Procedures for granting a Certificate of non-exemption from a Work Permit for foreigners marrying Vietnamese from July 1, 2025

According to Decree 70/2023/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP dated 30 December 2020 of the Government regulating foreign workers working in Vietnam and recruiting and managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam effective from September 18, 2023, and Decision No. 636/QD-BNV dated 20 June 2025 of the Ministry of Home Affairs effective from 01 July 2025, foreigners marrying Vietnamese and living in Vietnam are required to apply for a Certificate of non-exemption from a Work Permit.

Compared to the provisions of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP, foreigners in this case do not have to carry out the procedure to confirm that foreign workers are not subject to work permit issuance but must report work information to the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs or the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs.

1. Procedures

Employers request the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee where the foreign worker is expected to work to confirm that the foreign worker is not subject to work permit issuance at least 10 days in advance from the date the foreign worker starts working.

2. List of documents

a) Document requesting confirmation that the foreign worker is not subject to work permit issuance;

b) Health certificate or health examination certificate issued by a competent medical agency or organization of a foreign country or Vietnam, valid for 12 months from the date of signing the health conclusion to the date of submitting the application or a certificate of good health according to the regulations of the Minister of Health;

c) Document approving the need to use foreign workers, except for cases where it is not necessary to determine the need to use foreign workers;

d) Certified copy of a valid passport according to the provisions of law;

e) Documents to prove that the foreign worker is not subject to a work permit (Marriage registration certificate or equivalent confirmation document).

Note: The documents specified in points b, c and e above are 01 original or certified copy. If they are from a foreign country, they must be consularly legalized, translated into Vietnamese and certified, except in cases where consular legalization is exempted according to international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the foreign country concerned are members or according to the principle of reciprocity or according to the provisions of law.

3. Confirmation period

The maximum period for confirming that a foreign employee is not subject to a Work Permit is 02 years. In case of re-issuing confirmation that a foreign employee is not subject to a Work Permit, the maximum period is 02 years.