New Validity Period Restriction for Ho Chi Minh City Work Permits

The situation

The duration granted for Work Permits (initial and renewal applications) issued in Ho Chi Minh City can no longer exceed the expiration of the sponsoring company’s business license. Previously, a Work Permit was issued for the duration of the assignment as stated in the employment contract, up to a maximum of two years, whichever was shorter.

Impact

A sponsoring company in Ho Chi Minh City whose business license is soon to expire may no longer obtain the full two years’ maximum validity for its Work Permit applicants. In order to do so, it would need to renew its business license before filing Work Permit applications. Otherwise, the Work Permit will be issued for a shorter duration. (Note that renewing a business license generally takes at least two months.)

Companies with large operations in Ho Chi Minh City may not be as adversely affected as smaller companies and representative offices, whose business licenses are typically valid only for two to five years. The latter may need to renew their employees’ Work Permits if they do not renew their business license in a timely manner.

Companies in Ho Chi Minh City will need to closely monitor their business license’ expiry dates and plan the deployment of their foreign employees accordingly. Fragomen can help companies track the expiry of their business licenses to plan for cases where it may impact their employees’ Work Permit applications.

Looking ahead

Neighboring cities may start enforcing this stricter rule. Fragomen will monitor the situation and provide updates as needed.

We worked closely with Resident Vietnam in Vietnam to prepare this alert. It is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].