In order to remove difficulties and obstacles for businesses, agencies, organizations and units employing foreign workers in Hanoi in the understanding and application of the provisions of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP regulating foreign workers working in Vietnam, on September 4, 2025, the Hanoi Department of Home Affairs issued guidelines for implementing procedures related to granting licenses to foreign workers.
The Hanoi Department of Home Affairs also provides specific instructions on procedures for granting labor licenses (new - newly granted in special cases); extending the granting of labor licenses; re-granting licenses; confirming that they are not subject to granting licenses... and clearly identifying cases that are not subject to granting labor licenses.
Accordingly, cases not subject to a work permit include:
(1) Be the Head of a representative office, project or be primarily responsible for the activities of international organizations or foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam; (2) visit Vietnam for less than 3 months to conduct service offerings.
(3) Travel to Vietnam for less than 3 months to handle incidents, complicated technical and technological situations that arise that affect or risk affecting production and business, that Vietnamese experts and foreign experts currently in Vietnam cannot handle.
(4) Be a foreign lawyer who has been granted a license to practice law in Vietnam according to the provisions of the Law on Lawyers; (5) In case of membership in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam according to the provisions of international treaties.
(6) Foreigners married to Vietnamese people and living in Vietnam; (7) Being an owner or contributor of a limited liability company with a capital contribution value of VND 3 billion or more; (8) being Chairman of the Board of Directors, or a member of the Board of Directors of a joint stock company with a capital contribution value of VND 3 billion or more.
9. Coming to Vietnam to provide professional and technical consulting services, or perform other tasks to serve research, development, appraisal, monitoring, evaluation, management and implementation of programs and projects using official development support sources according to regulations, or agreements in international treaties on official development support sources signed between competent authorities of Vietnam and abroad.
(10) Foreign reporters working in press information are confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
11. To be sent to Vietnam by a competent foreign agency or organization to teach, act as a manager or executive director at an educational institution proposed by a foreign diplomatic representative agency or intergovernmental organization to be established in Vietnam, or facilities or organizations established under international treaties that Vietnam has signed or participated in.
(12) Foreign students, students, and trainees studying at schools and training institutions in Vietnam, or abroad with internship agreements or invitations to work for employers in Vietnam; trainees, trainees on Vietnamese ships.
(33) Relatives of members of foreign representative agencies in Vietnam are allowed to work in Vietnam according to the provisions of international treaties, of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.
14) Having a civil service passport to work for state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations; 15. The person responsible for establishing a commercial presence.
16. Volunteers work in Vietnam voluntarily, and do not receive salary to implement international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, and have confirmation from foreign diplomatic missions or international organizations in Vietnam.
(17) Coming to Vietnam to implement international agreements signed by central and provincial agencies and organizations in accordance with the provisions of law.
(18) Foreign workers who are managers, executives, experts, and technical workers in one of the following cases: Working less than 90 days/year, from January 1 to the last day of the year; Moving for a limited period within a foreign enterprise that has established a commercial presence in Vietnam, is subject to 11 service sectors as committed to the WTO and has been recruited for 12 consecutive months or more.
19) Confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Training to enter Vietnam to carry out the following tasks: Teaching, researching, transferring international education programs; Serving as managers, executive directors, principals, and deputy principals of educational institutions proposed by foreign diplomatic missions or intergovernmental organizations established in Vietnam.
20. Confirmed by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, or provincial People's Committees to work in Vietnam in the fields of: Finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, priority areas for socio-economic development.
(31) Having been granted a certificate of not being subject to a labor license, having a need to work for that employer in many provinces and centrally run cities.
