Working Visa - How to apply?

mor.lenczner wrote:

Hi Guys
If I am relocating with my husband to Vietnam (Due to a job offer he had accepted), what is the procedure to apply for a working visa (permit) for me?
Do I need to address a specific company who I intend to wok for so they will arrange the visa for me, which means I can only work for them?
OR
Is the working visa in Vietnam is a form I can apply for individually and once I get it, I am legit to work for any company located in Vietnam? If so, where can I get it?
Thank in advance!

If your husband has a business visa in Vietnam, you can use the marriage certificate to obtain your visa as your husband. Your spouse's company will be your guarantee

Your visa in Vietnam for your spouse's company is guaranteed, you can work in another place and you can ask the company to guarantee you work.
This visa is required by the company to guarantee you work, you can not apply

I don't understand
If my husband can work in Vietnam, and has a business visa, it means I automatically receive a working visa? if no, how do I address to arrange that for myself?

If your husband has a business visa, when you travel with your husband in Vietnam, you will be guaranteed the same visa as your husband. If you have to register for marriage with your husband, it must be legalized by the Vietnamese consulate and translated into Vietnamese.

@ mor.lenczner,

- To work in Vietnam (for more than 3 months) you need a Work Visa.
- To apply for a Work Visa you need a Work Permit from the Labour Dept.

Now, to obtain a WP, you need to find a potential employer who is ready to hire you legally.

Please remember, it's your employer, NOT you, who is supposed to apply for your Work Permit.

In Vietnam a WP is more like a ''permission / license granted to a particular organization in VN to hire a certain foreign national as its employee''.

In other words, if you change your employer, your new employer MUST apply for a new WP for you.

Unlike in some other countries, here in VN a dependent visa doesn't automatically make you eligible to work in Vietnam.
You have to find an employer who is ready to apply for your WP.
Without a WP you can't apply for your Work Visa.

Ok so I have few questions:
Does that mean that I can work ONLY for the employer who applied for my working visa?
OR
once an employer from company "X" applied for my visa, it means I can still work for company "Y"?

Secondly, if I am married to a non-Vietnamese husband, and he got his working visa in Vietnam, does that mean I automatically receive a working visa or a permit to work in Vietnam?

You want to go to work first must have a corporate business visa X invite your husband to work. You only work for X because if you work with Y, company X will cancel your visa.
I recently advised you is a business visa. Working visa requirements are quite high. Must have a degree appropriate for the job you do, they will give you a work visa

mor.lenczner wrote:

Does that mean that I can work ONLY for the employer who applied for my working visa?

Yes exactly.
It's the Work Permit ... that's the one your employer will have to apply for.
Your work visa is based entirely on your WP... and for the same duration.

once an employer from company "X" applied for my visa, it means I can still work for company "Y"?

No, legally you can't.
The key thing here is again Work Permit which authorizes a certain organisation to legally hire you as its employee for a certain period of time on certain terms and conditions.

When your contract expires (or is terminated for any reason), your employer must report it to the Govt. and arrange to cancel your WP... which in turn MAY impact your work visa.

Most reputable organizations in VN will proceed to cancel your work visa as well, if you quit their job in the middle of a contract.

On the other hand, I've heard that once you get your first work permit, the next ones (with other employers) are much easier to obtain.

Secondly, if I am married to a non-Vietnamese husband, and he got his working visa in Vietnam, does that mean I automatically receive a working visa or a permit to work in Vietnam?

To the best of my knowledge, at present you don't receive a WP automatically just because your husband has one.
In Vietnam laws keep changing all the time.

senwl wrote:

mor.lenczner wrote:

Secondly, if I am married to a non-Vietnamese husband, and he got his working visa in Vietnam, does that mean I automatically receive a working visa or a permit to work in Vietnam?

To the best of my knowledge, at present you don't receive a WP automatically just because your husband has one.
In Vietnam laws keep changing all the time.

It it is correct that you will not receive a WP.  I believe that you are automatically eligible for another visa for dependents but I don't know the letter name.  (See my note below.)  It is important to remember as senwl said that you can't work yourself on this visa.  For you to work, you must qualify and your prospective employer must apply for a WP for you.

Also thanks to senwl for making the distinction between a work permit and a work visa.  In fact there is a business visa but no work visa per se.

Someone posted a comprehensive list of visa types once in the past but I could not bring it up as the search function on this site is very primitive.  It may be a little dated now as we know things change in Vietnam, but if anyone can find and update it, it would be nice.

Here is a list of different types of  visas granted to foreign nationals visiting Vietnam (updated in 2015).
Vietnam-visa-categories-from-january-2015

You'll prolly qualify for a TT visa (dependent visa). It depends on the type of visa your husband holds.

A 'TT' visa doesn't allow you to work in Vietnam.