Vietnam: Additional Requirements for Job Position Approvals in Ho Chi Minh City

The Ho Chi Minh City Labor Department has announced that new Job Position Approval (JPA) applications now require more documents and information from the sponsoring entity to prove efforts are being made to identify local talent before hiring foreign nationals. In addition to providing a strong written justification on why a foreign national must fill the role, companies must now provide proof of recruitment efforts for the position, a foreign national labor usage plan and a training/understudy plan which shows a succession plan for a Vietnamese employee to take over the position after the foreign employee ends their work duration. JPA applications must also include all previous positions that were submitted and approved under Decree 152. Companies should expect additional time for the preparation of JPA applications and closer scrutiny from the Labor Department during the JPA review process, which could lead to higher rejection rates.