The Ministry of Home Affairs has received Document No. 166/HDTV dated November 11, 2025, from the Prime Minister’s Administrative Procedure Reform Advisory Council and Document No. 36/2025JCCI dated October 31, 2025, from the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam (JCCI) regarding the difficulties and obstacles in domestic salary payments for foreign workers employed in Vietnam through the intra-company transfer mechanism. The Ministry of Home Affairs expresses its views as follows:
Pursuant to the following regulations:
- Clause 5, Article 3 of the Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14 (“Labor Code 45”) stipulates the labor relationship;
- Clause 1, Article 13 of Labor Code 45 stipulates labor contracts;
- Point đ, Clause 1, Article 21 of Labor Code 45 stipulates that one of the principal contents of a labor contract is: “The salary according to the job or title, the method of wage payment, the wage payment period, wage allowances, and other additional amounts”;
- Clause 1, Article 90 of Labor Code 45 stipulates salaries;
- Point a, Clause 2, Article 2 of the Social Insurance Law No. 41/2024/QH15 stipulates social insurance participation for foreign employees working in Vietnam;
- Point a, Clause 1, Article 2 and Clause 4, Article 22 of Decree No. 219/2025/NĐ-CP (“Decree 219”) stipulate the issuance of work permits for foreign employees;
- Point b, Clause 13, Article 7 and Article 8 of Decree 219 stipulate cases in which foreign employees who are ICT are not subject to work permit requirements.
Accordingly, foreign employees working in Vietnam are classified into two (02) cases as follows:
Case 1: Foreign employees working and receiving salary in Vietnam is required to enter into a labor contract.
The employer must apply for a work permit for the foreign employees, enter into a labor contract in accordance with Vietnamese labor laws, and ensure participation in social insurance in Vietnam as required by social insurance regulation.
Case 2: Foreign employees working in the form of “intra-company transfer”
The employer must apply for a certificate of exemption from the work-permit requirement for the foreign employees in accordance with Article 8 of Decree 219, must not pay salary to the foreign employees working in Vietnam, and is not required to participate in social insurance in Vietnam.
