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Under Article 1 of Decree No. 393/2026/ND-CP, the Decree provides for foreign workers working in Vietnam, including conditions, dossiers, order, and procedures for grant, re-grant, extension and revocation of work permits and work permit exemption certificates; the temporary transfer of foreign workers working in Vietnam under Article 157 of the Labor Code; and foreign workers working in Vietnam who are exempt from work permit under Clauses 1, 2 and 9, Article 154 of the Labor Code.
Decree No. 393/2026/ND-CP comprises five chapters with 37 articles, specifically:
- Chapter I: General provisions (Articles 1 to 7).
- Chapter II: Order and procedures for grant, re-grant and extension of work permit exemption certificates (Articles 8 to 18).
- Chapter III: Order and procedures for grant, re-grant and extension of work permits (Articles 19 to 30).
- Chapter IV: Revocation of work permits or work permit exemption certificates (Articles 31 to 34).
- Chapter V: Implementation provisions (Articles 35 to 37).
The Decree is also accompanied by four appendices.
Some notable provisions of the Decree include:
First, cases in which foreign workers are exempt from work permit.
Under Article 8 of the Decree, foreign workers falling into the cases specified in Clauses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, Article 154 of the Labor Code and other cases listed in this Article are exempt from work permit.
These include foreign workers who are:
- Owners or capital-contributing members of limited liability companies with a contributed capital value of VND 3 billion or more;
- Chairpersons or members of Boards of Directors with a contributed capital value of VND 3 billion or more;
- Volunteers;
- Married to Vietnamese citizens and residing in Vietnam.
Second, the time limit for processing procedures for grant of work permits.
Under Article 23 of Decree No. 393/2026/ND-CP, the employer shall submit a dossier of application for a work permit at least 10 working days, but no more than 60 days, before the date on which the foreign worker is expected to commence working.
Within 10 working days after receiving a complete dossier of application for a work permit, the competent agency shall consider the approval of the demand for employment of foreign workers and grant a work permit. If rejecting the demand or refusing to grant a work permit, the competent agency shall issue a written reply, clearly stating the reason.
Third, the validity duration of a work permit must not exceed two years.
Under Article 22 of Decree No. 393/2026/ND-CP, the validity duration of a work permit shall correspond to the duration specified for one of the relevant cases, such as the term of the labor contract to be signed, the period stated in the document sending the foreign worker to Vietnam to work, or the term of the contract or agreement signed between Vietnamese and foreign partners, but must not exceed two years.
For extended work permits, Article 30 provides that the extension period must also not exceed two years.
Fourth, competence to grant, re-grant, extend and revoke work permits.
Article 5 of Decree No. 393/2026/ND-CP provides that provincial-level People’s Committees are competent to grant, re-grant, extend and revoke work permits and work permit exemption certificates for foreign workers working in their localities.
Provincial-level People’s Committees may also decide on the decentralization and authorization of competent agencies to perform these tasks in accordance with law.
Decree No. 393/2026/ND-CP takes effect on December 5, 2026, and replaces Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP.
