A senior foreign national joining a company in Vietnam or Thailand needs a work permit, a visa or residence status that matches it and, in most cases, documents for the family. The rules differ in each country and change often, so what follows describes the usual routes and the order of steps rather than anything final.
Before the offer is made
Companies tend to settle first who will file the permit and from which entity. In Vietnam the employer files the work permit online and the authority looks at the employer's stated need for the role. In Thailand the employer normally starts the work permit process too, and BOI-promoted companies have their own channel.
Candidates are usually asked early for passport validity, degree certificates, proof of work experience and, if the family will come, marriage and birth certificates. Foreign documents often need legalisation and translation, which takes time, so they are generally gathered while the offer is still being agreed.
Offer letters commonly say that the start date depends on permits.
Vietnam: which decree applies
Decree 219/2025/ND-CP on foreign workers in Vietnam took effect on 7 August 2025. Under its Article 35, the earlier rules in Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, as amended by Decree 70/2023/ND-CP, ceased to apply from that date. Permits issued under the earlier decrees continue until they expire.
Decree 283/2026/ND-CP, published in July 2026, is a separate decree on administrative penalties in labour and social insurance and does not replace Decree 219. Companies tend to check the portal and the Government Gazette for anything issued after those dates.
Vietnam: the demand for foreign workers and the work permit
Under the earlier decrees the employer first asked for approval of its demand for foreign workers and then applied for the permit. Under Decree 219 the two are handled together. The employer's filing includes a report explaining the need for the foreign worker, and the authority approves the need and issues the permit in the same review. The authority is the provincial People's Committee or the office it delegates to, and the file goes in online through the National Public Service Portal.
The employer files no earlier than 60 days and no later than 10 days before the expected start date. The authority has 10 working days from a complete file to decide, and 3 working days to give written reasons if it refuses.
The file includes a health certificate, a valid passport, a criminal record certificate or equivalent issued within six months of filing, two photographs and documents showing the person's role. The decree defines an executive director as the head of a branch or representative office, or the head of a business area with at least three years of relevant experience. An expert is a degree holder with at least two years of relevant experience, or one year in finance, science, technology, innovation or national digital transformation fields. A permit runs for the term of the expected labour contract, up to a maximum of two years.
When is a Vietnamese work permit not needed?
Article 7 of Decree 219 lists the people who are exempt. Those most relevant to a senior hire include an owner or capital-contributing member of a limited liability company holding capital of VND 3 billion or more, and the chair or a board member of a joint-stock company with capital of VND 3 billion or more.
Managers, executives, experts and technical workers are also exempt when they work in Vietnam for fewer than 90 days in a calendar year, or when they transfer within a company group. The group transfer exemption applies to a foreign company with a commercial presence in Vietnam in one of 11 service sectors, and the person must have been employed by it for at least 12 continuous months before. A further exemption covers people confirmed by a ministry or provincial People's Committee to work in finance, science, technology, innovation or national digital transformation.
Exempt people still go through a confirmation process, and the authority issues a certificate of exemption. The conditions and the current list are in the decree and on the portal.
Vietnam: degrees, police records, residence card and family
Article 5 of the decree says foreign documents in the file must be consular-legalised unless an international treaty, reciprocity or Vietnamese law exempts them. Legalised documents are then translated into Vietnamese and notarised. Companies tend to start on the legalisation chain for degrees and police records early, since the foreign ministry and Vietnamese embassy steps differ by country.
The temporary residence card is issued by the immigration authority and is based on the work permit or the certificate of exemption. The official Q&A pages describe a card for workers with a shorter maximum validity than the ones for some other categories, and the card must expire before the passport does. The current figures are on the immigration portal.
Spouses and children generally come on their own visas or residence arrangements, linked to the sponsor's status. The immigration authority sets the categories and documents, and the current requirements are on its portal.
Thailand: the Non-Immigrant B visa and the work permit
A Non-Immigrant B visa is issued by a Thai embassy or consulate for business and work. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the holder must be granted a work permit before starting work, and that a B visa holder may stay up to 90 days. With the work permit, the holder can apply to the Immigration Bureau to extend the stay to one year from first entry.
The work permit comes from the Department of Employment. Since 13 October 2025 the Ministry of Labour has run an online e-WorkPermit system for applications. The usual steps are registration, submission of the application and payment, a verification stage, a second payment after approval, and an appointment at one of the Department's service centres for biometrics and collection of the permit.
Embassies publish their own document lists. These commonly include a Ministry of Labour approval letter or BOI letter, a job offer, company registration papers and degree and experience proofs, and some embassies ask for a police certificate.
Is there a Thai route that does not depend on one employer?
