When a company hires a foreign employee or moves a specialist into Vietnam, it must comply with the applicable rules and prepare documents that match the job, employing entity and assignment. Decree 393/2026/ND-CP on Foreign Workers in Vietnam changes several of these requirements, including who qualifies, when an exemption applies and how an existing permission is maintained.
The decree simplifies some procedures while tightening particular employment arrangements and documentation requirements. Employers and employees need to consider both when planning a hire or assignment.
Issued on October 20, 2026, the decree takes effect on December 5, 2026. The discussion below explains the framework applicable from that date, including the protection for existing documents and pending applications. Its continuing importance is how employers and employees plan recruitment, assignments and continued employment.
Why Vietnam Introduced Decree 393
Decree 393 revises the framework for identifying eligible foreign workers and administering their work permissions. It adds qualification alternatives, revises exemptions for specialist work and education, and changes procedures for extensions and workplace changes. It also provides for greater use of information already held in government databases.
These provisions affect the evidence needed for a particular job and the procedure the employer must follow. Employers should distinguish a changed requirement from an existing obligation before changing their recruitment or assignment policy.
Quick Reference
Decree 393 governs foreign-worker qualifications, work permits and exemptions in Vietnam from December 5, 2026. The correct arrangement depends on the actual job, employer, qualifications and work locations. A short assignment or an overseas salary does not, by itself, establish an exemption. Some exempt workers need an exemption confirmation; specified categories instead follow advance notification procedures.
For employers, the ongoing compliance task is to keep the employment documents and work permission consistent as the assignment develops. Employees should understand which organization and work their permission covers. The revised extension procedures offer earlier filing and shorter processing, but a pending application does not extend an expiring permit. Existing documents and applications submitted before commencement receive specific transitional treatment.
7 Issues for Employers and Employees
Recruiting Under the Revised Qualification Rules
The job title used within a company does not decide whether a foreign employee qualifies as a manager, executive, expert or technical worker. The decree defines these categories and requires evidence supporting the proposed work.
For executives heading and directly managing a field of an organization or enterprise, the relevant experience requirement falls from three years to two. For experts, the general requirement of a university degree and at least two years of relevant experience remains. An additional alternative recognizes at least five years of experience appropriate to the proposed position, without expressly requiring a degree under that alternative.
Separate expert criteria address strategic technologies, specified highly ranked university graduates, education, research, culture and sport. Each has its own conditions. An employee who does not meet one criterion may qualify under another, but a specialist title alone is insufficient.
Both employer and employee should review qualifications and experience before finalizing an offer or assignment. For project teams, work permit planning for foreign engineers should also distinguish work authorization from any professional certificate required for the duties.
Choosing the Appropriate Employment or Assignment Arrangement
A local labor contract, a qualifying transfer within an enterprise and an assignment to perform a service contract require different supporting evidence. The employment contract, overseas assignment letter and application need to describe the same arrangement.
Decree 393 defines an intra-company transferee as a manager, executive or expert temporarily assigned to the foreign enterprise’s commercial presence in Vietnam. The employee must have been employed by the overseas enterprise for at least 12 consecutive months before the transfer. The related exemption remains tied to the 11 service sectors in Vietnam’s World Trade Organization commitments.
Technical workers are no longer included in that definition, although existing documents receive special transitional treatment. The decree also distinguishes other transfers within an overseas organization or corporate group. Being employed by a group company does not automatically establish an exempt intra-company transfer.
Decree 393 also expressly prohibits employers from subleasing foreign workers. This raises a concern for employer-of-record (EOR) arrangements in which a provider employs the person while the client directs and supervises the work. If the arrangement amounts to labor subleasing, it cannot be used for foreign workers under the decree. Payroll administration, recruitment support and genuine outsourced services need separate assessment; the service name alone does not settle the legal position.
An affected business may need to change the employing structure and coordinate contract, work-permit and immigration steps to avoid interruptions. Where it needs a local presence, the choice of company, representative office or branch must fit the planned activities. An existing work permit does not, by itself, resolve a prohibited subleasing arrangement.
The parties should identify who employs and directs the person, the work to be performed and the supporting assignment documents. These decisions belong within the broader employment arrangements review, before a start date is promised.
Understanding When Short-Term Work Requires a Permit
Decree 393 defines short-term work as no more than 90 days in total during the calendar year, for one or more employers in Vietnam. The category covers managers, executives, experts and technical workers.
The revised wording also adds an important restriction. Where a relationship involving hiring, employment and wage payment arises, the decree requires an application for a work permit under the labor-contract arrangement. Counting days alone therefore does not establish that the person may work without a permit.
Review the substance of the assignment and payment arrangements before relying on the exemption. Where it applies, the employer must give the prescribed notice at least three working days before the expected start. Keep a record of work across employers and visits: changing the host company does not restart the annual allowance.
Identifying the Correct Exemption and Procedure
Decree 393 expands and reorganizes exemptions for education and specialist work. Examples include specified teaching and research activities, qualifying holders of special visa-exemption cards, strategic-technology experts and their qualifying relatives, and personnel attracted under the national artificial-intelligence workforce program.
These categories have distinct conditions and evidence requirements. For example, the education provisions identify particular approved programs, institutional cooperation arrangements and qualification-based teaching or research activities. They do not exempt every foreign employee working at a school.
Eligibility for an exemption and the procedure for using it are separate questions. Depending on the category, an exemption confirmation or advance notification may be required. An employer should establish the precise ground and retain the supporting documents. The employee should understand what has been obtained or notified before beginning the assignment.
