How to Hire Employees in Vietnam: A 2026 Guide for Foreign Companies
Insights · By Chen ChunJie · Updated 13 November 2026
Hiring in Vietnam starts with a lawful employing structure, then the role, pay, recruitment, contract, insurance and tax registration, and monthly payroll. Your own Vietnamese company can employ the team directly. If you have no entity, assess whether lawful labour leasing or a genuine managed service fits the work before making an offer. This guide explains the steps for local employees; foreign nationals also need a work-authorisation assessment.
Reviewed 13 November 2026 against the Labour Code 2019, Social Insurance Law 2024, Decree 293/2025/ND-CP and current 2026 tax and insurance rules. The diagram is a summary for local employees; the qualifications below apply. General information, not legal advice.
Step 1: Decide who will employ the person
| Route | When it fits |
|---|---|
| Your own Vietnamese company | Your licensed business needs its own local employer and employment responsibilities. Our payroll service calculates pay and prepares payroll reports; your company remains the employer. |
| Employer of record | For local employees, client-directed work must fit the labour-leasing rules: an eligible listed role, a permitted purpose and a maximum 12-month assignment. A genuine NNRoad-managed service is a separate model, assessed below. How a Vietnam EOR works |
| Independent contractor | For a genuinely independent project, NNRoad recruits and contracts with the contractor and pays their fees. You coordinate deliverables within the lawful independent scope; an employment relationship cannot be relabelled. Contractors in Vietnam |
| Expat Employment | For foreign nationals, assess the lawful employer, work permit or exemption, and permitted workplace and duties before work starts. Hiring foreign nationals in Vietnam |
A representative office may employ staff for activities within its permitted scope, such as liaison and market research; it is not a general trading company. Paying someone from abroad does not itself settle employment, tax or insurance obligations. Confirm the lawful structure and required registrations before work begins.
Step 2: Define the role and the pay
Vietnamese employees are paid in dong. From 1 January 2026, the monthly regional minimums are VND 5,310,000 in Region I, 4,730,000 in Region II, 4,140,000 in Region III and 3,700,000 in Region IV for normal working time and agreed work. Check the workplace classification and applicable hourly floor for hourly-paid staff. Benchmark the role separately and specify allowances. A Tet or 13th-month bonus is not universally required by law, but binding contract, collective-agreement or bonus-policy commitments must be honoured. Foreign employees may agree pay in foreign currency.
For a Vietnamese employee covered by all three schemes, standard employer insurance rates total 21.5%, with a separate 2% trade-union funding contribution on the eligible social-insurance payroll, subject to applicable relief. These percentages do not all apply to uncapped gross salary: from July 2026 the social/health insurance ceiling is VND 50.6 million a month, while unemployment insurance uses 20 times the regional minimum wage. See the Vietnam employment-cost guide.
Step 3: Find the candidate
Use job boards, professional networks, referrals or specialist recruiters according to the role. Test the skills and language ability the job requires, and obtain appropriate permission for reference checks. Explain the legal employer, management arrangements and contract term before the candidate accepts an offer.
Step 4: Put the terms in writing
Employment contracts of at least one month must be written or validly electronic; some shorter contracts also require writing. Vietnamese or bilingual documentation supports local administration. Fixed terms cannot exceed 36 months and generally allow one further fixed-term contract before indefinite employment, subject to statutory exceptions, including specified foreign and older employees. Record the job, workplace, term, pay, working time, insurance and other mandatory terms; apply statutory leave rights.
Probation may be agreed once per job, with pay of at least 85% of the job salary. Maximums are 180 days for statutorily defined enterprise executives, 60 days for roles requiring college-level qualifications or higher, 30 days for intermediate vocational, technical and professional roles, and 6 working days for other work. No probation applies to employment contracts shorter than one month.
Step 5: Register the employee for insurance and tax
Register the employer and covered employees for the applicable insurance schemes within statutory deadlines; coverage depends on the contract and worker category. For Vietnamese individuals, the 12-digit personal identification number replaces the tax code where registration data matches the national population database. Foreign staff require the applicable tax registration. Withhold tax from taxable payments and follow the required reporting cycle. Employers with at least ten employees must have written internal labour rules and register them with the competent authority.
Step 6: Run payroll every month
| Item | What applies in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Employer contributions | For fully covered Vietnamese employees: standard insurance 21.5%, plus separate trade-union funding at 2% of eligible social-insurance payroll, subject to relief. From July, social/health insurance uses a VND 50.6 million monthly ceiling; unemployment insurance has a separate ceiling of 20 regional minimum wages. |
| Employee contributions | Fully covered Vietnamese employees: 8% social, 1.5% health and 1% unemployment insurance, on the respective bases and ceilings. Foreign employees are not covered by unemployment insurance; assess social/health coverage and exemptions separately. |
| Personal income tax | Resident employment income: five progressive bands from 5% to 35% for tax year 2026, with monthly deductions of VND 15.5 million personally and VND 6.2 million per eligible dependant, plus other permitted deductions. Non-resident Vietnam-source employment income generally attracts 20%. Withholding declarations move to quarterly reporting from Q2 2026. |
| Payslip | A written breakdown of salary, overtime, deductions and net pay each pay period |
| Year-end | For a calendar-year period, the employer normally finalises by the last day of the third following month; direct individual filers use the last day of the fourth. Holiday extensions and special cases apply. Employee authorisation is available only where eligibility conditions are met. |
Official references: 2026 insurance contribution ceiling, employment-income tax, and quarterly withholding declarations.
