Decree 393/2026/ND-CP on Foreign Workers in Vietnam: 7 Issues for Employers and Employees

When a company hires a foreign employee or moves a specialist into Vietnam, it must comply with the applicable rules and prepare documents that match the job, employing entity and assignment. Decree 393/2026/ND-CP on Foreign Workers in Vietnam changes several of these requirements, including who qualifies, when an exemption applies and how an existing permission is maintained.

The decree simplifies some procedures while tightening particular employment arrangements and documentation requirements. Employers and employees need to consider both when planning a hire or assignment. 

Issued on October 20, 2026, the decree takes effect on December 5, 2026. The discussion below explains the framework applicable from that date, including the protection for existing documents and pending applications. Its continuing importance is how employers and employees plan recruitment, assignments and continued employment. 

Why Vietnam Introduced Decree 393

Decree 393 revises the framework for identifying eligible foreign workers and administering their work permissions. It adds qualification alternatives, revises exemptions for specialist work and education, and changes procedures for extensions and workplace changes. It also provides for greater use of information already held in government databases.

These provisions affect the evidence needed for a particular job and the procedure the employer must follow. Employers should distinguish a changed requirement from an existing obligation before changing their recruitment or assignment policy.

Quick Reference

Decree 393 governs foreign-worker qualifications, work permits and exemptions in Vietnam from December 5, 2026. The correct arrangement depends on the actual job, employer, qualifications and work locations. A short assignment or an overseas salary does not, by itself, establish an exemption. Some exempt workers need an exemption confirmation; specified categories instead follow advance notification procedures.

For employers, the ongoing compliance task is to keep the employment documents and work permission consistent as the assignment develops. Employees should understand which organization and work their permission covers. The revised extension procedures offer earlier filing and shorter processing, but a pending application does not extend an expiring permit. Existing documents and applications submitted before commencement receive specific transitional treatment.

7 Issues for Employers and Employees

Recruiting Under the Revised Qualification Rules

The job title used within a company does not decide whether a foreign employee qualifies as a manager, executive, expert or technical worker. The decree defines these categories and requires evidence supporting the proposed work.

For executives heading and directly managing a field of an organization or enterprise, the relevant experience requirement falls from three years to two. For experts, the general requirement of a university degree and at least two years of relevant experience remains. An additional alternative recognizes at least five years of experience appropriate to the proposed position, without expressly requiring a degree under that alternative.

Separate expert criteria address strategic technologies, specified highly ranked university graduates, education, research, culture and sport. Each has its own conditions. An employee who does not meet one criterion may qualify under another, but a specialist title alone is insufficient.

Both employer and employee should review qualifications and experience before finalizing an offer or assignment. For project teams, work permit planning for foreign engineers should also distinguish work authorization from any professional certificate required for the duties.

Choosing the Appropriate Employment or Assignment Arrangement

A local labor contract, a qualifying transfer within an enterprise and an assignment to perform a service contract require different supporting evidence. The employment contract, overseas assignment letter and application need to describe the same arrangement.

Decree 393 defines an intra-company transferee as a manager, executive or expert temporarily assigned to the foreign enterprise’s commercial presence in Vietnam. The employee must have been employed by the overseas enterprise for at least 12 consecutive months before the transfer. The related exemption remains tied to the 11 service sectors in Vietnam’s World Trade Organization commitments.

Technical workers are no longer included in that definition, although existing documents receive special transitional treatment. The decree also distinguishes other transfers within an overseas organization or corporate group. Being employed by a group company does not automatically establish an exempt intra-company transfer.

Decree 393 also expressly prohibits employers from subleasing foreign workers. This raises a concern for employer-of-record (EOR) arrangements in which a provider employs the person while the client directs and supervises the work. If the arrangement amounts to labor subleasing, it cannot be used for foreign workers under the decree. Payroll administration, recruitment support and genuine outsourced services need separate assessment; the service name alone does not settle the legal position. 

An affected business may need to change the employing structure and coordinate contract, work-permit and immigration steps to avoid interruptions. Where it needs a local presence, the choice of company, representative office or branch must fit the planned activities. An existing work permit does not, by itself, resolve a prohibited subleasing arrangement.

The parties should identify who employs and directs the person, the work to be performed and the supporting assignment documents. These decisions belong within the broader employment arrangements review, before a start date is promised.