The ordinary exemption-confirmation dossier includes criminal-record evidence issued no more than six months before filing, unless the relevant information can be retrieved from the database. Specified simplified applications and notification-only categories follow different requirements. Employers should allow time for overseas records where needed; being exempt from a work permit does not necessarily mean a lighter application.
Preparing Documents and Using Electronic Records
The decree allows specified information to be retrieved from government databases, including passport details, photographs and existing work-permission records. It also provides for criminal-record information to be used through the relevant database arrangements. These provisions can reduce repeated submissions where the information is available.
Employers should check what the authority can actually retrieve. A document should not be omitted simply because the employee submitted it in an earlier application. Names, passport numbers and employment details need to match. Foreign documents also require the applicable authentication and Vietnamese translation checks.
For an initial permit application, the filing window is no more than 60 days and at least 10 working days before the proposed start. The ordinary processing period remains 10 working days after receipt of a complete application. Where the criminal-record database procedure is used, the period runs from receipt of the retrieved information. Allow additional time for document preparation before promising a start date.
Digital processing also increases the importance of handling employee information carefully. Limit access to passport, health and criminal-record documents, and review sharing with overseas offices or service providers. These are separate data-protection considerations, rather than new duties created solely by Decree 393.
Managing Changes to the Employer Role or Workplace
An existing permit does not cover every later staffing decision. Working for another employer requires a new permit procedure, including where the position and field remain the same. Changes to the position, field or working arrangement with the same employer also require the applicable new-permit procedure.
Decree 393 expressly provides for notice when a permit holder works for the same employer at new locations or changes to a stable, regular workplace. The employer must notify both the authority at the intended workplace and the issuing authority at least three working days before work begins there. The work period cannot exceed the existing permit’s validity.
A separate reissuance provision covers specified changes involving the headquarters, branch, representative office, business location or foreign contractor’s operating office where the worker was authorized. The facts therefore need checking before treating every relocation as notice-only.
Review a promotion, transfer or relocation while it is being planned. Employees should inform the responsible team about proposed changes so the necessary procedure can be completed before the new assignment begins. Check whether the employment documents and internal labor rules also need updating.
Planning Extensions and Continued Employment
Decree 393 permits extension applications no more than 90 days and at least 10 working days before expiry. The ordinary processing period for a complete permit-extension application falls from 10 working days to five. The extension dossier also omits the health certificate previously required; initial applications still have a health-document requirement, subject to the database exception.
The maximum permit period remains two years, with one extension of up to two years, subject to the relevant conditions and supporting documents. Once that extension has been used, continued employment requires a new permit procedure. The employer and employee should distinguish an extension from a new application when planning the next contract.
The transition does not automatically cancel existing permissions. Covered permits and exemption confirmations issued under the earlier rules continue until expiry, subject to events affecting validity.
Existing intra-company-transfer documents for technical workers also continue until expiry. Their later reissuance or extension is addressed under the expert category where the worker meets the five-year relevant-experience condition. Review these cases individually. A pending application does not authorize work after the current permission expires.
If work permission cannot be renewed, disagreements may arise over whether employment should end and what payments are due. Before communicating a termination decision, the employer should check the legal basis, applicable procedure and payment obligations. Both parties should retain the contract, permit records and renewal correspondence. Clear explanations and payment calculations can help prevent employment termination disputes from escalating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Does every foreign employee benefit from easier qualification rules
No. Decree 393 adds alternatives and changes particular thresholds, while retaining other conditions. The employee must satisfy the category relevant to the actual job and provide the required evidence.
Q2: Is a visit of 90 days or less automatically exempt
No. The annual day limit is only part of the assessment. The person must fall within the specified categories, and the rule requiring a permit where the relevant employment and wage relationship arises must also be considered.
Q3: Does a visa or residence card replace work permission
An ordinary visa or residence card does not by itself settle work authorization. Decree 393 recognizes a specific exemption for qualifying special visa-exemption card holders, but ordinary immigration permission should not be treated as that special category.
Q4: Must all existing permits be replaced when Decree 393 takes effect
No. The transition preserves covered existing documents until expiry, subject to their continued validity. A later change, reissuance or extension must be assessed under the applicable procedure and any special transitional rule.
Conclusion
Employers and employees should review work permission before agreeing to recruitment, reassignment or continued employment. Check the actual job, qualification evidence, employer and work locations against the existing or proposed permission. Agree who will prepare documents and notifications, and keep the employee informed of the timing. This makes the decree useful in recurring staffing decisions throughout the employment relationship.
About the Author
Hanh Pham is a Legal Research Specialist at ANT Lawyers with more than 10 years of experience, supporting legal teams through regulatory research, authority liaison, documentation review, and knowledge development. She has been trained in corporate, civil law and related areas.
Reviewed by
Tuan Nguyen, Managing Partner, ANT Lawyers; member of the Hanoi Bar Association and Vietnam Bar Association.
About ANT Lawyers, a Law Firm in Vietnam
Founded in 2012, ANT Lawyers is a Vietnam law firm with offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. Our employment lawyers advise on hiring, work permits, internal labour regulations and termination disputes in Vietnam. We combine legal analysis with practical understanding of Vietnam’s regulatory environment and local administrative practice.
General Disclaimer
This article is for general informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Vietnamese laws, regulations and administrative practice change over time, and the correct position for any matter depends on its specific facts and the rules in force when action is taken. Verify the current position before relying on anything stated here, and consult qualified counsel on your specific situation.
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