On 18 September 2023, the Government published  Decree No. 70/2023/ND-CP, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP of the Government on employment of foreigners in Vietnam and the recruitment, and management of Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam ("Decree 70/2023"). The Decree 70/2023 entered into force on 18 September 2023. Below we present some important points that enterprises using foreign workers should take note of:

Firstly, Decree 70/2023 has loosened the conditions for granting Work permits to "expert" and "high-technical worker" job positions, more specifically, according to Decree 70/2023, one of the conditions for the "expert" job position is to have a bachelor’s degree or higher or equivalent and have at least 3 years of relevant work experience to the job position that the foreign worker is expected to work in, removing the requirement that the training field for "expert" must be related to the intended job position.

For high-technical workers, the law requires that these individuals must have at least 1 year of training and at least 3 years of relevant work experience for the intended job position. This is also a more flexible regulation as it removes the requirement for "technical field" or "other field" in training requirements, as well as no longer requiring such work experience to be related to the training field.

Secondly, Decree 70/2023 has stipulated the definition for the position of Executive Director, which includes the Head of a branch, representative office, or business location of the enterprise, or the head of and directly managing at least one field of the agency, organization, or enterprise and being under the direct command and management of the head of such agency, organization, or enterprise. In addition, Decree 70/2023 also supplements more specifically the documents required in the Work permit application for this job position.

Thirdly, Decree 70/2023 provides a new procedure, pursuant to which at least 15 days before the expected date of making a written explanation of the need to use foreign workers to the competent authority, the employers must notify the recruitment of Vietnamese employees for the positions intended for foreign workers through the electronic portal of the Ministry of Labor – War Invalids and Social Affairs (Department of Employment) or the electronic portal of the Employment Service Center. After the above deadline, provided that Vietnamese personnel cannot be found to satisfy the recruitment requirements, the employers can proceed with the explanation procedure for the need to use foreign workers at least 15 days before the expected date of employing foreign workers. The validity period for completing the explanation procedure has been reduced by 15 days compared to the previous regulation.

Fourthly, in the case of a foreign worker working for an employer in multiple provinces or centrally governed cities, within 3 working days from the date the foreign worker starts working, the employer must report electronically to the Ministry of Labor – War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Department of Labor – War Invalids and Social Affairs where the foreign worker comes to work.

Fifthly, Decree 70/2023 also adds a new provision regarding the re-issuance of work permits, specifically, starting from 18 September 2023, in cases where the enterprise that is an employer, changes the name, but the business registration code remains the same as stated in the validity work permit, foreign workers may be granted a reissued work permit.

Lastly, Decree 70/2023 represents a step toward unifying state management in the recruitment and management of foreign workers in Vietnam from central to local levels. Specifically, previously, the authority to carry out licensing procedures related to Work Permits and Work Permits exemption was given to certain competent authorities/individuals such as the provincial President of the People’s Committee, Board of Management of industrial, economic, hi-tech zones, Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. Under Decree 70/2023Fo the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs will be the only two authorities to carry out the above tasks.