An executive office is the foreign contractor’s distinctive form of presence in Vietnam: not a branch, not a representative office, but a performing base tied to one specific contract. The chief’s residence card therefore follows its own logic — the labor-category logic tied to the project lifecycle.
The executive office’s legal foundation
Under the 2014 Construction Law (Articles 104–105) and the guidance on construction operation licenses for foreign contractors, a foreign contractor winning a bid in Vietnam must obtain a construction operation license for each package and establish an executive office at the project location to perform the contract. The executive office registers its operations with the licensing authority, may open accounts, hire labor and organize construction — a real operating unit existing for the contract’s duration, entirely unlike a liaison office.
The chief’s residence card route
- Labor step first: the chief (head of the executive office) working in Vietnam falls in the labor category — the contractor completes a work permit for the head-of-establishment position, or an exemption confirmation if that individual is in a specific exemption case (e.g. the owner/capital-member case meeting the threshold of the contractor itself). There is no “office chief exemption” shortcut for commercial contractors;
- Residence step: the LD1/LD2 card dossier under Article 37 of the Entry-Exit Law, with the executive office’s legal documents (construction operation license, office registration, appointment decision);
- Cycle operation: sync three milestones — contract/license expiry, work permit expiry, card expiry — on one project calendar.
Quick comparison of the two often-confused “offices”
- Establishment basis: executive office — Construction Law + per-package construction operation license; representative office — Commercial Law + a provincial establishment license;
- Function: executive office — directly performs the contract, organizes construction; representative office — liaison, market research, promotion, no direct business;
- Lifespan: executive office — per the contract/project; representative office — per a 5-year license term, renewable;
- The chief and the card: both take the labor route to a residence card, but the work permit exemption for “chiefs of representative offices of international organizations/NGOs” (clause 3, Article 154 of the Labor Code) covers neither of these commercial/contractor office types.
Common foreign-contractor mistakes
Building the chief’s residence file on the assumption “an executive office equals a representative office” and applying the wrong document route; letting project paperwork (sub-contract extensions, operation license adjustments) finish late so the chief’s permit and card break mid-project; and forgetting the closing procedure: terminating the executive office means the residence basis of all its foreign staff must be rearranged (category conversion or exit) before the official closure date.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in the residence card dossier for a contractor executive office’s chief?
The card is applied for under the labor category. The dossier under Article 37 of the Entry-Exit Law comprises: (1) the sponsoring organization’s card request (Form NA6) — the sponsor is the executive office/foreign contractor lawfully operating in Vietnam; (2) Form NA8 with the chief’s 2×3 photos; (3) the passport; (4) the chief’s valid work permit or exemption confirmation — the decisive document because the card category is the labor category; (5) legal documents proving the executive office’s existence: the foreign contractor’s construction operation license, the executive office establishment registration/notification, and the appointment decision for the chief. Processed by the immigration authority in 5 working days.
How long is the executive office chief’s residence card valid?
Per the labor category term in Article 38 of the Entry-Exit Law: LD1 and LD2 cards run a maximum of 2 years, never exceeding the underlying work permit/confirmation term and ending at least 30 days before the passport. The contractor-group peculiarity: the chief’s residence cycle attaches to the life of the construction contract and the construction operation license — when the project outlasts the first card cycle, the permit-extension → new-card chain must be run as part of the project plan, and when the contract ends, the executive office’s existence basis (and the card’s) ends with it.
How does an executive office differ from a representative office for residence card purposes?
In the legal nature of the establishment, which drives the dossier route. An executive office is the base a foreign contractor must establish at the project location to directly perform the construction contract after receiving a construction operation license (Construction Law) — a project-executing unit that hires labor and runs construction operations. A foreign trader’s representative office (Commercial Law) performs only liaison and promotion functions — it may not directly conduct profit-making activities in Vietnam. The residence consequence: the executive office chief falls in the ordinary labor category, needing a work permit (unless in a specific exemption case) before an LD card; and avoid confusing this with the permit exemption in clause 3, Article 154 of the Labor Code — that case covers only chiefs of representative offices/projects of international organizations and foreign non-governmental organizations, not the executive office of a commercial contractor.
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FLAT Law Firm advises FDI companies and foreign employees on work permits, visas and temporary residence cards in Vietnam. Contact us for advice on your specific case.
This content is general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice on a specific case.