Understanding When Short-Term Work Requires a Permit

Decree 393 defines short-term work as no more than 90 days in total during the calendar year, for one or more employers in Vietnam. The category covers managers, executives, experts and technical workers.

The revised wording also adds an important restriction. Where a relationship involving hiring, employment and wage payment arises, the decree requires an application for a work permit under the labor-contract arrangement. Counting days alone therefore does not establish that the person may work without a permit.

Review the substance of the assignment and payment arrangements before relying on the exemption. Where it applies, the employer must give the prescribed notice at least three working days before the expected start. Keep a record of work across employers and visits: changing the host company does not restart the annual allowance.

Identifying the Correct Exemption and Procedure

Decree 393 expands and reorganizes exemptions for education and specialist work. Examples include specified teaching and research activities, qualifying holders of special visa-exemption cards, strategic-technology experts and their qualifying relatives, and personnel attracted under the national artificial-intelligence workforce program.

These categories have distinct conditions and evidence requirements. For example, the education provisions identify particular approved programs, institutional cooperation arrangements and qualification-based teaching or research activities. They do not exempt every foreign employee working at a school.

Eligibility for an exemption and the procedure for using it are separate questions. Depending on the category, an exemption confirmation or advance notification may be required. An employer should establish the precise ground and retain the supporting documents. The employee should understand what has been obtained or notified before beginning the assignment.

The ordinary exemption-confirmation dossier includes criminal-record evidence issued no more than six months before filing, unless the relevant information can be retrieved from the database. Specified simplified applications and notification-only categories follow different requirements. Employers should allow time for overseas records where needed; being exempt from a work permit does not necessarily mean a lighter application. 

Preparing Documents and Using Electronic Records

The decree allows specified information to be retrieved from government databases, including passport details, photographs and existing work-permission records. It also provides for criminal-record information to be used through the relevant database arrangements. These provisions can reduce repeated submissions where the information is available.

Employers should check what the authority can actually retrieve. A document should not be omitted simply because the employee submitted it in an earlier application. Names, passport numbers and employment details need to match. Foreign documents also require the applicable authentication and Vietnamese translation checks.

For an initial permit application, the filing window is no more than 60 days and at least 10 working days before the proposed start. The ordinary processing period remains 10 working days after receipt of a complete application. Where the criminal-record database procedure is used, the period runs from receipt of the retrieved information. Allow additional time for document preparation before promising a start date.

Digital processing also increases the importance of handling employee information carefully. Limit access to passport, health and criminal-record documents, and review sharing with overseas offices or service providers. These are separate data-protection considerations, rather than new duties created solely by Decree 393.

Managing Changes to the Employer Role or Workplace

An existing permit does not cover every later staffing decision. Working for another employer requires a new permit procedure, including where the position and field remain the same. Changes to the position, field or working arrangement with the same employer also require the applicable new-permit procedure.

Decree 393 expressly provides for notice when a permit holder works for the same employer at new locations or changes to a stable, regular workplace. The employer must notify both the authority at the intended workplace and the issuing authority at least three working days before work begins there. The work period cannot exceed the existing permit’s validity.

A separate reissuance provision covers specified changes involving the headquarters, branch, representative office, business location or foreign contractor’s operating office where the worker was authorized. The facts therefore need checking before treating every relocation as notice-only.

Review a promotion, transfer or relocation while it is being planned. Employees should inform the responsible team about proposed changes so the necessary procedure can be completed before the new assignment begins. Check whether the employment documents and  internal labor rules also need updating.

Planning Extensions and Continued Employment

Decree 393 permits extension applications no more than 90 days and at least 10 working days before expiry. The ordinary processing period for a complete permit-extension application falls from 10 working days to five. The extension dossier also omits the health certificate previously required; initial applications still have a health-document requirement, subject to the database exception.

The maximum permit period remains two years, with one extension of up to two years, subject to the relevant conditions and supporting documents. Once that extension has been used, continued employment requires a new permit procedure. The employer and employee should distinguish an extension from a new application when planning the next contract.

The transition does not automatically cancel existing permissions. Covered permits and exemption confirmations issued under the earlier rules continue until expiry, subject to events affecting validity.

