A Work Permit In Danang

This post is a continuation of last months post: Getting A Visa In Danang. It is strongly recommended that you read that post first for some background information. As with getting a visa, obtaining a work permit in Danang has different requirements to those in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi.

Please be sympathetic, information changes quickly, some of the following information may be out of date and is only intended as a guide. If you have more relaible info please add it to the comments at the bottom of this post.

WORK PERMITS:
So if all you need to stay in Vietnam longer is a work permit what is the big deal? Paperwork is the big deal. Like so many others who have lived in Vietnam I originally came here because it was easy, I didn’t need to do anything before I got here, no visa applications, no online job search, no contracts, no accommodation to organise. I showed up in HCMC, knocked on doors, asked around and within a week or two had a job, a house and a 6 month visa. With the tightening of the regulations Vietnam will start to resemble countries, like Taiwan, Korea and Japan, which in my humble opinion isn’t a bad thing. More on my opinion later.

To get a work permit you require the following:

1. An application form: This is available from the immigration department, your employer should be able to get this for you.

2. An application letter: Needs to follow a certain format, gives similar info as the application form.

3. A Criminal Record Check: If you have been in Vietnam for more than six months from your date of application this needs to be a criminal record check from the city you are living in. If you have been in Vietnam less than 6 months the criminal record check must be from the city where you were living prior to Vietnam. In some cases a criminal record check from your home country is required regardless of how long you have been in Vietnam, this can be time consuming to obtain.

4. A certified photocopy of your university degree: Your original degree will get a stamp on the back of it from your consulate or embassy, then another stamp from the Vietnamese notary recognising your embassy’s stamp! Then you can get copies of the degree notarised to be submitted with your work permit application.

5. A Health Check from the local hospital: There is an approved list of hospitals, make sure the place you go is on the list. The price in Danang is $70 USD (2009 price, may be more now) and Hospital C on Quang Trung street is the only hospital permitted to issue health checks to foreigners in Danang.

6. Curriculum vitae with passport photo: Employment and education history with focus on the skills that you will be using while employed in Vietnam.

7. 3 new passport photos.

The first 7 documents should be collected and arranged by the applicant. Your employer is required to submit the final 4 documents, they may also be able to assist you in collecting the documents above.

8. A valid labor contract.

9. The company license (copy certified by Government authority office)

10. Work permit application form

11. The approval from the Government to use foreign labor.

So there it is simple, only 11 pieces of paper need to be collected, submitted, approved and stamped – easy! As I mentioned before the process takes about 6 or 7 months to complete. I have heard of the process taking 3 months for companies that are organised and experienced in organizing work permits for their foreign labor. The work permit will be valid for the length of your contract and can be easily extended if your contract is extended.

The process is a little more complicated for Americans as the U.S consulate or embassy won’t stamp American issued University degrees, this must be done inside the United States, making it very costly and time consuming. I am not aware of a way around this step.

You may also like to check out Getting A Visa In Danang