Hanoi (VNA)💧 - The Ministry of Justice is currently appraising a draft Decree on foreign workers in Vietnam, developed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Priority for experts in emerging sectors

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, innovation, digital transformation, and modern industrialisation, Vietnam is actively developing high-knowledge industries and implementing major national projects (such as the North-South high-speed railway, nuclear power plants, among others), as well as green energy. This modernisation drive and the demand for specific industries have necessitated a revision of the regulations for recognising experts, in order to attract international human resources to contribute to national development. Moreover, in reality, many individuals working in emerging sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, or from countries with friendly relations with Vietnam may only hold a university degree without professional experience, thus currently failing to meet Vietnam’s requirements for employment. Therefore, it is necessary to include such cases within the eligible category of foreign experts permitted to work in Vietnam. The Ministry of Home Affairs has drafted the new Decree with several changes compared to Decree No. 152, as amended by Decree No. 70. In the draft, the Ministry proposes merging the labour demand reporting procedure with the application for a work permit. Under this proposal, the maximum time to issue a work permit would be reduced from 36 days to just 10 days, based on the date of submission. The draft also revises the definition of an expert, adding cases where a university degree alone would suffice for work eligibility in fields such as finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, and other priority areas of development or under government cooperation agreements — without requiring prior work experience in those fields. In addition, the Ministry proposes that individuals in specialised fields, such as finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, and other prioritised sectors, as well as lecturers confirmed by relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Science and Technology or the Ministry of Education and Training, may be exempt from needing a work permit. The draft also introduces a provision for "special cases as determined by the Government upon the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs", to allow for timely consideration and resolution of newly arising issues during the country’s socio-economic development.

Promoting decentralisation in work permit issuance

The draft clearly outlines the decentralisation of authority in issuing work permits for foreign workers. Accordingly, the Ministry of Home Affairs would only handle certain special cases, such as workers employed by organisations established by the Government, the Prime Minister, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, or international organisations; individuals working across multiple provinces or cities; or businesses with headquarters in one locality but with branches elsewhere. Notably, the draft allows employers to choose whether to complete procedures at the Ministry of Home Affairs or the provincial-level competent authority, providing greater convenience and flexibility. For procedures managed at the local level, the draft stipulates that the provincial People’s Committee will be the main authority and may delegate responsibilities to specialised agencies such as the Department of Home Affairs or other administrative agencies, depending on actual conditions. This approach ensures a faster processing of applications, closer to local realities, and aligns with the new provisions of the 2025 Law on the Organisation of the Government and the Law on Local Government Organisation. The draft also outlines the orientation towards increasing the use of online platforms for submitting and processing work permit applications. It also calls for the development of a unified database on foreign workers in Vietnam, which would be linked with systems managing foreign nationals, thereby improving management and facilitating accurate information retrieval. According to statistics, as of the end of 2024, there were approximately 161,992 foreign workers employed in Vietnam. Of these, 12,797 were exempt from work permit requirements, while 149,195 were subject to mandatory permits. The international workforce in Vietnam comes from around 110 countries. Chinese nationals make up the largest proportion at 30.9%, followed by the Republic of Koreans (18.3%), Taiwanese (China, 12.9%), and Japanese (9.5%). Workers from other countries account for the remaining 28.4%./.