Existing intra-company-transfer documents for technical workers also continue until expiry. Their later reissuance or extension is addressed under the expert category where the worker meets the five-year relevant-experience condition. Review these cases individually. A pending application does not authorize work after the current permission expires.

If work permission cannot be renewed, disagreements may arise over whether employment should end and what payments are due. Before communicating a termination decision, the employer should check the legal basis, applicable procedure and payment obligations. Both parties should retain the contract, permit records and renewal correspondence. Clear explanations and payment calculations can help prevent employment termination disputes from escalating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Does every foreign employee benefit from easier qualification rules

No. Decree 393 adds alternatives and changes particular thresholds, while retaining other conditions. The employee must satisfy the category relevant to the actual job and provide the required evidence.

Q2: Is a visit of 90 days or less automatically exempt

No. The annual day limit is only part of the assessment. The person must fall within the specified categories, and the rule requiring a permit where the relevant employment and wage relationship arises must also be considered.

Q3: Does a visa or residence card replace work permission

An ordinary visa or residence card does not by itself settle work authorization. Decree 393 recognizes a specific exemption for qualifying special visa-exemption card holders, but ordinary immigration permission should not be treated as that special category.

Q4: Must all existing permits be replaced when Decree 393 takes effect

No. The transition preserves covered existing documents until expiry, subject to their continued validity. A later change, reissuance or extension must be assessed under the applicable procedure and any special transitional rule.

Conclusion

Employers and employees should review work permission before agreeing to recruitment, reassignment or continued employment. Check the actual job, qualification evidence, employer and work locations against the existing or proposed permission. Agree who will prepare documents and notifications, and keep the employee informed of the timing. This makes the decree useful in recurring staffing decisions throughout the employment relationship.

General Disclaimer

This article is for general informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Vietnamese laws, regulations and administrative practice change over time, and the correct position for any matter depends on its specific facts and the rules in force when action is taken. Verify the current position before relying on anything stated here, and consult qualified counsel on your specific situation.

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Foreign Engineering Consultants in Vietnam: 7 Licensing Issues for Design and Consulting Services

A foreign design firm can take responsibility for a Vietnam construction project without sending a permanent team to site. The work may involve drawings, surveys, design review, supervision or project management. Foreign engineering consultants in Vietnam should settle the company license, individual qualifications and Vietnamese participation before accepting those responsibilities.

A construction operation license in Vietnam addresses the firm’s right to perform the relevant construction services. Individual qualifications and work authorization need separate review. These seven issues help you align the appointment, technical team and project responsibilities.

Quick Reference

• Design, design review, survey, supervision and project management for a Vietnam project are construction consultancy.
• Working from your home office does not, by itself, remove the license requirement.
• Planning, project preparation, survey and construction design contracts may use an executive office at the project owner’s registered address or no executive office in Vietnam. This is an office rule, not a license exemption.
• Specified design, survey and supervision roles require professional qualification. Apply the foreign-practitioner route and any activity exception before deciding that every individual needs a Vietnamese certificate.
• Plan company licensing alongside the commercial appointment, qualification checks and delivery schedule.

7 Licensing Issues for Design and Consulting Services

Identify What You Will Deliver

The contract title does not decide your legal role. Review the services, deliverables and responsibilities your firm accepts.

The Construction Law treats construction consultancy broadly. It covers project preparation, surveys, construction design, design review, project management and construction supervision. Physical site work is not needed to fall within the law.

Identify which drawings, calculations, survey results, review reports and instructions the project will rely on. If your firm takes responsibility for regulated construction consultancy in Vietnam, assess and obtain the required construction operation license. General market advice and limited engineering inputs can be different arrangements, but the fact that a local designer later signs a document does not prove your firm is outside the framework.

Do Not Assume Offshore Design Is Exempt

Working from abroad does not create an automatic exemption from Vietnamese construction rules. The foreign firm’s contract, responsibilities, deliverables and connection to the project determine the assessment. Distinguish limited advisory inputs from an appointment to deliver or take responsibility for the construction design, and document the basis for the firm’s licensing position.

Specified planning, project-preparation, survey and construction-design contracts allow the foreign contractor to use an executive office at the project owner’s registered address or to operate without an executive office in Vietnam. Check that the actual appointment falls within the relevant category. This office arrangement does not remove the company’s construction operation licensing obligations.

