Work Permit in Ho Chi Minh City: Who Files, Where, Fines
Your employer applies for the permit, not you. Some foreigners are exempt. One example is an owner holding VND 3 billion or more in a limited liability company. Another is a worker in Vietnam under 90 days in a calendar year. The agency decides within 10 working days of a complete file.
On this page
The worker does not file; the employer does. Some foreigners need no permit at all, and a few of those cases need just a notice to the agency.
In Ho Chi Minh City the Department of Home Affairs decides the file, under a delegation from the city People’s Committee. Since 27 December 2025 the file goes in at the city Public Administrative Service Centre, 43 Nguyen Van Ba, Thu Duc Ward.
Do you need a work permit?
A foreigner working in Vietnam must hold a permit from the competent state agency, except in the cases listed in Article 154 of the Labor Code. Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP fills in the Government’s own exemption list.
The Labor Code names one group in plain words.
Người nước ngoài kết hôn với người Việt Nam và sinh sống trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.
A foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen and living in Vietnam. Labor Code 45/2019/QH14, Điều 154 khoản 8
These foreigners are not subject to a permit:
- An owner or capital-contributing member of a limited liability company whose own contribution is VND 3 billion or more.
- A chairman or board member of a joint-stock company whose own contribution is VND 3 billion or more.
- A foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen and living in Vietnam.
- A manager, executive, expert or technical worker who works in Vietnam under 90 days in total in a calendar year.
- A foreigner who enters Vietnam for under 3 months to pitch a service.
- A foreigner who enters for under 3 months to fix a complex technical incident that experts already in Vietnam cannot resolve.
- A foreign lawyer licensed to practise law in Vietnam.
- The head of a representative office or project of an international organisation or foreign NGO.
- A person responsible for setting up a commercial presence in Vietnam.
- A consultant on an official-development-assistance programme or project.
- A foreign journalist confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- A person sent by a foreign authority to teach or run a school set up by a foreign mission or intergovernmental body.
- A foreign student or trainee with an internship agreement or a work offer letter from a Vietnam-based employer.
- A family member of foreign representative-office staff who may work under a treaty.
- A holder of an official or service passport working for a state or political body.
- An unpaid volunteer carrying out a treaty, confirmed by a foreign mission or international organisation.
- A person carrying out an international agreement signed by a Vietnamese central or provincial body.
- A person confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Training to teach, research or transfer a programme, or to manage a foreign-mission school.
An intra-corporate transferee is exempt in one case. The foreign enterprise must have a commercial presence in one of 11 service sectors committed to the WTO. It must also have employed the worker for at least 12 consecutive months before. A worker confirmed by a ministry or a provincial People’s Committee for a priority field such as finance, science or technology is exempt too.
Certificate or notice
For an exemption confirmation certificate, the employer files 60 to 10 days before the worker starts, at the local Public Administrative Service Centre. The agency issues the certificate within 5 working days of a complete file. The certificate lasts as long as a permit would, up to 2 years.
Some groups skip the certificate. The employer instead notifies the agency at least 3 working days before the worker starts. These are:
- pitching a service for under 3 months
- fixing a technical incident
- a licensed foreign lawyer
- a foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen
- an LLC owner or a joint-stock board member at the VND 3 billion level
- a worker in Vietnam under 90 days in a calendar year
An employer that does not notify, notifies late or notifies incompletely is fined VND 1,000,000 to 3,000,000.
Where to file in Ho Chi Minh City
The provincial-level People’s Committee holds the authority to grant, re-grant, extend and revoke permits. It may delegate that to another agency. Ho Chi Minh City has delegated it to the Department of Home Affairs.
For a new permit, the employer files at the Public Administrative Service Centre in the place where the worker will work. In Ho Chi Minh City that is the city centre in Thu Duc Ward. It opened on 31 December 2025 as the entry point for city-level procedures.
The department counters have closed. Until the end of 26 December 2025 each city department ran its own one-stop counter. From 27 December 2025 files from organisations and individuals are received at the centre. No official page names the counter inside the centre that takes work-permit files.
Fee
Filing online carries a fee of VND 0. For services done in person, the fee follows the pre-merger provincial council rule, and the work-permit fee is on that list.
The resolution gives no amount. The city’s older Labour Department procedure page lists VND 600,000. Treat that figure as the last published one, not a confirmed current rate.
Department of Home Affairs
The department decides the file but no longer takes files over its own counter. Its first head office is at 159 Pasteur, Xuan Hoa Ward. Xuan Hoa Ward was formed from Vo Thi Sau Ward and the rest of Ward 4 (former District 3). Its phone numbers are 0283.822.2409, 0283.829.4032 and 0283.8292.248.
A second head office sits on Le Loi Street in Binh Duong Ward. That is the former Binh Duong provincial site.
Industrial, export-processing and hi-tech zones
A business inside a zone follows a different route. Since 15 May 2025 the zone management boards, not the department, receive and settle foreign-worker files for those businesses.
The department’s notice dates from 29 May 2025, before the merger. It gives pre-merger addresses for the industrial and export-processing zones board and for the hi-tech park board. This guide does not repeat them, because the ward and city names have since changed.
Permits the department issued before 15 May 2025 stay valid until the date printed on them.
Getting the result
From 15 June 2026 the department returns permits and exemption confirmations as electronic documents. The employer looks up the file by its code on the National Public Service Portal and downloads the signed result.
