This guide is part of the VIFC talent and residency pathway, which explains the dual-hub framework, legal instruments, work authorization, tax and family routes.
VIFC employer guide
Hiring foreign talent for a VIFC member organization
A source-bounded workflow for employers assessing member status, individual work authorization, residence, family linkage and tax without treating the VIFC package as one automatic approval.
Direct answer
A VIFC member organization may recruit foreign workers without a cap on the proportion of foreign personnel. Each hire must still qualify individually for the applicable permit, exemption and work authorization. UD1 residence, linked UD2 family residence and personal income tax treatment require separate assessments.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Regulations at the VIFC are new and evolving — confirm current requirements with a licensed professional.
Start with the member organization, not the candidate’s title
The Vietnam International Financial Centre is one legal entity operating through hubs in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. Access to its foreign-talent framework depends on a qualifying connection to a VIFC member organization. A candidate’s presence in either city, employment in finance or senior title does not independently establish that connection.
An employer should first identify the exact legal entity that will employ or engage the foreign national. Record whether that entity is already a VIFC member and retain the evidence supporting that status. A group name, affiliate relationship or office inside a hub should not be used as a substitute.
The legal map includes Resolution No. 222/2025/QH15, Decree No. 323/2025/ND-CP, Decree No. 324/2025/ND-CP, Decree No. 325/2025/ND-CP and Decree No. 327/2025/ND-CP. Decree No. 324/2025/ND-CP concerns tax. Labour, employment and social security (Decree 325) and entry, exit and residence (Decree 327) are the talent and immigration instruments.
What the no-cap rule means for workforce planning
The VIFC framework has no cap on the proportion of foreign workers. A member organization can therefore plan an international workforce without applying a stated percentage ceiling to foreign personnel under the verified VIFC proposition. This is a staffing boundary, not collective authorization for the workforce.
The absence of a numerical cap does not make every candidate eligible, remove the need for a permit or exemption, establish expert status, or grant residence. Each foreign worker still requires an individual route assessment. The member connection, proposed role, authorization basis and requested duration should be documented separately for every person.
Employers should also avoid extending the no-cap statement to other workforce obligations. The verified sources do not specify which planning, recruitment, reporting, recordkeeping or employment requirements continue alongside the rule.
A source-bounded employer workflow
- 1. Confirm the entity. Identify the exact employing or engaging organization and establish its VIFC member status before describing a role as VIFC-eligible.
- 2. Define the role. Prepare an accurate description of duties, reporting line, work location and intended duration. Do not infer a legal manager or expert classification from an internal title, salary band or seniority.
- 3. Select the work route. Assess a work permit and the possible work-permit exemption as distinct routes. Identify which route is expected to apply and what must be confirmed before work begins.
- 4. Test the requested period. Eligible foreigners working for VIFC member organizations may receive work authorization for up to 10 years. Treat ten years as a maximum, not a standard or promised term.
- 5. Build the residence workstream. Assess UD1 residence separately from permission to work. An eligible applicant may receive a UD1 temporary residence card for up to 10 years, subject to eligibility and guidance.
- 6. Map accompanying family. A qualifying spouse and children under 18 may receive UD2 cards for the same duration as the principal’s UD1 card. Do not treat UD2 residence as permission to work.
- 7. Separate the tax review. If the person may be a qualifying manager, expert, scientist or individual with high professional qualifications, assess Article 7(2)(a) of Decree No. 324/2025/ND-CP independently for salary and wage income earned from work at the International Financial Center. Article 7(2)(b) separately addresses certain transfers to IFC members. Do not use a permit, exemption, work authorization or UD1 approval as proof of tax qualification.
- 8. Establish change controls. Monitor changes to the role, employing entity, member status, work location, authorization, principal residence and family circumstances.
Keep permits, exemptions and authorization distinct
Eligible foreign nationals working for VIFC member organizations may receive work permits or exemptions and extended work authorization for up to 10 years. These are available routes and maximum boundaries, not automatic outcomes. The correct route and period depend on individual eligibility that must be established for the proposed hire.
The framework identifies a work-permit exemption for foreign experts who meet high-level criteria defined by the one-stop Executive Agency. Decree No. 325/2025/ND-CP expressly excludes accompanying family members from the Article 5(1) exemption category. An accompanying spouse or child therefore needs an independent assessment under the applicable rules before working.
An exemption from a permit requirement should not be described as freedom from all work-authorization controls. The employer must identify the legal effect of the exemption and any other recognition, registration or authorization required.
Decree No. 283/2026/ND-CP takes effect on 10 September 2026 and updates labor penalties, including foreign-worker and employer compliance. It does not change VIFC eligibility; recheck current duties before work begins.
Coordinate UD1 and UD2 without merging them into work approval
An eligible foreign national working for a VIFC member organization may receive a UD1 temporary residence card for up to 10 years, subject to eligibility and guidance. The employer should describe this as a potential maximum. It should not promise the full term or imply that a job offer alone secures issuance.