Obtain a design responsibility schedule before the appointment. Identify who issues the drawings, answers review comments, verifies site assumptions and approves changes. If a local firm’s role is limited to translation or administrative submission, do not describe it as taking the foreign firm’s design responsibility.

Separate the Company License From Personal Certificates

The license allows your company to perform the package. It does not qualify your engineers for regulated roles. These are two different checks.

The Construction Law requires practicing certificates for specified roles, including survey leads, design directors and discipline leads, lead design-review roles and construction supervisors. Project management directors and site commanders are assessed under the applicable capacity and experience rules. Check the exact appointment, discipline and project scope rather than treating every job title containing engineer as the same role.

For foreign practitioners, the qualification route can depend on an existing foreign practice license, the place of practice and the length of the appointment. Some eligible individuals can use prescribed foreign qualifications and practice-license documents; others need certificate conversion or another applicable route. Specific activities also have exceptions. Confirm the route and document formalities for each role before the person takes responsibility for technical work.

Prepare a role list with each appointed person, the applicable certificate or other qualification basis and a qualified replacement. Check the permitted discipline and scope, document formalities and any architecture-specific rule. Owner approval of a CV does not replace a required qualification, and a replacement should be reviewed before taking over technical signing.

For supporting engineers, distinguish contribution to the design from holding the formal lead or supervision appointment. Maintain the qualification documents with appointment records and the signing list. If the service period increases or the person begins local practice, review whether the original foreign-practitioner route still applies.

Give Your Vietnamese Partner Real Technical Work

The same rule applies to consultants as to builders. A foreign contractor must form a consortium with a Vietnamese contractor or use a Vietnamese subcontractor, unless no Vietnamese contractor can do any part of the package. The agreement must state the content, quantity and value of the Vietnamese party’s work.

Possible local work includes an allocated survey, design adaptation, technical-regulation review or another part of the consultancy package. Translation or the presence of local staff alone does not establish compliance with the participation rule. Record what the local team will deliver and how that work connects with the foreign firm’s responsibilities.

A partner should not merely stamp drawings. Define who prepares, checks and issues each deliverable, how the firms exchange data and who controls design changes. The arrangement should also address errors at the boundary between the scopes. A signed local participation agreement must reflect work that will actually be performed.

Also check how errors will be corrected and whether the local and foreign firms use compatible notice and dispute provisions. The owner should not have to reconstruct responsibility from two conflicting service descriptions. A clear technical split should carry through the licensing file, contract, drawings and review records.

Align the Appointment With Licensing and Delivery Commitments

A consultant needs a defined scope, fee basis and commercial commitment before allocating a team to a project. Develop the appointment and licensing plan together. Identify who will contract, what evidence confirms the firm’s selection, what the owner must provide and which deliverables carry regulated construction responsibility.

The signing rule must still be addressed: for a regulated construction consultancy contract, the owner or main contractor must have the foreign contractor’s license in place before signing. The application uses lawful selection evidence and other required records. Do not treat a letter of intent or a clause postponing services as a complete answer without checking what commitments the document creates.

Where the appointment is already signed, assess the contract, existing deliverables and licensing position promptly. Agree the next steps with the owner, including any documentation, contractual adjustment or authority clarification needed. Keep regulated performance within the licensing requirements; a signed appointment alone does not authorize the firm to start those services.

Set realistic delivery dates by allocating responsibility for licensing documents, project data and owner approvals. Record when the owner must provide surveys, drawings, design criteria and other inputs. Agree how incomplete information or delayed review affects the consultant’s timetable, fee and obligation to revise the design.

Address these points during the contract review. For wider project interfaces, EPC contract review in Vietnam should connect the consultant’s duties with construction delivery, instruction authority and acceptance responsibilities.

Define what constitutes a completed design submission and what starts the owner’s review period. Record missing information and changed assumptions promptly. This allows the parties to separate a late deliverable from a delay caused by incomplete owner data, and to price additional revisions through the agreed change process.

Control Site Roles and Who Gives Instructions

A design appointment does not necessarily include supervision. Before a design engineer supervises construction, approves site deviations, certifies quantities or signs acceptance records, review the added company scope and any license amendment, the contract and the individual’s qualification basis. Owner consent alone does not confer the required authority.

