Labour and Foreign Experts Working in the Da Nang FTZ: One-Stop Mechanisms and Procedural Priorities

Enterprises inside the Da Nang Free Trade Zone often expect foreign labour procedures to be “waived” or radically shortened thanks to the one-stop mechanism. The cautious reality: work permits still follow Decree 219/2025 with the full expert conditions, and the FTZ value lies in a single receiving focal point and coordination — not in skipping conditions.

Governing Instruments

The work permit framework is unchanged: Decree 219/2025 applies in full inside the zone

Foreign employees working in the FTZ remain governed by Decree 219/2025/ND-CP replacing Decree 152/2020/ND-CP. The standard sequence comprises: explanation of the demand for foreign labour under Article 30 (considered by the competent authority within the statutory time); the permit application dossier under Article 31; the expert conditions in Clause 3, Article 3 — a university degree in the right specialisation and at least 2 years of relevant experience, reduced to at least 1 year of experience for priority fields, or the technical route with corresponding training and experience; and the permit term under Clause 3, Article 22, up to 2 years and renewable once. Licensing competence sits with the Department of Home Affairs, with decentralised cases as prescribed.

Decree 219/2025 also maintains the notification-only group in Clause 4, Article 9 — the employer notifies at least 3 working days in advance for statutory short-term entry-to-work cases. Enterprises inside the zone commonly confuse two things: the zone one-stop mechanism changes WHERE dossiers are filed and how they are coordinated, not the CONDITIONS for licensing. At the time of writing, no instrument waives work permits for experts working in the Da Nang FTZ.

What the FTZ one-stop mechanism actually shortens

Under the zone establishment decision and Da Nang special mechanisms, the zone Management Board is the one-stop focal point receiving and coordinating investment procedures and related procedures for in-zone investors, including guiding and receiving labour and residence dossiers for transfer to competent authorities or handling under assigned decentralisation and authorisation. The practical value of this mechanism is: a single focal point instead of the enterprise visiting each department itself; processing times committed in the zone one-stop regulations; and synchronisation among investment, labour and residence procedures (once the work permit issues, the expert temporary residence card proceeds in the same processing stream).

On residence, an expert holding a work permit or a confirmation of permit-exemption eligibility is issued a temporary residence card under entry and exit law with the corresponding term; temporary residence declaration for foreigners is supported by accommodation establishments and enterprises through the electronic declaration system. Procedural priority inside the zone — where the zone regulations provide it — is priority in processing order and time, not priority in conditions. Enterprises should request the current one-stop regulations from the Management Board to know exactly which labour procedures are received in the zone and the committed time for each type.

Application Analysis

For Vietnamese employees working in the FTZ, it must be said plainly that there is as yet no separate “FTZ labour law”: labour contracts, social insurance, occupational safety and minimum wages follow general law — the Labour Code 45/2019/QH14 and the regional minimum wage under Decree 293/2025 for the Da Nang area. Any specificity comes from project and investor requirements (skill standards, international safety standards of the zone), not from an enacted separate labour regime. An enterprise building HR policy on the assumption of a special in-zone labour regime will have to revise it when checking the texts.

A workable staffing plan for an in-zone project therefore runs on two separate tracks: the foreign expert track — scheduling the demand explanation and licensing under Decree 219/2025 from the project preparation stage, allowing processing time and the experience conditions of each position; and the domestic recruitment track — using the labour hinterland of the merged Da Nang — Quang Nam region. The common bottleneck is an expert position failing the right-specialisation degree condition; the remedy must be planned at the position-design stage (title, job description, selection standards) rather than discovered at filing time.

Recommended Actions

Request the current one-stop regulations from the FTZ Management Board: the catalogue of labour and residence procedures received in the zone and committed processing times.
Schedule foreign labour procedures under Decree 219/2025 (Article 30 demand explanation, Article 31 dossier, residence card) in parallel with the project timeline, not when the expert is about to arrive.
Screen the expert conditions in Clause 3, Article 3 for each planned foreign position at the position-design stage.
Build domestic labour policy under general law (the Labour Code, the regional minimum wage of Decree 293/2025), without assuming a separate zone labour regime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Under what procedure does an enterprise in the FTZ recruit foreign experts?

Under the Decree 219/2025/ND-CP sequence: explain the demand for foreign labour (Article 30), file the work permit application dossier (Article 31) with the competent authority (the Department of Home Affairs, with decentralised cases as prescribed); certain short-term categories under Clause 4, Article 9 require only notification at least 3 working days in advance instead of licensing. Dossiers may be guided and received through the Management Board one-stop focal point under zone regulations, but conditions and deciding competence remain under Decree 219/2025.

How does the one-stop mechanism in the FTZ shorten labour and residence procedures?

The one stop shortens the receiving and coordination stage: the enterprise works with one focal point, the zone Management Board, instead of visiting each authority itself; labour and residence dossiers are handled in sync within the same stream as investment procedures; and processing times are committed in the zone one-stop regulations. The one stop does not change work permit conditions, residence card conditions or deciding competence — those remain under current sector law.

Do foreign experts working in the FTZ get priority in work permit issuance?

No instrument waives work permits for experts in the Da Nang FTZ at the time of writing, and the expert conditions in Clause 3, Article 3 of Decree 219/2025 (a university degree in the right specialisation and minimum experience, reduced for priority fields) apply as outside the zone. Any “priority” is priority in dossier handling through the one-stop and in-zone decentralisation — faster procedure — not relaxed conditions. Enterprises must distinguish the two when planning staffing.

What special management regime applies to Vietnamese employees working in the FTZ?

There is as yet no separate labour regime for the FTZ: Vietnamese employees in the zone work under the Labour Code 45/2019/QH14 as outside it — labour contracts, compulsory social insurance, working time, occupational safety and hygiene, and the regional minimum wage under Decree 293/2025 for the Da Nang area. Practical specificity comes from project and investor requirements (skill standards, zone safety rules), not from an enacted separate labour text.

This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council