HCMC – The Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed easing work permit and administrative requirements for foreign experts and technology workers to attract international talent.
The ministry is seeking feedback on a draft Government decree amending Decree 219/2025 on foreign workers before submitting it to the Government.
The proposed changes would remove minimum experience requirements for experts in innovation and technology sectors, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum technology. The ministry said the current rules are not suitable for emerging industries and some specialized fields such as culture and education.
The draft would also allow foreign-issued health certificates to be used in work permit applications. Current regulations only recognize certificates issued by Vietnamese medical facilities.
Other proposed measures would waive consular legalization and notarization requirements for passports and eliminate the need to resubmit documents already available in shared government databases, such as passport and criminal record information.
The ministry also proposed standardizing online application procedures through the national public service portal and reducing unnecessary paperwork by shifting management from pre-approval checks to post-inspection oversight.
The draft decree contains five chapters and 37 articles covering work permit issuance, renewal, exemption procedures and permit revocation.
Provincial governments would receive greater authority to issue and revoke work permits and decide how procedures are delegated based on local conditions.
The ministry reported that Decree 219/2025 has helped attract more than 162,000 foreign workers and shorten processing times, but acknowledged shortcomings in the current framework and inconsistencies with other incentive policies, including special visa exemption programs.
The ministry will collect feedback on the draft through June 9.
