Update on immigration procedures

Following meetings with Eurocham on 20/02/2023 and 07/03/2023, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs ("HCMC DOLISA") has changed the application procedure for issuing a work permit to foreign workers. In addition, the Immigration Department ("ID") is now putting into practice its online system - the Immigration Portal. Overall, the immigration procedure for foreign workers and their family members has changed significantly.

Key contents

E-visa and Visa application procedures

E-visa

After much discussion, the government decided to ease the entry and exit procedures for foreigners. Below are some positive innovations for foreigners coming to Vietnam to work:

E-visa are now also available for foreigners coming to Vietnam for business purposes. The application procedure for e-visa has been fully digitalized and can easily be done online.
Processing time is only 3 days.
The validity period of e-visa will be extended from 30 to 90 days, with single and multiple entries being possible.
E-visa will be granted to citizens of all countries and territories (list will be determined by the government).

These changes are expected to come into force soon.

Visa application procedures

Starting February 2023, as part of its efforts to automate and simplify procedures, the Immigration Department has set up its own website with an online function for the submission of application dossiers.

To submit dossiers, companies must first register for an account, using an e-signature token/USB and the company's e-signature application. After that, companies can submit a dossier and apply for the Immigration Department´s approval to use the company account in the immigration portal. After this initial approval, companies can apply for visas for their employees online through this account. This step can be overlooked easily, as it is different from the normal account registration process, which as a result can cause delays when the company wants to start applying for visas later on.

At first glance, this system offers some advantages. First, the immigration authority no longer requires companies to submit paper application documents when applying for business visas. In the past, this always led to exceptionally long queues at the immigration office. Especially for companies that do not have their headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, this step was very inconvenient. In the future, only documents such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, work permit exemptions or investment registration certificates, etc., will need to be submitted in paper form for closer examination. This is possible without drawing a waiting stamp at the immigration office.

However, the new portal also has some disadvantages. For example, the portal sometimes suffers from glitches and errors that cause the page to restart after all the information has been entered or, even worse, the already submitted dossier gets lost. This can lead to serious consequences, especially in urgent cases. Another problem is the receipt of tax documents by Vietnamese embassies/consulates abroad. Although visa approval letters can be signed electronically and uploaded online, tax documents still need to be collected directly from the immigration office. This could be an attempt to get companies to pay taxes properly. For the tax certificates, one must once again join a long queue at the immigration office.

Work Permit application procedures

Currently, the following deadlines apply to the processing of work permit applications by government professionals:

Application for a Job Position Approval: 10 working days
Application for work permit/extension of work permit: 5 working days
Re-application for work permit: 3 working days
Application for exemption from work permit: 5 working days

In order to support enterprises and shorten the timeframe, HCMC DOLISA has proposed to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to shorten the work permit processing time to 7 days, and the work permit re-application to 1 day. It is promised that HCMC DOLISA will continue to make proposals to shorten the processing time of other procedures (e.g. work permit renewal and work permit exemption application).

Speeding up and simplifying the core procedures

While waiting for the above regulations to be approved and officially endorsed by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, HCMC DOLISA has also made some immediate changes to speed up the procedures for obtaining work permits. For example, enterprises can now submit their application documents directly to their office after submitting them online to speed up processing and review. In 2022, it usually took 1-2 weeks for online files to be transferred from the Public Services website to HCMC DOLISA's internal database. From then on, processing took another 1-2 weeks, depending on the procedure. In total, the entire process of obtaining a work permit could take up to two months, and only if no additions or changes were requested by HCMC DOLISA. With the new unwritten rule, companies can save 1 to 4 weeks in the entire process of obtaining a work permit.

Furthermore, some additional formalities have also been simplified. Since last year, HCMC DOLISA has required three additional documents when applying for/changing workplace permits: a plan for using foreign employees, a plan for training domestic employees to replace foreign employees, and proof of hiring domestic employees. These documents are not mentioned in Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP and were a sore point for companies. Due to numerous negative feedbacks, HCMC DOLISA recently agreed to repeal this unofficial regulation. Companies can already explain all the above contents in their application forms.

Second Employent Authorization remaining a laborious procedure

As for the second employment authorization application, companies will also be required to complete and submit Form 2/PLI instead of Form 1/PLI. In addition to this confusing change, companies must submit every workplace permit they have ever been issued. For companies with a long history, this can be a tedious search, especially if their headquarters has been moved multiple times. Even after two meetings with Eurocham, HCMC DOLISA has not been able to provide a plausible explanation on this matter.

In addition to these main issues, some minor problems were raised in the preparation of the work permit application dossier, related to the expatriates' work experience and educational background.

Our conclusions

These new unofficial HCM DOLISA and ID decrees represent efforts by the Vietnamese government to make the immigration process simpler and more transparent for foreign workers as well as for businesses and investors in Vietnam. Some changes to the relevant legal documents and Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP are expected in the future.