Vietnam: Oversight of Foreign Workers Reassigned to Ministry of Home Affairs

Update June 23, 2025: On June 12, 2025, Vietnam's National Assembly officially passed a resolution to merge provincial-level administrative units, reducing the total number of provinces and cities from 63 to 34. This move is part of a broader effort to streamline the country’s governance structure, including the elimination of the district level of government, transitioning from a traditional three-tier system (provinces, districts, and communes) to a simplified two-tier model of provinces and communes. Currently, this restructuring includes six centrally governed cities and 28 provinces and took immediate legal effect. The government also developed merger plans for 52 existing provinces, resulting in the creation of 23 new administrative units, based on the current status and long-term development orientation of these localities. The new local governments are scheduled to begin official operations on July 1, 2025, with the central government tasked with overseeing the transition and addressing any implementation challenges.  

This large-scale administrative restructuring will affect the registered address of companies. While there is no immediate requirement for companies to update their registration details following the restructuring, an update may be necessary in the near future. 

Despite these changes to administrative boundaries, Vietnamese companies are not currently required to update their Enterprise Registration Certificates (ERCs) or Operation Registration Certificates (ORCs) solely due to the restructuring. Existing ERCs and ORCs will remain valid, even if the company’s address is now classified under a newly designated administrative unit. However, companies that proactively choose to update their ERCs (for instance, to reflect a new commune or province name) will be required to have all previously issued work permits under the old address be reissued to align with the updated ERC. Similarly, all new work permits must be issued using the updated ERC and related address.

February 26, 2025: The Vietnamese government has issued a decree, effective March 1, 2025, that outlines the functions, responsibilities, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). A significant change introduced by this decree is the transfer of responsibility for managing foreign nationals working in Vietnam from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) to the MHA. As a result of this change, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA) will temporarily stop processing all labor-related applications (including work permits) until March 1, 2025. We anticipate the transition of other responsibilities from DOLISAs to DHAs (Department of Home Affairs) in other cities, and expect delays in processing times during the administrative transition. We will report on related developments.