Mr. Q., the director of a small foreign-invested enterprise, asked DEDICA:
"My company is about to bring a foreign technical expert to Vietnam for a long-term assignment. My administrative staff searched online and found that we must first submit a report explaining our demand for foreign workers a month in advance, wait for the authority's written approval, and only then apply for the work permit. But a friend told me the rules have just changed and it is now done in a single step. My company has no in-house legal team, so we are quite confused: do we still have to explain the demand beforehand, where do we file it, how long does it take, and if we get it wrong, will my expert's arrival be delayed? I hope DEDICA can help clarify this."
DEDICA ADVISES Mr. Q.'s concern is very common right now, because the rules on foreign labor changed fundamentally in August 2025, while most of the guidance still circulating online follows the old framework. To give you the full picture before preparing your application, DEDICA analyzes four aspects in turn: whether the demand explanation is still required and when it is done, the application file together with where to file it and the processing time, the cases that do not require a work permit, and the risks of mistakenly applying the old procedure.
The foreign labor demand explanation under the current rules
To answer Mr. Q.'s question directly: the obligation to explain the demand remains, but the way it is carried out has changed entirely. At the level of the Code, having to explain the demand and obtain approval before recruiting foreign workers is still mandatory.
The change lies in how it is done. Previously, the demand explanation was a separate procedure: the enterprise submitted the explanatory report, waited for the labor authority's written approval, and only then filed the work permit application. From 7 August 2025, Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP replaced the foreign labor provisions of Decrees 152/2020 and 70/2023, and folded the demand explanation into the work permit application itself.
In other words, explaining the demand and applying for the work permit now sit on the same form, filed in the same set of documents. The enterprise no longer has to complete a separate round of demand approval beforehand.
| Criterion | Before 7 Aug 2025 (Decree 152/2020, amended by 70/2023) | From 7 Aug 2025 (Decree 219/2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Demand explanation | A separate procedure, filed first and awaiting written approval | Merged into the work permit file, on the same Form No. 03 |
| Number of steps | Two separate steps | A single step |
| Receiving authority | Labor management agency (Ministry, Department) | Provincial People's Committee |
For Mr. Q., this means the administrative staff do not need to run a month ahead to seek demand approval as the old guidance suggested; instead, they prepare a work permit file that already includes the explanation.
The application file, where to file it, and the processing time
Because the demand explanation is already part of the permit file, the enterprise follows a single procedure. The file opens with the document reporting and explaining the demand combined with the work permit request under Form No. 03, together with a health certificate, a valid passport, a judicial record, photographs, and the documents proving that the worker's position is that of a manager, executive director, expert, or technical worker.
As for timing, the enterprise must watch the deadline for filing before the worker's expected start date.
The filing point and the deciding authority have also changed toward local decentralization. Authority now rests with the Provincial People's Committee where the enterprise is headquartered or where the worker is expected to work; the file is submitted through the Public Administration Service Center or online via the National Public Service Portal.
Thus, from the moment the file is complete, the competent authority both approves the demand and issues the permit within 10 working days; if it refuses, it must respond in writing and state the reasons. For Mr. Q.'s plan to bring his expert over, the "no less than 10 days" mark before the expected start date is the point to keep in view to avoid pushing back the schedule.
Cases that do not require a work permit
One branch Mr. Q. should check first: not every foreign worker needs a work permit. If the worker falls within an exempt category, the enterprise does not follow the permit procedure above, and therefore does not have to explain the demand under Form No. 03. The Labor Code and Decree 219/2025 list quite a few exempt groups, of which those most common for foreign-invested enterprises include:
- An owner or capital-contributing member of a limited liability company, or a chairman or member of the board of a joint-stock company, with a contributed capital of VND 3 billion or more.
- A person entering Vietnam to work for a total of under 90 days in a year.
- A person moving within an enterprise in one of the 11 service sectors under Vietnam's WTO commitments, having been employed abroad for at least 12 months beforehand.
- An expert working in finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, or a priority sector, as confirmed by a ministry, a sector authority, or the Provincial People's Committee.
Although exempt from the permit, most of these cases must still carry out the procedure to obtain a certificate of eligibility for work permit exemption, or at least notify the competent authority before the worker starts. Exemption from the permit does not mean there is nothing to do. Determining correctly whether your worker must obtain a permit or falls within an exemption is the first step, because it dictates the entire file that follows.
Risks of mistakenly applying the old procedure or omitting a step
For an enterprise without a legal team keeping watch, the biggest risk is not deliberate wrongdoing, but following outdated guidance. Three situations arise often: first, running the old two-step procedure, drafting a separate demand report and waiting for a written approval that the authority no longer issues separately, delaying matters by weeks compared with filing a single set of documents under Form No. 03; second, preparing the file on the old forms and through the old channel while authority has shifted to the Provincial People's Committee and the file goes through the Public Administration Service Center; third, wrongly assuming that the worker is exempt from the permit and doing nothing, when in fact a certificate of exemption or a notification is still required.
The direct consequence is that the file is returned and the schedule for bringing the person over is pushed back, because the competent authority may decline to approve the demand and refuse the permit when the file is incorrect. More worrying is letting the worker start before the permit is granted: the worker may be forced to exit or be deported, while the enterprise is handled under the law.
The gap between filing on time and filing late here is not merely procedural; it is whether the expert is present in line with the business plan.
Conclusion
So, to answer Mr. Q.'s question directly: an enterprise must still explain its demand for foreign workers, but from 7 August 2025 this is no longer a separate step taken first; it sits within the work permit application itself under Form No. 03. What needs to be done comes down to three points: determine whether the worker must obtain a permit or is exempt; prepare a single permit file that already includes the explanation and submit it to the Provincial People's Committee through the Public Administration Service Center or the National Public Service Portal; and watch the "no less than 10 days" mark before the expected start date, dropping altogether the habit of seeking a separate demand approval as the old guidance advised. Getting these three points right, Mr. Q. avoids most of the risk of delaying his expert's arrival.
What makes Mr. Q.'s situation worth noting lies not in any single procedure, but in the fact that rules on foreign labor change constantly and an enterprise without in-house legal counsel finds it very hard to keep up. This is precisely the work that DEDICA's retainer legal advisory service is designed to carry: staying close to new regulations that directly affect the business, reviewing labor files, contracts and compliance before problems arise, with every deliverable checked by an experienced lawyer before it reaches the client. If you are preparing to bring foreign workers over, or want a steady legal partner on a monthly basis, contact DEDICA for advice on a solution suited to your company's scale.
The above content is for reference under the rules in force at the time of publication; each enterprise has its own circumstances and legal risks, so please consult a DEDICA lawyer for advice specific to your case.
