How to get a Work Permit for teaching English in Vietnam

Vietnam seems to be a promising land for English teachers as the demands for English learning directly with foreigners are increasing day by day, especially in major cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat, etc. As such, it becomes the second home of more and more foreigners who are qualified in teaching English.

And in order to legally teach in Vietnam, those teachers are required to have a valid work permit.

The procedure to get a work permit for English teachers in Vietnam is the same as getting a work permit for other positions, but the documents to be prepared remains to be a little bit different.

In this post, we will provide you with full details regarding Vietnam work permit for teaching English, covering:

• Requirements
• Required documents and how to get

1. Vietnam work permit requirements for English teachers in Vietnam

In order to get a work permit, the foreigners who will perform teaching English in Vietnam should:

• Be over 18 years old
• Have a good health condition that satisfies the job’s specific demands and requirements.
• Be free of any criminal record in their country or a national security offense, not currently facing criminal prosecution, or not serving a criminal sentence by the Vietnamese and foreign policemen during the assignment.

2. Required documents and how to get a work permit to teach English in Vietnam

In order to get a work permit for the English teachers in Vietnam, both the employer and the English teachers need to prepare the following documents and follow the 02 steps below.

Step 1: Get approval from competent authority:

This step should be done at least 30 days before the expected date when the foreigner starts taking his/her role in the company. In this step, the employer needs to:

1. prepare the following documents:
   • The company’s business registration certificate (a copy certified by Government authority office)
   • Explanation form for demand on using foreign workers 
2. Then, access to http://dvc.vieclamvietnam.gov.vn/, register an account and fill in a declaration form and submit scans of the prepared documents to the competent agency.
3. Get informed via email of whether the declaration and dossier are legally satisfactory and whether the demand for using foreign workers is approved or not within 12 working days from receiving full valid documents.
4. After receiving the positive reply via email, the employer shall submit the prepared documents (in papers) directly or by post to the approval agency for checking, comparison, and storage according to regulations.
5. Get a written approval for using foreign workers from the approval agency directly or by post within 8 working days after receiving full required documents.

And then, the employer will need to follow the second step below.

Step 2: Apply for a work permit for English teachers

In this step, the employer and employee should follow this procedure:

1. prepare the following documents:
   • Request form for Vietnam work permit (Form No. 7 issued together with the Circular No. z40/2016/TT-BLDTBXH);
   • Original written approval for using foreign workers;
   • Degrees and certificates:
     • For native English speakers:
       • Legalized bachelor degree, or higher;
       • English teaching certificate (TESOL, CELTA)
     • For non-native English speaking teachers:
       • Legalized bachelor degree in English teaching or higher; OR
       • Legalized bachelor degree, or higher majored in English, and (+) English teaching certificate (TESOL, CELTA); OR
       • Legalized bachelor degree, or higher, and (+) IELTS, TOEFL certificate, and (+) English teaching certificate (TESOL, CELTA).
     • Original Vietnam Police Check No. 1;
     • Original Vietnam work permit Health Check;
     • Certified copy of passport;
     • 02 4*6cm photos which should meet the following photo requirements:
       • Your wear nothing on your hair,
       • You wear no glasses or sunglasses
       • It should show your face clearly.
       • Your facial expression should be neutral without smiling
       • Your ears should be visible
       • Your photo should be in white background.
2. And then, the employer may have 02 options as follows:
   • Option 1: Submit directly to the work permit granting agency by following the steps below:
     • Submit the prepared documents to the work permit granting agency which is normally the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province in which the company’s head office is located.
     • Get informed whether the submitted documents are sufficient and valid, and then add missing documents if any.
     • Get the Work permit within 07 working days from submitting full valid required documents.
   • Option 2: Submit documents online. This whole process takes around 5 working days. In this option, the employer and his/her agent shall need to:
     • Access to http://dvc.vieclamvietnam.gov.vn, and submit scans of the required documents;
     • Get informed of whether the submitted documents are sufficient and valid or not, and add the missing ones (if any);
     • Get the Work permit via email;
     • Submit the originals of the prepared documents to the work permit granting agency and get the original work permit.

Here is the whole process to get a work permit to teach English in Vietnam. For many employers and foreigners, this process seems to be a challenge as it involves various administrative procedures and also various documents that need to be prepared in different ways. If you find it hard to complete the process, feel free to contact us at +49 1764 5030929 or visa.mttravel@gmail.com for instruction and consultation. We are always here to make your process as simple as possible.

You also can see how our work permit process works here. Wish you all the best and be free from any hassle which may be caused by application for a work permit in Vietnam.