WORK PERMIT, NOTES ABOUT DOCUMENTS OF FOREIGN WORKERS

One of the principles for Enterprises to be approved to use foreign workers is that Vietnamese workers do not meet requirements of the corresponding job positions. Accordingly, the requirements for experience as well as degrees and certificates are quite strict, and the documents of foreign workers in the process of applying for a work permit also has some issues that need to be paid attention.

1. Job positions for foreign workers

In the process of carrying out the procedure to request for approval of the demand to use foreign workers and issuance of corresponding work permit, enterprise need to choose 1 of 4 job positions including:

– Manager;

– Executive;

– Expert; or

– Technical worker.

Each job position has its own specific requirements in terms of professional qualifications, degrees/certificates, and experience.

2. In the documents of foreign workers, university degree is a mandatory condition?

a. Documents of foreign workers for positions of manager and executive

Manager means a person in charge of management of an enterprise as prescribed of the Law on Enterprises or the head or deputy head of an agency or organization.

Executive means any of the following person: (i) The head of a branch, representative office, or place of business of the enterprise; or (ii) The head who directly administers at least one field of the agency, organization, or enterprise and reports directly to the head of the agency, organization, or enterprise.

Regulations in Decree 152/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree 70/2023/ND-CP), university degrees are not included in the list of mandatory required documents. Correspondingly, documents of foreign workers proving that they are managers and executives include:

The company’s charter or operation regulations of agency, organization, or enterprise;

– Certificate of enterprise registration or certificate of establishment or establishment decision or other document of equivalent legal validity;

– Certificate of enterprise registration or certificate of establishment or establishment decision or other document of equivalent legal validity;

– Resolution or appointment decision of the agency, organization, or enterprise.

b. Documents of foreign workers for positions of expert

Experts are foreign workers in one of the following cases:

– Graduated from university or higher or equivalent and have at least 03 years of work experience suitable to the job position that the foreign worker plans to work in Vietnam. Then, in this case, a university degree, a master’s degree; Diploma, certificate or training certificate or equivalent qualifications will be a necessary condition;

– Have at least 5 years of experience and have a practice certificate appropriate to the job position that the foreign worker plans to work in Vietnam; or

– Special cases are decided by the Prime Minister at the request of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

It should be noted that in cases where a bachelor degree or equivalent is required, the major must also be compatible with the job position that the foreign worker plans to work in Vietnam. For example, if a foreign worker has a bachelor degree but majors in transportation, it will be difficult to apply for a position as an expert in construction techniques.

c. Documents of foreign workers for positions of technical worker

Technical workers are foreign workers in one of the following cases:

– Trained for at least 01 year and have at least 03 years of experience suitable to the job position that the foreign worker plans to work in Vietnam.

– At least 05 years of experience in a job suitable to the job position that the foreign worker is expected to work in Vietnam.

Accordingly, foreign technical workers are not required to have a bachelor degree to be permitted to work in Vietnam. A valid and appropriate diploma or certificate or technical training certificate will be acceptable documents of foreign workers.

>> ISSUANCE OF WORK PERMITS FOR KOREAN WORKER, DIFFICULTY IN IMPLEMENTATION? https://linconlaw.vn/issuance-of-work-permits-for-korean-worker-difficulty-in-implementation/

>> MUST-KNOW TIMELINE FOR APPLICATION OF WORK PERMIT FOR FOREIGNERS https://linconlaw.vn/must-know-timeline-for-application-of-work-permit-for-foreigners/

3. Which documents of foreign workers are used to prove for work experience?

Work experience for the corresponding position expected to work in Vietnam is a condition for most of working positions of foreign workers, in the form of mandatory documents or documents requested as additional proof on the necessary and appropriate level of foreign workers in enterprises.

According to the content presented above, for the positions of expert and technical worker, there are some points to note as follows:

– Confirmation of experience or equivalent written confirmation issued by an agency, organization or enterprise abroad. It must clearly record the number of years of experience of expert and technical worker.

– In case a work permit has been issued or confirmed not to be subject to a work permit, these will also be documents of foreign workers to be used instead for the purpose of experience proof for the corresponding job position.

– Documents issued by foreign countries must be consularly legalized (except in exempt cases) and translated into Vietnamese and notarized or authenticated according to regulations.