In the course of advising businesses that employ foreign workers, a question that comes up quite frequently is: when a foreign employee already holds a valid Work Permit (WP) at one company and then moves to work for another company, can the new company simply reuse the old Work Permit, apply for its reissuance, or is it required to apply for an entirely new Work Permit?

Foreign Employees Changing Companies: Reissuance or a New Work Permit Application?

Under Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, a Work Permit is tied to a specific employer. When an employee changes companies, the Work Permit issued for the former employer is no longer valid for use at the new company, regardless of whether it is still within its validity period.

Decree 219/2025/ND-CP provides for only two cases in which a still-valid Work Permit may be reissued:

• The Work Permit has been lost or damaged and can no longer be used;
• There has been a change to the personal information stated on the Work Permit (full name, nationality, passport number), or a change in the company’s name that does not involve a change to the employer’s identification code.

Moving to work for a different legal entity (whether a company within the same corporate group, an affiliated company, or an entirely unrelated one) does not fall within either of these two cases. This situation therefore constitutes a new application, and the new company, as the employer, must carry out the procedure to obtain a new Work Permit for the employee.

Application Dossier for a Work Permit in the Case of an Employee Transferring Companies

Under Article 20 of Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, the dossier required for a Work Permit application in this case has been simplified compared to a standard new application, and does not require a health certificate or a judicial record card. The dossier consists of:

1. A confirmation from the employer that the employee is currently working there;
2. A document from the employer reporting its need to employ foreign labor and requesting issuance of the Work Permit;
3. Two color photos (4×6 cm, white background, front-facing, bare-headed, without glasses);
4. A valid passport;
5. Documents proving the working arrangement corresponding to the new position;
6. A copy of the previously issued Work Permit;
7. Documents proving that the employee is a manager, executive director, expert, or technical worker as required by regulation.

Key Notes:

• Gap in lawful working status: Since the Work Permit for the new company is only issued after the dossier has been approved, businesses should proactively submit the dossier early (as soon as there are plans to bring on the employee) to avoid a situation in which the employee begins working in practice before holding a valid Work Permit; this carries the risk of an administrative violation for employing foreign labor without proper authorization.
• Termination of the Work Permit at the former company: The former employer remains responsible for carrying out the reporting/revocation procedure for the Work Permit as required when the employee’s labor contract is terminated, in order to avoid related obligations arising later.