When a foreign contractor is used for project management or construction quality supervision, the owner, project entity or main contractor must give written notice of its functions and duties to other contractors and the construction quality management authorities. Ask for the notice and ensure it matches the appointment. The notice communicates the role; it does not replace licensing or professional qualifications.

Keep design clarification, a formal design change and a commercial variation distinct. An engineer may explain a drawing without authority to change the contract price or direct another contractor. State who can issue each type of instruction and retain the approved versions and replies.

Engineers working in Vietnam also need the appropriate work authorization or exemption and immigration status. Some eligible short-term workers can use a notice-based exemption, but the role, cumulative working days and advance notice must be checked. Prepare these records before the trip, not after technical instructions have been issued.

Make Your Design Records Usable in Vietnam

The design must meet applicable Vietnamese technical regulations. Standards selected for the project, including foreign standards, require the relevant project acceptance and must be consistent with national technical regulations and related law. They must also be compatible and feasible for the project. An international design standard is not a substitute for this review.

Agree early on document language, format, signatories and version control. Keep records of surveys, calculations, assumptions and approvals. These records show which firm did what if a problem appears later. A translation alone does not move technical responsibility to the translator or the local partner.

Separate correction of your own errors from revisions caused by new owner instructions or changed site information. The contract should define who approves a variation, how the fee and timetable are agreed and what records support the claim. A new instruction does not guarantee additional payment if the agreed process is ignored. Review the professional liability insurance required for the appointment under Vietnamese law.

Before the final deliverable, confirm which editable files, calculations, review responses and approvals must be handed over. Preserve the version history showing what was issued for construction. These records support acceptance and payment, and help distinguish a consultant’s error from a later site or owner change.

Checklist for Foreign Engineering Consultants

• Deliverables: identify their purpose and the firm responsible for the formal project documents.
• Offshore services: distinguish limited inputs from retained construction responsibility; assess the company contract separately.
• Qualifications: record each appointed person’s certificate, foreign-practitioner route, capacity basis or applicable exception.
• Vietnamese participation: agree real technical work and its content, quantity and value.
• Contract and schedule: align selection records, signing requirements, licensing documents and the delivery commitments made to the owner.
• Site roles: retain the required role notice, instruction authority and individual work authorization records.
• Design records: agree regulations and standards, review procedures, language, signatories and version control.

Step by Step Process for Engineering Appointments

Prepare qualification documents and Vietnamese participation early, and agree records and review responsibilities before delivery.

• List each deliverable and state how the project will use it.
• Decide whether your firm is the responsible designer or a supplier of inputs, and where each task is done.
• Name the responsible person and a qualified replacement for each regulated role; confirm the certificate, foreign-practitioner route or applicable exception.
• Choose a Vietnamese partner and define its work, quantity and value.
• Coordinate the commercial appointment and licensing application, check signing requirements, and resolve any existing contractual commitments.
• Confirm site duties, the required written notice, individual qualifications and work authorization before local performance.
• Agree on standards, document language, signers, version control and insurance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Do foreign design consultants need a construction operation license in Vietnam?

Yes, where the foreign firm undertakes regulated construction consultancy in Vietnam. Design, review, supervision and project management can fall within that framework. Review the contract and actual responsibilities; being called a consultant rather than a builder is not an exemption.

Q2: Is offshore construction design automatically exempt from licensing?

No. Offshore delivery does not establish an exemption when the foreign firm retains regulated construction responsibility. The executive-office option is separate. Limited foreign inputs to another responsible designer still require a project-specific assessment of the foreign firm’s own contract.

Q3: Does every foreign engineer need a practicing certificate?

No. Requirements attach to specified roles and activities. For eligible foreign practitioners, the current rules distinguish the documented foreign-qualification route from certificate conversion and provide activity-specific exceptions. Review those rules before requiring a Vietnamese certificate or treating a person as exempt.

Q4: Can a Vietnamese design company sign the foreign firm’s drawings?

It may issue the project design where it genuinely takes and performs the relevant responsibility and meets the applicable rules. Define review, adaptation and issuance duties. A signature alone does not resolve the foreign firm’s retained obligations or prove a licensing exemption.

Q5: Must every licensed foreign consultant set up an executive office?

