Immigration and labour
Vietnam | Decentralization of authority for work permit application in Ho Chi Minh City
Summary
The Vietnamese Government has started a pilot program in Ho Chi Minh City to decentralize, amongst others, the authority on the management of expatriate employees working in Vietnam. Under this pilot program, the Ho Chi Minh City People Committee will resume responsibility on accepting and approving certain work permit application previously handled by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (“MOLISA”).
The detail
On 10 July, the Vietnamese Government issued Decree 84/2024/NĐ-CP (“Decree 84”) covering amongst others, a pilot program in Ho Chi Minh City on the management of expatriate employees working in Vietnam.
Under this pilot program, for certain organizations, for instance, companies, public sector, educational institutions, organizations licensed by the Government, the Prime Minister, Ministries or central authorities (i.e. enterprise operating in the banking or insurance sectors), the approval on recruitment plan, work permit application, confirmation on work permit exemption, issuance and re-issuance of work permit, revocation of work permit, shall now be handled by the People Committee of Ho Chi Minh City instead of MOLISA.
For applications that were submitted prior to the issuance of Decree 84, MOLISA will still be the approving
authority.
Although Decree 84 provides clear guidance on this new submission guideline, it is expected that the Ho Chi Minh City People Committee will issue further guidance including implementation guide by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.
Decree 84 took effect from 10 July 2024.
Contact us
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Brittany Chong
Partner