Upcoming New Labor Code And Amendments To Immigration Law
Amendments to the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of
Foreigners will come into effect on July 1, 2020.
Furthermore, a new labor code will come into effect on January
1, 2021, replacing the labor code implemented in 2013.
Immigration Law Amendments
The new law allows in-country change of visa
category in certain circumstances.
There will be some changes to visa categories
as below:
- The LS visa: Issued to foreigninvestors in Vietnam and foreign lawyers practicing in
Vietnam.
- The investor visa (DT) and TemporaryResidence Card (DT) will be divided into 4 categories depending on
the investment amount of the company in Vietnam. The visa or
temporary residence card duration will vary between 1 to 10 years
depending on the investment amount. However, dependents of foreign
investors will be granted a visa or temporary residence card with a
maximum of 3 years duration, renewable.
- The DN visa is to be divided into 2categories:
- DN1: Issued to foreign nationalscoming to collaborate with enterprises and organizations with legal
status regulated by Vietnamese law;
- DN2: Issued to foreign nationalscoming to Vietnam to offer services, establish commercial presence
or conduct other activities under international agreements to which
Vietnam is a party.
- DN1: Issued to foreign nationalscoming to collaborate with enterprises and organizations with legal
- The working visa (LD) be divided into2 categories, for work permit holders and for work permit exemption
certificate holders.
Foreign nationals entering Vietnam under the visa
exemption scheme are only required to have a passport
which is still valid for at least 06 months. More significantly,
the 30 days cooling off period from the previous exit is no longer
required.
The new Immigration law also provides a legal framework for the
e-visa regulation implemented in 2017.
New Labor Code
Work permit exempt foreign nationals will
include the following:
- Owners or capital-contributingmembers of a limited liability company with capital contribution
amounts that meet designated government requirements.
- The Chairman of the Board ofDirectors or a member of the Board of Directors of a joint stock
company with capital contribution amounts that meet designated
government requirements.
- Spouses of Vietnamese nationalsresident in Vietnam.
The new investment threshold required for
foreign investors to qualify as work permit exempt will be
determined in upcoming decrees and /or circulars.
The term of an employment contract for foreign
nationals working in Vietnam must not exceed the validity of the
work permit. The employer and its foreign employee may enter into
multiple definite-term employment contracts provided that a work
permit is granted. This differs from employment contract rules for
Vietnamese workers.
The term of a work permit may not exceed two
years and can only be extended once for a maximum period of two
more years. (It is not clear at this stage whether after four years
of work in Vietnam, a foreign employee will be able to apply for a
new work permit, the qualifying criteria for which may be different
than for their previous work permit.)
A new decree on the management of foreigners working in
Vietnam is expected during the course of 2020 (there is no
draft at this stage) which should clarify the new labor code before
it takes effect on January 1, 2021.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.