Work authorization and UD1 residence are connected operational questions but separate legal outcomes. Confirm the route, supporting party, requested period and end date for each.
A spouse and children under 18 may receive UD2 cards for the same duration as the principal’s UD1 card. That rule links family residence to the period actually granted to the principal. It does not independently promise ten years and does not establish work permission for a family member.
Before relocation, list every family applicant, record each child’s age and align the intended family period with the principal’s actual or expected UD1 period.
Treat the PIT exemption as a separate tax conclusion
Under Article 7(2)(a) of Decree No. 324/2025/ND-CP, qualifying managers, experts, scientists and high-professional-qualification individuals working at the International Financial Center may receive PIT relief on salary and wage income earned from work there through the end of 2030. Article 7(2)(b) separately addresses certain transfers to IFC members. This is not a general foreign-hire benefit.
A work or residence approval does not establish tax qualification. Test the person, work-at-the-International-Financial-Center connection, income category and Article 7(2) conditions separately.
Bonuses, allowances, benefits, equity, deferred compensation, severance, carried interest and other amounts require item-specific review.
No post-2030 result should be represented in an offer or cost model. The verified exemption runs until the end of 2030.
Open questions
What is not yet settled
These points require confirmation against current guidance and the facts of an individual case
- Not yet confirmed: current VIFC membership criteria, official evidence, effective date, admission process and continuing obligations.
- Not yet confirmed: provision-level allocation of each work and residence rule between those instruments.
- Not yet confirmed: employer planning, recruitment, reporting, workforce-composition and record-retention requirements that apply despite the absence of a foreign-worker proportion cap.
- Not yet confirmed: acceptable membership evidence and treatment of affiliates, group companies, contractors, secondments and third-party employment arrangements.
- Not yet confirmed: operative role definitions, qualification standards and required evidence.
- Not yet confirmed: route-selection rules, competent authority, decision form and any pre-work registration, notification or confirmation.
- Not yet confirmed: duration-setting factors, validity dependencies, renewal rules and reasons for a shorter authorization.
- Not yet confirmed: applicant categories, sponsoring party, evidence, sequencing, validity constraints, renewal and cancellation.
- Not yet confirmed: family evidence, age treatment, filing sequence, work authorization and consequences of changes to the principal’s status.
- Not yet confirmed: notice, amendment, replacement, cancellation, departure and record-retention requirements following each material change.
- Not yet confirmed: current high-level criteria, assessment method, documentary evidence, filing channel, decision-maker and official confirmation required before the individual starts work.
- Not yet confirmed: legal form of the exemption and every pre-work or continuing obligation for an exempt foreign worker.
- Not yet confirmed: covered family categories, whether each person must independently meet the criteria, and the separate authorization required before employment begins.
- Not yet confirmed: sequencing and validity linkage between the permit or exemption, extended work authorization and UD1 residence, including amendment, renewal, replacement and cancellation.
- Not yet confirmed: relationship evidence, age-assessment date, treatment when a child turns 18, joint-filing availability, later applications and effects of a principal-status change.
- Not yet confirmed: definitions, evidence, income allocation and recognition process.
- Not yet confirmed: item-by-item characterization and exemption treatment, together with payroll, withholding, reporting, filing and recordkeeping requirements.
- Not yet confirmed: final covered earning point, payment timing, extension, expiry, transition, grandfathering, allocation and treatment applying after 31 December 2030.
- Not yet confirmed: classification, centre connection, income allocation, payroll, withholding, filing and treatment after 31 December 2030.
Questions senior candidates ask
VIFC pathway FAQ
Can a VIFC member employ any proportion of foreign workers?
The VIFC has no cap on the proportion of foreign workers. That removes a numerical staffing ceiling, not individual review. Every proposed foreign worker must still have the correct permit, exemption and authorization basis.
Is a work-permit exemption automatic for a senior executive?
No automatic exemption is confirmed. The verified route concerns foreign experts meeting high-level criteria defined by the Executive Agency. A title, salary or employer description is insufficient by itself.
Can the work authorization and UD1 card both last ten years?
Eligible foreigners may receive work authorization and an eligible UD1 card for up to 10 years. Each maximum is subject to eligibility and guidance, and neither term is guaranteed.
Can the employee’s spouse and children relocate with them?
A qualifying spouse and children under 18 may receive UD2 cards for the same duration as the principal’s UD1 card. Family residence does not itself establish work permission.
Does a VIFC work or residence approval establish the PIT exemption?
No. Article 7(2)(a) of Decree No. 324/2025/ND-CP separately covers qualifying managers, experts, scientists and individuals with high professional qualifications working at the International Financial Center on salary and wage income earned from work there through the end of 2030. Article 7(2)(b) addresses certain transfers to IFC members. A work or residence approval does not establish either tax route.