No. Specified planning, project preparation, survey and construction design contracts may use an office at the owner’s registered headquarters or no executive office in Vietnam. The stated exception does not extend simply because supervision or project management is described as consulting. Review mixed scopes separately.

Q6: Can a design consultant start supervising when the owner asks?

Not without reviewing the new role. Confirm the company scope and any amendment, the contract, the individual’s professional qualification and work authorization, and the required written notice. Owner instructions alone do not expand a license or settle those requirements.

Conclusion

Before your firm is appointed, link every deliverable to the company responsible for it, the named lead, the license position and how the project will use it. This record helps owners compare options and gives foreign engineering consultants in Vietnam a clear boundary for their work. Update it whenever design support turns into site supervision or project management.

General Disclaimer

This article is for general informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Vietnamese laws, regulations and administrative practice change over time, and the correct position for any matter depends on its specific facts and the rules in force when action is taken. Verify the current position before relying on anything stated here, and consult qualified counsel on your specific situation.

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Equipment Installation in Vietnam: 7 Construction Licensing Issues for Foreign Suppliers

Foreign suppliers may sell equipment together with installation services. In Vietnam, both the supply contract and the associated work can affect the licensing position. A project supply package may be a construction contract even when another contractor installs the equipment. These seven issues help you plan equipment installation in Vietnam before signing the relevant agreement or sending technicians.

A construction operation license in Vietnam must match the foreign contractor and the construction scope it accepts. Review the supply contract together with installation, testing and acceptance duties when deciding how to structure the package and prepare the team.

Quick Reference

• An ordinary equipment sale must be distinguished from a construction-project supply contract. Having no installation team is not, by itself, an exemption.
• Review contracts for equipment to be installed into construction works, as well as installation, design, supervision and commissioning services.
• Coordinate licensing preparation with commercial negotiations, contractor selection and the proposed site schedule.
• You must work with a Vietnamese partner, unless no Vietnamese contractor can do any part of the package.
• The company license and each technician’s work authorization are separate checks. A qualifying exemption may still require advance notice.

7 Construction Licensing Issues for Foreign Suppliers

Check Whether Your Contract Is a Construction Contract

An ordinary goods sale and a construction-project supply contract are different arrangements. To identify which one you have, review the equipment’s purpose, the project records, the procurement documents and your obligations. Do not decide based solely on the words ‘supply only’ or the absence of site staff.

The Construction Law expressly includes supply of materials and equipment for installation into construction works as a type of construction contract. The foreign contractor rules cover foreign organizations and individuals selected for, signing or performing construction contracts in Vietnam. A project equipment supplier can therefore face licensing even when another party handles installation.

Ask three simple questions: Was your firm selected for a defined construction package, and what do the tender, award and draft contract require? Is the equipment supplied for installation into the identified construction works, and how is it described in the project design? What supply, design, installation, testing and acceptance responsibilities does your firm retain?

Where these records show a construction-contract package, assess the foreign contractor license before committing to the price and signing sequence. An ordinary purchase order is useful evidence of a goods transaction, but its label cannot change construction obligations. If the boundary remains unclear, obtain a project-specific assessment and clarify the authority’s filing requirements.

Do not use the service fee as a threshold. A package priced mainly as machinery can still carry construction-contract obligations. Keep the approved scope decision with the tender and award records. Revisit it if an ordinary sale becomes a project-specific supply package or if new site duties are added.

Define the Full Supply Installation and Commissioning Scope

Supply, installation and commissioning should be considered together in the licensing assessment. Separating their descriptions helps identify your responsibilities; it does not create separate license categories or establish an exemption for one part of the work. Installation generally concerns fitting and connecting equipment. Commissioning concerns testing whether the equipment or system performs as required.

Review the work your firm promises, directs and signs off. Assembly, connections, testing, training and acceptance support may sit within the same project package. A short visit, limited service fee or technical-support label is not a sufficient basis for treating those duties as outside the construction licensing rules.

Name the party responsible for each task and the records it must sign. A supplier’s test certificate may confirm product performance, while the project also requires installation or construction acceptance records. Clarify those purposes in the scope and acceptance schedule. If the customer later asks your technicians to direct another contractor or certify additional work, review the company’s scope and licensing position before accepting the change.

