The e-visa is currently the fastest way into Vietnam: filed online, up to 90 days, multiple entries, open to citizens of every country. But the speed of the entry step tempts many companies into assuming the work step is “done” as well. For an expert coming to work, the e-visa is only a ticket through the door — what follows it decides legality.
The 90-day e-visa: scope and nature
Law 23/2023/QH15, amending the foreigners’ entry and residence law, raised the electronic visa to a maximum of 90 days with single or multiple entries, and since 15 August 2023 Vietnam issues e-visas to citizens of all countries and territories. Applications are filed online through the public service portal or the immigration e-portal, and the result is an electronic visa file to print and present at designated entry checkpoints.
The point to see clearly: an e-visa is a channel for issuing a visa, not a “labour residence category”. It records no employment relationship with any Vietnamese company, and its issuance involves no assessment of a company’s demand for foreign labour — the very step that labour law makes a precondition of every lawful work arrangement.
May an expert actually work on an e-visa alone
The answer is no, where “work” means performing a job for an employer in Vietnam. Lawful work requires a work permit, or a confirmation of permit-exempt status under Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, together with residence under the matching labour category. A company that lets an expert work on an e-visa alone breaches both the rules on unpermitted foreign labour and those on residence outside the declared purpose.
What the e-visa genuinely suits: surveying a plant before a contract is signed, attending meetings and negotiations, commissioning equipment during a short partner-linked business trip, or serving as the buffer period while a work permit is processed ahead of a status conversion. The line is that these activities are either purely commercial in nature or are time-boxed preparation leading to a proper labour status.
Company sponsorship and the path to labour status
Unlike a visa requested by a sponsoring organisation, an e-visa can be self-filed online by the expert; but where the Vietnamese company sponsors, the application runs through the Ministry of Public Security’s public service portal on the company’s electronic account, linking this entry to the later labour file. Either way, entry on an e-visa counts as a lawful entry that can ground the conversion step.
The standard route for an expert staying to work long-term: the company completes the demand explanation and obtains the work permit (or exemption confirmation) while the expert is in Vietnam on the e-visa; once the permit and a sponsor exist, the case falls within the exceptions in Article 7 of the amended entry and residence law — a person who entered on an electronic visa and holds a work permit may be considered for conversion of purpose to the labour category and a residence card, without exiting to start over.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an expert work on an e-visa?
Not on the e-visa alone. The e-visa covers entry for up to 90 days, but working in Vietnam requires a work permit or an exemption confirmation under Decree 219/2025/ND-CP plus residence under the labour category. Letting an expert work on just an e-visa breaches both the unpermitted-labour rules and the residence-purpose rules.
Can a company sponsor an e-visa?
There are two routes: the expert self-files online via the public service portal or immigration e-portal, or the Vietnamese company uses its electronic account on the Ministry of Public Security portal to sponsor and file on the expert’s behalf. The sponsorship route ties the entry to the company’s subsequent labour file.
How long is it valid?
An e-visa lasts up to 90 days, with single or multiple entries, and is issued to citizens of all countries and territories under Law 23/2023/QH15. If no conversion has happened by day 90 the expert must exit; an e-visa is not a long-term residence document.
Can it be converted to LD?
Yes, through the exception mechanism: a person who entered on an electronic visa and subsequently holds a work permit or an exemption confirmation with a sponsoring organisation is among the cases eligible for conversion of visa purpose to the labour category under Article 7 of the amended entry and residence law — no exit and fresh visa application needed.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council