Quick answer
To qualify for an expert work permit under Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, a foreign worker must meet one of two routes: the general route — holding a university degree or equivalent with at least 2 years of relevant experience; or the priority route — holding a university degree with at least 1 year of relevant experience when working in finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, or priority socio-economic development sectors. The criteria are proven by submitting a consular-legalized degree with certified translation, together with experience confirmations from previous employers, where the experience must be directly related to the intended position in Vietnam.
Legal basis
Article 3, Clause 3 of Decree 219/2025/ND-CP (effective 7 August 2025, replacing Decree 152/2020/ND-CP and Decree 70/2023/ND-CP) defines experts as foreign workers falling into one of the above cases. The significant change from the old rules (Decree 70/2023 required 3 years of experience) is the reduction to 2 years — and only 1 year for state-priority sectors — reflecting the policy direction of attracting high-quality human resources for the new stage of economic development.
Breaking down each criterion
1. Degree: “university or equivalent”
The degree must be issued by a competent training institution. Foreign-issued degrees must be consular-legalized (unless exempted under an international treaty to which Vietnam is a party) and translated into Vietnamese with certification. “Or equivalent” means training at a level equivalent to university under the issuing country’s education system — employers should prepare an explanation of equivalence where the degree title differs (for example, higher vocational training systems in some countries).
2. Experience: at least 2 “relevant” years
The key word is “relevant”: the experience must be directly related to the intended job position in Vietnam. A finance expert needs confirmation of finance and accounting work; an electrical engineer needs confirmation of electrical engineering work. Experience in a completely different field does not count. Experience periods are cumulative across previous employers; continuous service at one employer is not required.
3. Priority route: only 1 year of experience
This route applies when two conditions are simultaneously met: (a) holding a university degree in the trained specialty; and (b) working in finance, science, technology, innovation, national digital transformation, or priority socio-economic development sectors as determined by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, or provincial People’s Committees, or under cooperation agreements of the Vietnamese Government. Technology companies, semiconductor firms, R&D centers, and fintech businesses are direct beneficiaries. Dossiers under this route should include a statement identifying the priority sector so the processing authority can easily verify eligibility.
How to prove the criteria in the dossier
The new work permit application dossier (Article 18 of Decree 219/2025/ND-CP) includes documents proving expert status:
- University degree: consular-legalized copy with certified Vietnamese translation. If the degree states the specialty in a foreign language, the translation must clearly show the field of training.
- Experience confirmations: written confirmations from previous employers stating the job title held, the employment period (exact dates), and a description of duties performed. Obtain confirmations from all previous employers to accumulate sufficient time.
- Authenticity: experience confirmations issued abroad should be consular-legalized to ensure legal validity; documents showing signs of alteration, or vague content (“worked at our company”) without title, dates, and specific duties, are likely to trigger clarification requests.
Mistakes that get expert applications returned
- Degree unrelated to the position: e.g., a bachelor’s in economics registered for a “mechanical engineering expert” position — the authority will reassess the entire file.
- Insufficient experience time: cumulative experience below 2 years (or 1 year under the priority route) as of the filing date.
- Thin experience confirmations: missing titles, missing exact dates, or no duty descriptions, preventing the authority from assessing “relevance”.
- Missing consular legalization: foreign-issued degrees and experience confirmations not legalized — the most common administrative error, extending processing time.
- Wrong group selection: a person actually performing managerial work filed as an expert (or vice versa) — determine correctly from the start based on actual work.
Experts and follow-on procedures
After the expert work permit is issued (maximum 2-year validity), employers must handle related procedures: sign a written labor contract; register the foreign worker for compulsory social insurance (total 30% of monthly salary); and sponsor the LD2 visa and labor temporary residence card (maximum 2 years). When the permit nears expiry and employment continues, file the extension dossier at least 10 days but no more than 45 days in advance (Article 28 of Decree 219/2025/ND-CP).
Expert permits, salary levels, and SI contributions
Once the expert permit is issued, two financial obligations follow from the position. First, the salary stated in the labor contract becomes the basis for compulsory social insurance: foreign experts participate at a total rate of 30% of the SI contribution salary (the employee pays 9.5% — 8% social insurance plus 1.5% health insurance; the employer pays 20.5% — 14% pension and death gratuity, 3% sickness and maternity, 0.5% occupational accident and disease, and 3% health insurance). Second, the salary must not be lower than the regional minimum wage and should reflect the expert’s qualifications; an unrealistically low salary for a senior expert can raise questions during dossier review about whether the position is genuine. Employers should also note that foreign workers do not participate in unemployment insurance, and that the SI contribution salary is capped at 20 times the reference salary set by the Government.
Frequently asked questions
Do master’s or doctoral degrees get any preference?
The law provides no separate preference for master’s or doctoral degrees in the expert criteria — “university or higher” suffices. However, higher degrees make the dossier more convincing and help when the employer justifies the need to employ foreign workers.
Must the 2 years of experience be continuous?
No. Experience is cumulative across employers, as long as it is relevant to the intended position in Vietnam and confirmed in writing by each employer.
What extra documents do priority-sector experts need?
Beyond the degree and 1-year experience confirmation, the dossier should include materials showing the enterprise’s or project’s field falls within the priority scope (e.g., the investment certificate stating the business lines, or the competent authority’s document identifying the priority sector) so the authority has grounds to apply the 1-year route.
Can an expert work for two companies at once?
A work permit is tied to one employer. A foreign worker wishing to work for a second company needs a separate permit application for that employer; working for another employer under the existing permit is not permitted.
Does part-time expert work need a full permit?
Yes, if the work is regular and falls outside the exemption cases. The permit’s validity and the stated form of work must cover the actual arrangement; short assignments under 90 days for highly specialized technical troubleshooting may qualify for exemption certification instead, but routine part-time employment does not.
How is “relevant experience” assessed in practice?
Reviewers compare the duties described in experience confirmations against the intended position’s job description. Confirmations that name specific technologies, equipment, or professional functions carry far more weight than generic statements of employment.
FLAT Law Firm supports FDI enterprises in assessing expert eligibility, standardizing degree and experience dossiers (including consular legalization), and handling end-to-end work permit procedures. Contact us for detailed advice.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council. Content is for reference only and does not replace legal advice for your specific case.