Yes, for some people. The Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa is run by the Board of Investment and has a category for highly skilled professionals. The BOI's LTR site lists an average personal income of at least USD 80,000 a year over the past two years, or USD 40,000 to 80,000 with additional proof such as a master's degree in science and technology. The applicant must also be employed by a company in a targeted industry or have expertise in the fields the BOI specifies, and must meet a health cover or deposit condition.
The visa is for 10 years, as five years renewable for another five. The BOI site states that holders working for a Thai entity apply for a digital work permit right after receiving the visa, that processing takes three to five working days, and that holders may work temporarily while the request is pending. The BOI page also lists a 17 per cent personal income tax rate for highly skilled professionals and states that the 90-day report is replaced by a one-year report.
Eligibility is decided by the BOI, and the application is made by the individual. The current criteria, fees and tax terms are on the LTR site.
The BOI route in Thailand
Where the employer holds a BOI promotion certificate, foreign staff can come in under the BOI's own provisions. A BOI presentation from May 2025 describes a single-window process for the visa and work permit. The steps are approval of the position, a visa request for the person and family, placement in the approved position, and issue of the work permit, which can be a digital work permit issued at the one-stop service.
The BOI states different approved position terms depending on the project type, for example two years for most manufacturing and service projects and four years for certain research and technology projects. It also sets experience criteria for management and executive levels. A Thai-to-total staffing ratio applies to manufacturing projects above a set size. Companies without BOI promotion use the standard route through the Department of Employment.
Bringing the family to Thailand
Under the standard route, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says spouses, parents and unmarried children under 20 can apply for a Category O visa linked to the Non-Immigrant B holder. They may stay 90 days at a time and for no longer than one year, and extensions are handled by the Immigration Bureau.
On the LTR route the dependants are a legal spouse and children under 20, up to four per holder, each with their own health cover or deposit condition and a consent form confirming the relationship. Under the BOI route, family visas are part of the same single-window request.
Foreigners staying in Thailand on temporary permission are also generally expected to report their address to Immigration every 90 days, online or in person. The current procedure is on immigration.go.th.
Tax residence at a general level
Both countries tax residents more widely than non-residents, and the day count decides which applies. In Thailand the Revenue Department states that a person living in Thailand for more than 180 days in a calendar year is a resident. Residents are taxed on Thai-source income, and on foreign-source income to the extent it is brought into Thailand. Non-residents are taxed on Thai-source income only.
In Vietnam the personal income tax law uses a test of 183 days in a calendar year or in 12 consecutive months from first arrival, or a regular residence in Vietnam, and non-residents are taxed at a flat rate on employment income. The tax authority publishes the current wording.
Companies tend to ask their tax adviser to model the first year, because the first year often straddles two tax years. Treaties, equalisation and home-country exit rules sit outside this guide.
The usual order of steps
In Vietnam the order is usually the employer's file and role evidence, legalisation of the person's documents, the work permit or certificate of exemption, entry on the matching visa, then the temporary residence card and family arrangements. In Thailand the order is usually the employer's approval letter or BOI letter, the B visa abroad, entry, the work permit from the Department of Employment, the one-year extension of stay, then family visas. The LTR visa follows its own sequence, with the digital work permit applied for after the visa is granted.
Most delays come from legalisation and translation of documents and from missing experience evidence, which is why firm start dates tend to wait until the permit is issued.
What about schooling, housing and driving?
On driving, both countries have a route for foreign licences. For Thailand, the Department of Land Transport describes a temporary Thai licence for holders of foreign licences it does not recognise, and an international driving permit route for some residents. For Vietnam, a Ho Chi Minh City police page describes conversion of a foreign licence for residence card holders. The transport authorities publish the current conditions.
Schooling and housing are not legal matters, but they often decide whether a family stays. In general practice, places at the international schools in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Bangkok fill early, many have waiting lists, and families tend to apply as soon as the offer is accepted. Many companies give a short-term furnished stay, then the family finds a lease.
Questions clients and candidates ask
Does the employer or the employee apply?
In both countries the employer normally files the work permit, while the person supplies documents and attends biometrics or medical checks. An LTR visa application in Thailand is made by the individual.
Is a work permit always needed in Vietnam?
No. Decree 219/2025/ND-CP lists exemptions, such as short stays under 90 days in a year and some company owners and board members. Exempt people still obtain a confirmation from the authority.
Does the Thai B visa allow work by itself?
No. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the holder must be granted a work permit before starting work, and the work permit is then used to extend the stay.
Where are the current rules published?
The official portals are the reliable source: the National Public Service Portal, the immigration authority and the Government Gazette for Vietnam, and the Department of Employment, the Immigration Bureau, the Board of Investment and the Revenue Department for Thailand. Rules, fees and thresholds change often.
Sources
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