The electronic permit carries the digital signature and seal and has the same legal value as the paper one.
What the employer puts in the dossier
The dossier holds these items:
- The employer’s report explaining its need for a foreign worker, on the decree’s form.
- A judicial record, or a certificate that the worker is not serving a sentence, has no unspent conviction and is not under investigation, issued within 6 months of filing.
- A health certificate from a qualified medical facility. The work permit health check guide covers it.
- A passport that is still valid.
- Two colour photos of 4 cm by 6 cm, white background, facing forward, head bare, no glasses.
- Documents proving the worker is a manager, executive, expert or technical worker.
Foreign-issued papers must be consularly legalised unless a treaty, reciprocity or the law exempts them. Legalised papers must then be translated into Vietnamese and certified.
An expert holds a university degree or equivalent and at least 2 years of relevant experience. A technical worker has at least 1 year of training and 2 years of relevant experience, or at least 3 years of relevant work experience.
Timing, validity and renewal
The employer files 60 to 10 days before the worker is due to start. The filing may be in person, by public postal service, through a hired service or by authorisation.
- The agency has 10 working days from a complete file to approve and issue the permit.
- A refusal comes in writing with reasons within 3 working days.
- The permit lasts up to 2 years, following the term of the document it rests on, such as the planned labour contract.
- For a renewal, the employer files at least 10 but no more than 45 days before expiry. The agency decides within 10 working days.
- A permit can be renewed once, for up to 2 more years.
After the permit: visa and residence card
A permit holder is normally issued a matching LD1 or LD2 labour visa. Both symbols are on the list for a temporary residence card. The temporary residence card guide covers the dossier and the filing office.
A stay extension is a separate step with its own sponsor and fee. See extending your visa in Ho Chi Minh City. A visitor on a business visa is a different case, covered in the business visa guide.
Fines for working without a permit
Decree 283/2026/NĐ-CP took effect on 10 September 2026. It replaced the old fine schedule under Decree 12/2022/NĐ-CP. The amounts are for an individual; an organisation is fined double.
| Who | Violation | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign worker | Works without a permit or exemption certificate, or uses an expired one | VND 15,000,000 to 25,000,000 |
| Employer | Alters or uses forged documents in a dossier | VND 40,000,000 to 60,000,000 |
| Employer | Uses 1 to 10 workers without a permit | VND 30,000,000 to 45,000,000 |
| Employer | Uses 11 to 20 workers without a permit | VND 45,000,000 to 60,000,000 |
| Employer | Uses 21 or more workers without a permit | VND 60,000,000 to 75,000,000 |
Deportation of the worker is an additional penalty for working without a permit and for altered or forged documents.
The rules this guide follows
Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP took effect on 7 August 2025. It fully replaces Decree 152/2020/NĐ-CP as amended by Decree 70/2023/NĐ-CP.
The Labor Code also adds a clause 8a to the exemptions for the high-quality digital-technology workforce. It applies from 1 January 2026.
Step by step
- Check for an exemptionA foreigner working in Vietnam must hold a permit unless a Labor Code Article 154 exemption applies.
- Employer prepares the dossierThe core document is the employer's report on its need for a foreign worker. A judicial record issued within 6 months is also required.
- Employer files at the public service centreFiling is 60 to 10 days before the worker's start date. The Department of Home Affairs issues permits under a city delegation.
- Wait for the decisionThe agency decides within 10 working days of a complete file.
- Download the resultFrom 15 June 2026 the result is an electronic document, downloaded from the National Public Service Portal.
Not confirmed: In-person fee: the city fee resolution keeps the pre-merger rule without a figure, and the last published amount is VND 600,000, so confirm it at the centre before paying. Counter: ask at the reception of the centre, since no counter is published. A June 2026 draft decree would amend Decree 219/2025; no signed amendment was found by 13 October 2026.
Common questions
Who applies for a work permit in Ho Chi Minh City?
The employer files the dossier. The core document is the employer's own report explaining its need for a foreign worker.
How much does a work permit cost in Ho Chi Minh City?
Filing online carries a fee of VND 0. In person, the fee follows the pre-merger provincial rule. The city's older procedure page lists VND 600,000.
How long does a work permit take?
The agency has 10 working days from a complete file to decide. A refusal comes in writing with reasons within 3 working days.
How long is a work permit valid?
Up to 2 years. It can be renewed once, for up to 2 more years.
Is a company owner exempt?
An owner or capital-contributing member of a limited liability company is exempt from VND 3 billion of capital. A chairman or board member of a joint-stock company is exempt at the same figure.
Do I need a permit for a short business trip?
A manager, executive, expert or technical worker in Vietnam for under 90 days in a calendar year is exempt. The employer notifies the agency at least 3 working days before the start.
I am married to a Vietnamese citizen. Do I need a permit?
A foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen and living in Vietnam is not subject to a permit. The employer notifies the agency at least 3 working days before the start.
What is the fine for working without a permit?
The worker is fined VND 15,000,000 to 25,000,000. These are the rates for an individual.
Does a permit holder get a residence card?
A foreigner in Vietnam on an LD1 or LD2 visa is on the list for a temporary residence card.
Is a health certificate from my home country accepted?
A foreign certificate is accepted where Vietnam and that country recognise each other's certificates, and it must be no more than 12 months old.
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General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.
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