Step 7: Manage working time, leave and Tet
- Normal working time is generally up to 8 hours daily and 48 weekly; a weekly schedule may allow 10 normal hours daily within the 48-hour week.
- Overtime generally requires consent and must satisfy daily limits as well as 40 hours monthly and 200 yearly. Up to 300 yearly is allowed only in qualifying cases with required procedures. Daily overtime generally cannot exceed 50% of normal hours; under a weekly schedule, normal and overtime hours together cannot exceed 12 daily.
- Minimum overtime premiums are 150% on normal days, 200% on weekly rest days and 300% on public holidays, with holiday pay separately due where applicable. Night work attracts additional premiums.
- Paid annual leave after 12 months is normally 12 working days, or 14/16 for qualifying workers or conditions, with proportional entitlement for shorter service. Add one day for every five years with the employer; qualifying unused leave is paid on termination.
- There are 12 statutory paid public-holiday days in 2026, including five for Tet and Culture Day on 24 November. Foreign employees also receive their national day and traditional new-year day. Apply substitute-rest rules when holidays coincide with weekly rest.
Step 8: Know how employment ends
Ordinary employee resignation notice is 45 days for indefinite contracts, 30 days for fixed terms of 12–36 months and 3 working days for shorter terms. Statutory no-notice grounds and special occupations have different rules. Employer termination requires a lawful ground and the applicable procedure, notice and employee protections; redundancy is a separate process. Final settlement is normally due within 14 working days, extending to 30 days only in specified cases. Include outstanding pay, qualifying unused leave and any legally due severance or job-loss allowance.
Hiring in Vietnam without a company
Under the client-directed model, NNRoad employs local staff and you manage their daily work only where the labour-leasing arrangement is lawful: the actual duties must match a permitted category, the purpose must qualify and the assignment cannot exceed 12 months. A broad job title such as “administration” is not sufficient by itself.
Alternatively, where legally suitable, NNRoad can undertake a defined service and employ the staff needed to deliver it under NNRoad’s full management. You specify the service outputs, not direct those employees as your own workforce. This must be a genuine service, not disguised labour leasing. NNRoad and the client agree the lawful model after reviewing the role and working arrangements. Read the Vietnam EOR overview.
Under the temporary Resolution 66.18/2026/NQ-CP regime (1 July 2026–28 February 2027, unless superseded earlier), a new licence is not universally required. Verify the VND 2 billion deposit, applicable activity notifications and quarterly reporting. Enterprises continuing under a still-valid licence are exempt from the activity notification in Appendix I.4, C.IX; other applicable obligations remain.
Checklist for employers
| Before the start date | Done |
|---|---|
| Lawful employer and management model confirmed for the actual duties | ☐ |
| Salary at or above the regional minimum wage; allowances and Tet bonus decided | ☐ |
| Compliant written or electronic contract; language, probation and term agreed | ☐ |
| Applicable insurance coverage and tax registration checked for the worker | ☐ |
| Payroll calendar, overtime approval and leave records set up | ☐ |
| EOR: leasing eligibility and duration confirmed, or a genuine fully NNRoad-managed service documented | ☐ |
Questions about hiring in Vietnam
Can a foreign company hire employees in Vietnam without a local entity?
A lawful EOR arrangement may support eligible local roles through lawful labour leasing, or a genuine service delivered by staff fully managed by NNRoad. The model depends on the actual work and legal conditions. Independent contractors are a separate option only for genuinely independent services; they are not employees.
How long does it take to hire an employee in Vietnam?
Timing depends on candidate availability, documents, the lawful employing model and any required registrations or work authorisation. Confirm these dependencies before agreeing a start date; there is no single guaranteed onboarding period.
What is the minimum wage in Vietnam in 2026?
VND 5,310,000 a month in Region I, 4,730,000 in Region II, 4,140,000 in Region III and 3,700,000 in Region IV, from 1 January 2026.
Do employees in Vietnam get a 13th-month salary?
Vietnamese law does not universally require a 13th-month or Tet bonus. Any binding entitlement under an employment contract, collective agreement or applicable bonus policy must still be honoured according to its terms.
Can I pay a Vietnamese employee in US dollars?
Salary for Vietnamese employees must be paid in Vietnamese dong. The Labour Code permits an agreed foreign-currency salary for foreign employees working in Vietnam.
Need people in Vietnam before you set up a company?
NNRoad’s Vietnam EOR service employs local staff under a model agreed with you after reviewing the role and legal conditions. Eligible client-directed work follows labour-leasing requirements; a genuine managed service keeps the staff under NNRoad’s full management. Tell us the duties, location, reporting line and expected duration so we can assess the appropriate route before an offer.