Make Sure the Licensed Company Is the Company Doing the Work

A construction operation license is issued to the named foreign contractor for the approved scope of work. It does not extend to a separate parent, sister company or subcontractor. If your firm is itself a foreign subcontractor, the EPC contractor’s license does not authorize your construction scope.

Many groups sell from one company and send staff employed by another. Identify which entity undertakes the installation or service package. Staff secondment alone does not turn the employing affiliate into a separate contractor. Conversely, an affiliate that accepts and performs its own construction scope needs its own licensing assessment. Keep the award, application, contract and delivery arrangements consistent.

Record who can bind each company, who invoices and who is responsible for defects. A mismatch between the licensed entity and the party accepting construction responsibility can create a problem at award, performance or payment. Resolve it while group arrangements can still be changed.

The project’s construction permit is also separate from the foreign contractor’s license. Keep both responsibilities clear in the project file so that an owner approval or another contractor’s permit is not treated as authorization for your company’s work.

Give Your Vietnamese Partner Real Work

A foreign contractor must form a consortium with a Vietnamese contractor or use a Vietnamese subcontractor. The only exception applies when no Vietnamese contractor has the capacity to perform any part of the package. The agreement must clearly state the content, quantity and value of the Vietnamese party’s work.

Possible Vietnamese work may include defined installation interfaces, foundations, cable or pipe connections, or another part of the construction package. Choose tasks the local contractor has the capacity to perform. Buying transport, translation or lifting services does not by itself establish that the required construction participation has been met.

The use of specialist technology is not, by itself, sufficient to prove that domestic contractors cannot perform any part of the work. Assess the whole package, not just its proprietary equipment. Document any proposed exception. If work is shared, settle technical supervision, insurance, document delivery and warranty responsibility before the local agreement becomes part of the licensing file.

For shared work, require a schedule showing drawings, interfaces, inspections and final records. Confirm who bears the cost if the local contractor cannot meet the planned dates. Changing a named consortium member, subcontractor or other recorded license content also requires review under the license-amendment rules before the change is implemented.

Plan Licensing With the Commercial Agreement and Site Schedule

Commercial discussions establish the equipment specifications, price, delivery terms and division of work before the licensing application can be prepared. Use those discussions to identify the foreign contracting entity, define the package and obtain the owner’s project information. Begin preparing corporate and qualification documents while the commercial terms are being settled.

The legal position requires careful consideration: for a regulated construction contract, the foreign contractor must obtain the license before the owner or main contractor signs the contract. The application relies on lawful contractor-selection evidence and other prescribed documents. Commercial negotiations and selection must therefore be coordinated with the signing restriction; a later start date alone does not settle it.

If an agreement has already been signed, review its scope, legal effect, licensing clauses and any work already performed. Confirm the required filing documents and assess the appropriate response with the owner and advisers. Do not assume later licensing automatically resolves the earlier signing issue, and do not commence regulated construction work without the required license.

Build document preparation and authority review into the project schedule. Allocate responsibility for selection records, translations, local participation documents and responses to requests for clarification. Check the current procedure for the project; the official review period does not include all the time needed to assemble a complete file.

Address the commercial consequences in the contract discussions. State when site access, foundations, utilities and owner documents must be ready. Agree how delayed licensing or owner support affects shipment, technician bookings, storage, standby charges and time extensions. A notice to proceed should be issued only when the necessary legal and site-readiness have been met

Check Work Permits and Imports Separately

The company license does not give every technician the right to work in Vietnam. Assess the work-permit requirement or an applicable exemption for each person, together with the immigration status needed for the visit. The technician’s actual duties and working arrangement matter, not simply the business-visit label.

Short-term personnel may qualify for a work-permit exemption, but eligibility depends on the role, working arrangement and cumulative working time. The applicable route may require advance notice or exemption documentation. Confirm those requirements before travel, track return visits and retain supporting records. A short commissioning trip is not itself proof of exemption.

Decide who imports the equipment and who handles tools, inspections and customs records. Items entered under a temporary-import and re-export regime must be closed out under that regime; do not assume every tool must use it. Review tax, insurance and any professional qualification required for technical signing separately. Customs clearance and construction licensing serve different purposes.

Agree on Handover Records Before Your Team Leaves

A machine that runs does not always mean the contract is complete. The owner needs the agreed documentation to accept the package and authorize payment. Missing signatures or test records can delay this process after your engineers have left. Plan document delivery as part of performance, not as a request made at final payment.

