On 20 October 2026, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, on behalf of the Government, signed Decree No. 393/2026/ND-CP on foreign employees working in Vietnam (“Decree 393”), which takes effect on 5 December 2026. Decree 393 governs the issuance, reissuance, extension and revocation of work permits and of certificates of work permit exemption (Article 157 of the 2019 Labor Code), as well as the cases exempt from work permits under Clauses 1, 2 and 9, Article 154 of the Labor Code. Decree 393 significantly expands the groups exempt from work permits, particularly strategic technology personnel, artificial intelligence (AI) personnel and higher education staff, thereby reducing administrative procedures and attracting foreign experts. At the same time, it imposes higher requirements on enterprises and educational institutions to proactively review and retain documents proving that exemption conditions are met, in order to avoid administrative penalties. Specifically, foreign employees who are not subject to work permit issuance include:
- Cases already provided for in the Labor Code (Clauses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, Article 154), including:
- Heads of representative offices or projects, or persons primarily responsible for the operations of international organizations or foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam;
- Persons entering Vietnam for less than 03 months to offer services;
- Persons entering Vietnam for less than 03 months to handle complex technical or technological incidents or situations that arise and affect, or risk affecting, production and business activities, which Vietnamese experts and foreign experts currently in Vietnam are unable to resolve;
- Foreign lawyers who have been granted a lawyer’s practicing license in Vietnam under the Law on Lawyers;
- Cases provided for by international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party;
- Foreigners who are married to Vietnamese citizens and reside in Vietnam.
- Group by capital contribution and governance position:
- Owners or capital-contributing members of limited liability companies with a capital contribution value of VND 3 billion or more;
- Chairpersons or members of the Board of Directors of joint-stock companies with a capital contribution value of VND 3 billion or more.
- Group by assignments and activities:
- Persons providing professional and technical consulting services, or performing other tasks serving the research, formulation, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation, management and implementation of programs and projects funded by non-refundable aid, official development assistance (ODA) or concessional loans, as provided in project documents or non-project documents approved by competent authorities, or in international agreements on ODA or concessional loans signed between competent Vietnamese authorities and foreign parties;
- Journalists engaged in press and information activities who are certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- Persons responsible for establishing a commercial presence;
- Volunteers;
- Persons entering Vietnam to implement international agreements signed by central-level or provincial-level agencies or organizations in accordance with law.
- Group associated with foreign agencies and organizations and with State agencies:
- Persons sent by competent foreign agencies or organizations to Vietnam to teach or to serve as managers or executive directors at educational institutions established at the request of foreign diplomatic missions or intergovernmental organizations, or at institutions or organizations established under international treaties to which Vietnam is a party;
- Family members of members of foreign representative missions in Vietnam who are permitted to work in Vietnam under international treaties to which Vietnam is a party;
- Persons holding official passports who enter to work for State agencies, political organizations or socio-political organizations.
- Pupils, students and trainees: Those who are studying at training institutions in Vietnam or abroad have an internship agreement or a job offer letter from an agency, organization or enterprise in Vietnam. Trainees and apprentices on Vietnamese seagoing vessels also fall within this group.
- Group under special mechanisms:
- Short-term work (where an employment or hiring relationship arises, or wages are paid, a work permit shall be applied for in the form of an employment contract as provided in Article 19 of Decree 393);
- Intra-corporate transferees in the 11 service sectors under Vietnam’s WTO schedule of commitments (Appendix II of Decree 393);
- Persons certified by a ministry, a ministerial-level agency or a provincial People’s Committee;
- Persons holding special visa exemption cards under Decree No. 221/2025/ND-CP.
- Group working at educational institutions:
- Persons participating in teaching, research and the transfer of international education programs, including: teaching in joint education and joint training programs approved by competent Vietnamese authorities; and participating in scientific research projects, topics and programs, technology transfer, innovation, or international cooperation projects in the field of education that have been approved or signed by competent authorities;
- Persons participating in cooperation programs and projects between foreign educational institutions and Vietnamese educational institutions under cooperation documents or joint training programs;
- Persons holding a master’s degree or higher in STEM, science, technology, digital transformation, finance, economics or business administration who teach or conduct scientific research at educational institutions;
- Persons holding a doctoral degree who teach or conduct scientific research at vocational education or higher education institutions;
- Persons holding the title of professor or associate professor who teach, conduct research and engage in academic exchange at these institutions.
- Group of high-tech personnel:
- Experts working in fields on the List of Strategic Technologies and the List of Strategic Technology Products under a Decision of the Prime Minister, together with their family members;
- Persons attracted under the National Program for Developing Artificial Intelligence Human Resources.
