On 15 February 2021, Decree 152/2020/ND-CP ("Decree 152") regulating foreign employees working in Vietnam, as well as the recruitment and management of Vietnamese employees working for foreign employers in Vietnam, came into effect.
Decree 152 introduces and updates cases in which foreigners would be eligible for work permit exemptions. Particularly, exemptions are now available for foreigners who (i) are married to Vietnamese citizens and are living in Vietnam, or (ii) are probationers on Vietnamese ships.
Furthermore, the existing work permit exemption that applies to foreigners who own companies in Vietnam has now been tightened to only apply to foreigners who have contributed a minimum of VND 3 billion in capital to the company. Therefore, under Decree 152, owners of small enterprises with a capital threshold of less than VND 3 billion would no longer be able to receive a work permit exemption.
In addition, under the new decree, foreign organisations and individuals are now allowed to directly recruit Vietnamese citizens by giving prior notice to the labour authority. This is not the case previously, where foreign organisations needed to engage a recruitment organisation to assist in the hiring of Vietnamese citizens.