Agree on a list of records before your team travels. A typical list includes installation drawings, test reports, equipment origin and quality certificates, operating manuals, training records and a defect list. The exact list depends on the scope of your package.

Confirm which records must be provided before interim payment and which remain necessary for final acceptance or retention release. Agree the format and authorized signatories while the engineers are available. The document list should follow the project and contract; equipment origin or quality documents are not identical for every product.

Separate delivery, installation completion, testing and acceptance where those milestones suit the package. Identify who signs each record and how warranty and completion duties continue after site work. For a package within an EPC contract, coordinate these terms through EPC contract review in Vietnam.

Checklist for Foreign Equipment Suppliers

• Contract category: review tender and award records, the draft contract and the equipment’s role in the construction works.
• Installation and testing: identify who performs, directs and signs each task from the scope, method statement and test plan.
• Responsible entity: align the award, company license, contract responsibility and staff arrangements.
• Vietnamese participation: document real work, capacity, quantity and value, or substantiate the narrow exception.
• Contract and schedule: review signing requirements and licensing status, allocate document duties, and agree how delays affect mobilization and payment.
• Personnel and imports: retain work authorization or exemption evidence, advance notice and the applicable import records.
• Acceptance and payment: agree record delivery, signatories, milestone evidence, warranty and close-out responsibilities.

Step by Step Process for Equipment Suppliers

Agree record requirements early and prepare personnel compliance alongside company licensing.

• Get the full technical scope, drawings and test plan before you price the package.
• Split the scope into supply, installation, commissioning and training, and name who signs each record.
• Confirm which company in your group will do each task and employ each person.
• Define genuine Vietnamese participation and its content, quantity and value, or document the basis for the narrow exception.
• Coordinate the selection records, commercial agreement and licensing application; resolve signing requirements and document any outstanding obligations.
• Arrange work permits or exemptions for each person, and agree on the import plan.
• Agree on the handover records and payment milestones before your team travels.

Management Decisions Before Committing to the Package

Supply only. This may reduce installation duties, but it does not remove licensing where the supply itself is a construction-contract package. Review that question first. Then identify the buyer’s installer and allocate the interfaces, records and warranty responsibility.

Supply and installation. Buyers often prefer to have a single company responsible for the entire package. You must plan the license, the Vietnamese partner and work permits. Put these costs into your price.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Does every foreign equipment supplier need a construction operation license?

No. An ordinary goods seller is different from a foreign construction contractor. However, supplying equipment for installation into construction works is a recognized construction-contract category. Lack of site staff does not establish exemption. Review the project procurement and contract obligations before deciding.

Q2: Can a supplier avoid licensing by calling installation “technical support”?

No. The authority looks at the work you actually do, not the name of the service. If your team installs the equipment and directs the site work, a new name does not change your role.

Q3: How should a supplier assess commissioning for licensing purposes?

Assess it within the full project package. Review the supply contract, actual tasks, testing duties and responsibility for acceptance. The word commissioning does not settle the legal classification. Where the boundary is unclear, obtain an assessment of the specific scope before relying on an exemption or sending the team to work.

Q4: If we hire a Vietnamese installer, are we free from licensing?

No, not by itself. A local installer can take responsibility for a defined installation scope. Your own construction-project supply or retained design, supervision and testing obligations still need assessment. The contract split must match the work actually allocated.

Q5: Can installation begin under the EPC contractor’s license?

No. A license covers only the company named in it. A foreign subcontractor that does construction work needs its own license.

Q6: Can a short commissioning visit be done on a business visa?

A business visa alone is not enough. An eligible worker may qualify for an exemption, but the conditions, required notice and immigration status must be settled first. The length of the visit does not determine whether the supplier itself needs a construction operation license.

Conclusion

Decide the structure before you price the bid. Keep a task schedule showing the contract category, responsible company, personnel, license position and acceptance records. Update it when the scope changes. This helps align equipment installation in Vietnam with lawful contract signing, site delivery and payment.

General Disclaimer

This article is for general informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Vietnamese laws, regulations and administrative practice change over time, and the correct position for any matter depends on its specific facts and the rules in force when action is taken. Verify the current position before relying on anything stated here, and consult qualified counsel on your specific situation.

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