Foreign Labor Use Reporting in Vietnam

Why Foreign Worker Dossier Management Matters

For Vietnamese workers, personnel dossiers mainly serve internal management and insurance settlement. For foreign workers, dossiers are also the legal basis for the worker’s lawful working status in Vietnam: the work permit or certificate of non-eligibility, the notification document, the employment contract, passport and visa. When authorities inspect — often unannounced inter-agency inspections — the company must produce all these dossiers immediately; a missing link can render the worker deemed to work without legal basis.

Foreign worker data also feeds personal income tax finalization, mandatory social insurance declarations and general labor use reporting. FDI companies should treat foreign worker dossier management as an independent compliance process with a responsible person and a clear schedule.

Legal Framework: From Decree 152/2020 to Decree 219/2025

For years, Decree 152/2020/ND-CP comprehensively regulated foreign workers in Vietnam, including the periodic reporting regime on foreign worker use. From 07/8/2025, Decree 219/2025/ND-CP replaces the foreign worker provisions of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP (together with Decree 70/2023/ND-CP which amended it). This means every internal process built on Decree 152 — from reporting templates to filing schedules — needs review.

Decree 219/2025/ND-CP focuses on information management responsibility: managing foreign worker information in paper or electronic form and reporting when requested by the competent state authority. However, detailed guidance on the reporting regime in the transition period is still being completed; companies should not unilaterally abandon old reporting processes without clear basis. See also work permit exemption cases to correctly determine each worker’s working status before preparing reports.

Periodic Reporting Obligations under Previous Regulations

Under Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, employers had obligations to report semi-annually and annually on foreign worker use: the first-half report before July 5, and the annual report before January 5 of the following year. Reports were sent to the competent authority where the foreign worker worked, summarizing headcount, job positions, work permit validity and fluctuations during the period.

These timelines are presented as historical reference — not as confirmation that this reporting schedule still applies intact under Decree 219/2025/ND-CP. Companies should compare directly against the full text of Decree 219 and the latest guidance (or consult a lawyer) to determine the current periodic reporting regime. While awaiting clear guidance, the cautious approach is to maintain internal periodic data aggregation on the old schedule so figures are always ready.

Information Management and Reporting on Request

The certain point under the new framework is information management responsibility: managing foreign worker information in paper or electronic form and reporting when requested by the competent state authority. Reporting requests may come from many agencies — labor, police, tax, social insurance — and usually come with short response deadlines.

Information to manage includes: full name, nationality, passport number; job position and title; type of work authorization document (work permit, certificate of non-eligibility, or filed notification); validity of each document; and visa and temporary residence card status. Data should be stored in parallel paper and electronic forms, with access permissions and periodic backups.

Fluctuation Reporting: New Hires, Changes, Terminations

Beyond aggregate reports, companies need to track and timely carry out procedures attached to each personnel fluctuation. When hiring a new foreign worker, depending on the case the company must process a new work permit, apply for a certificate of non-eligibility, or file the notification at least 03 working days in advance. When the worker changes job position, working place or employer, the current work permit may no longer fit and re-issuance or new issuance procedures are needed as prescribed.

Upon termination, the company needs to retrieve the work permit for return to the issuing authority (except cases otherwise prescribed by law), while finalizing social insurance and personal income tax obligations. Each fluctuation should be recorded in a centralized tracking book with a specific effective date. See also social insurance and payroll compliance for FDI companies on insurance obligations for foreign workers.

Dossiers to Keep for Each Foreign Worker

A complete dossier for each foreign worker should include: the approval of labor demand (if the case requires it); the work permit, certificate of non-eligibility, or a copy of the filed notification; the employment contract; copies of passport, visa, temporary residence card; diplomas, certificates and experience-proving papers; the criminal record; and the health certificate. Depending on the case, dossier components may differ — this is a reference framework, not a substitute for checking the regulations applicable to each dossier.

Dossiers should be kept throughout the worker’s employment plus the statute of limitations for administrative penalties and dispute resolution that may arise; departed workers’ dossiers should not be destroyed immediately because inspections may query data of those whose contracts have terminated. Companies should issue internal regulations on foreign worker dossier retention, clearly assigning responsibilities of HR, legal and direct managers.

Risks of Non-Reporting or Misreporting

Violating reporting obligations on foreign workers can be subject to administrative penalties under labor violation penalty regulations. The level of handling depends on the nature and severity of the violation and the number of workers involved. More worrying than fines is the chain effect: report figures mismatching actual work permit dossiers can make authorities doubt the legality of all foreign worker use, leading to expanded inspections into tax, insurance and immigration.

Another risk is misreporting from inconsistent internal data: HR reports one figure, work permit dossiers show another, attendance lists show a third. The fundamental solution is to unify a single data source for all reports — from foreign worker reports to tax finalization and insurance — so every figure traces back to the same origin.

Suggested Internal Process for FDI Companies

We suggest a four-step management process. Step one, classify at recruitment: each position falls under mandatory work permit issuance, certificate application, or notification-only — and document the classification basis in writing. Step two, schedule tracking of work permit, certificate, passport, visa and temporary residence card validity for each person, with alerts at least 45 days in advance.

Step three, aggregate data internally quarterly — even while the official reporting regime is in transition — to always be ready when state authorities request. Step four, annual legal review: compare internal processes against current legal texts and update when new decrees or circulars appear. An overview of the compliance framework is presented at our labor law advisory page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Useful Links

• Labor Law Advisory – our dedicated labor law page for businesses.
• Work Permit Exemption Cases – correctly determining each foreign worker’s working status.
• Social Insurance and Payroll Compliance for FDI Companies – insurance obligations for foreign workers.