documents is no longer required for the work permit exemption procedure.

– The Labor Department shall issue a confirmation letter to foreigners exempted of work permit within 3 working days from the date of receiving the application.

2/ Categories of Foreigners Assigned to Work in Vietnam Previously, only Managers, Executives or Experts were the only accepted positions for an assignment to Vietnam. The new decree introduces “Technical Workers”. Technical Workers shall give evidence of their qualifications in a technical field (at least 1 year of study/training) and a minimum of 3 years experience in the related field.

3/ Demand on Using Foreigners Every year, and during the year if any change, employers in Vietnam shall be responsible to report their demand and seek approval for using foreigners for each specific position where Vietnamese nationals cannot meet the employer’s requirements. Reports shall be made to the People’s Committee of each province/city where the company’s head office is located.

4/ Work Permit Application

– Additional documents shall be required such as the approval letter issued by the Chairman of People Committee for the use of foreigners in specific positions. For internal transferees, a document that gives evidence that the internal transferee has indeed previously worked for the company will be required.

– For local hires: The previous requirement to place a job advertisement is not mentioned in the new decree. There may however be some inconsistencies between different labor departments throughout the country with regard to the application of this requirement.

5/ Work Permit Re-Issuance

– Work Permit renewal: before at least 5 (five) days but not more than 15 (fifteen) days from the date the work permit expires, employers must submit the application to request for re-issuance of work permit.

– Renewal applications shall include:

• Work Permit expiry date
• New health check and health certificate
• The approval letter issued by the Chairman of People’s Committee on the use of foreigners.
• New Assignment Letter, service contract (depending on each case) to justify the assignment.

Should you have any questions, please contact your Immigration Coordinator at Expats Vietnam.

Duration of Work Permit reduced to 2 years

01 October, 2013

After several drafts and discussion, the new labor code that was submitted in early June to the Vietnam National Assembly was approved on 18 June 2012.
Among several other labor changes, and pursuant to article 173 of the new labor code, the initial duration of a Work Permit for foreign employees is reduced from up to 3 years to up to 2 years – renewable.

The new labor code will come into effect from 1 May 2013 and will be followed by several new decrees and circulars to amend current regulations.

Wait times at the Visa On Arrival Immigration Desk – Ho Chi Minh City Airport

It has recently come to our attention that wait times at the Visa On Arrival Immigration Desk in the Ho Chi Minh City Airport have increased significantly due to more Visa On Arrival requests and insufficient staffing. In some cases upon landing, the wait time can be up to almost two hours before the incoming foreigner is issued their visa and may proceed to immigration and baggage claim.
For individuals and especially families entering HCMC with Visa on Arrival, these potentially long wait times can be highly frustrating and cause issues with tight schedules. In order to avoid long wait times, Resident Vietnam offers optional assistance in addition to our normal visa on arrival service. Travelers are met immediately once they enter the arrival terminal and are handled personally by a facilitator who helps to greatly speed the process. No need to wait in long lines or deal with the hassle of the Visa on Arrival procedures.

For more information on this service, please contact your Immigration Coordinator.

New Government Fees for Vietnam Visa and Temporary Residence Card:

On November 9, 2012, The Ministry of Finance of Vietnam issued a new circular, No. 190/2012/TT-BTC that revises government fees applicable to the issuance of Vietnam Visas and Temporary Residence cards for Foreign Nationals and Overseas Vietnamese.

The below table shows current and new government fees that will be applicable from January 01, 2013 onwards.

	Type of Visa	Current fees*	New Fees* (Applicable from January 1st 2013)
1	Single-entry visas	USD 25	USD 45
2	Multiple-entry visas:
	a) Valid for less than 01 month	USD 50	USD 65
	b) Valid for less than 06 months	USD 50	USD 95
	c) Valid for 6 months or more	USD 100	USD 135
3	Transfer of visas or temporary residence card from expired passports to new passports	USD 10	USD 15
4	Temporary Residence Cards:
	a) Valid for up to 1 year	USD 60	USD 80
	b) Valid for more than 1 year and up to 2 years	USD 80	USD 100
	c) Valid for more than 2 years and up to 3 years	USD 100	USD 120

* Exclusive of “Extension of temporary residence certification” tax applied for renewal of visa and Temp. Res. Card

Should you have any questions, please contact your Immigration Coordinator at Expats Vietnam.