Employer of Record (EOR) Vietnam: Hire, Pay & Manage Employees Without a Local Entity
Hire compliantly in Vietnam in as little as five working days. AYP Group is the legal employer for your Vietnamese talent — handling Vietnamese labour contracts, monthly payroll, BHXH/BHYT/BHTN social insurance, trade union fees, PIT withholding and statutory compliance — while you direct the work.
Official
currency
Official
language
Public
holidays
Employer
contributions
4.8
Google Reviews
Quick answer: An Employer of Record in Vietnam (also called an EOR Vietnam) is a Vietnamese entity that legally employs workers on behalf of a client company. The EOR signs the labour contract, runs monthly payroll, files BHXH (social insurance), BHYT (health insurance), BHTN (unemployment insurance), trade union fees and personal income tax (PIT) withholding, and bears compliance risk under the Labour Code 2019. You retain day-to-day control of the employee's work. AYP Group operates a directly owned Vietnamese entity with HR specialists in Ho Chi Minh City — not a partner network, and structured as direct employment rather than labour outsourcing — giving you a single point of accountability for your Vietnam hiring.
1. Key Takeways
- EOR Vietnam at a glance: Hire Vietnamese or foreign talent in 5–10 working days without setting up a local entity. AYP's Vietnamese entity becomes the legal employer; you direct the work.
- Cost certainty: Total statutory employer cost in Vietnam is approximately 23.5% of gross salary — Social Insurance 17.5%, Health Insurance 3%, Unemployment Insurance 1%, and Trade Union Fee 2% — plus a transparent flat monthly EOR fee per employee.
- 2026 regulatory shifts to know: New regional minimum wages effective 1 January 2026 under Decree 293/2025/ND-CP (Region I: VND 5,310,000, up 7.06%). The new Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15 took effect 1 July 2025. The Personal Data Protection Law 2025 replaced the 2023 Decree.
- Four regions, four wage rates: Vietnam's regional minimum wage system creates a meaningful cost variance between Hanoi/HCMC (Region I) and rural Region IV provinces. AYP quotes by region.
- The legal structure question: Vietnam's labour outsourcing regime (Decree 145/2020/ND-CP) limits outsourced labour to about 20 specific job categories with a 12-month cap. AYP does not operate as labour outsourcing — our Vietnamese entity is the direct legal employer, giving you a sturdier legal footing than aggregator-style providers.
- What to look for in an EOR Vietnam provider: A direct local entity (not a partner), Vietnamese HR specialists, fluency in SHUI administration and trade union obligations, and a clear position on the difference between direct employment and labour outsourcing.
2. What is an Employer of Record in Vietnam?
An Employer of Record (EOR) in Vietnam is a Vietnamese entity that legally employs workers on behalf of a client company. The EOR signs the labour contract under the Labour Code 2019, runs monthly payroll in Vietnamese Dong (VND), files SHUI contributions and PIT withholding to the authorities, manages employee benefits and bears compliance risk under Vietnamese employment law. The client company retains operational control — assigning work, managing performance, setting strategy.
For international employers, this resolves a structural problem: you cannot legally pay or employ someone in Vietnam without a local entity. Vietnamese law requires salary payments to flow through a registered Vietnamese employer; cross-border payroll from a foreign parent company is non-compliant. Setting up a Vietnamese subsidiary (typically a 100% foreign-owned LLC) takes 3–4 months, requires Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) and Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC) approvals, a Vietnamese-resident legal representative, and ongoing tax and audit obligations. An EOR Vietnam removes that overhead.
EOR vs PEO in Vietnam. A Professional Employer Organisation (PEO) co-employs workers but only works if you already have a Vietnamese entity. An EOR is the right choice when you have no local entity. AYP offers both — the right model depends on whether you've already incorporated.
3. How AYP's EOR Vietnam Service Works
A clear five-step process — designed so your first Vietnamese hire is contracted, onboarded and on payroll within two weeks.
What makes AYP's process different. Many “global” EOR providers route Vietnamese employment through a third-party partner — and some structure the relationship as labour outsourcing under Decree 145/2020, which carries a 12-month cap and category restrictions. AYP operates a wholly owned Vietnamese entity that is the direct legal employer of your worker, not a labour outsourcing arrangement. That means one contract chain, one point of escalation, no partner mark-up, and a sturdier legal footing for indefinite-term engagements.
4. EOR Vietnam vs Setting Up a Vietnamese Entity: Strategic Decision Framework
The right choice depends on headcount, time horizon and capital appetite. Use this framework.
Our honest view. EOR is the right answer for most companies entering Vietnam for the first time, or hiring up to around 20 employees. Past that scale — or when you need a Vietnamese entity for VAT invoicing, regulated activities, or M&A — incorporation becomes the better long-term economics. AYP can sequence both: start with EOR, transition to your own Vietnamese subsidiary when the time is right.
Employer of Record
Power your Asia expansion with AYP's HR technology
Onboard in minutes, stay compliant - let AYP handle the rest
5. Vietnam Employment Law & Compliance Requirements (2026)
Compliant employment in Vietnam is governed by a layered statutory framework. The headline laws:
- Labour Code 2019 (Law 45/2019/QH14) — effective 1 January 2021. Sets contract types, working hours, leave, termination and dispute resolution standards.
- Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15 — effective 1 July 2025. Expanded compulsory SI coverage, restructured one-time SI claims for foreign workers, and tightened contribution enforcement.
- Decree 293/2025/ND-CP on Regional Minimum Wages — effective 1 January 2026. Sets the four regional minimum wage rates (replacing Decree 74/2024).
- Decree 145/2020/ND-CP on Labour Outsourcing — defines the narrow scope (~20 job categories, 12-month maximum) of cho thuê lại lao động. AYP's EOR model is structured outside this regime.
- Personal Data Protection Law 2025 — replaced the 2023 Decree. Stricter rules on data subject rights, cross-border transfers and breach notification.
Regional minimum wages (Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, effective 1 January 2026)
Statutory employer contributions (2026)
PIT brackets (annual taxable income, VND, 2026)
Mandatory leave entitlements
- Annual leave: Minimum 12 days for normal conditions, with one additional day for every 5 years of service. Higher for hazardous occupations.
- Sick leave: 30–70 days per year on social insurance, depending on tenure and contribution length. Paid at 75% of pre-leave salary.
- Maternity leave: 6 months at 100% of average salary over the previous 6 months, paid by the Social Insurance Fund (not by the employer).
- Paternity leave: 5 working days (normal birth) to 14 working days (twins or caesarean), paid by the Social Insurance Fund.
- Bereavement / personal leave: 3 days for immediate family events; 1 day for marriage of a child.
- Public holidays: 11 paid public holidays per year, including Tết (Lunar New Year, typically 5 days).
13th-month payment. Not legally mandated in Vietnam — but it is near-universal market practice and effectively contractual in most employment relationships. Vietnamese employees expect Tết bonus equal to one month's salary, paid before Lunar New Year. AYP schedules and itemises this in your quote so you can decide upfront whether to include it.
Working hours. Standard 48-hour week (8 hours × 6 days) under the Labour Code 2019, though most office employers operate a 40-hour 5-day week. Overtime is capped at 200 hours per year (300 with consent and notification). Overtime rates: 150% (weekday), 200% (weekly rest day), 300% (public holiday).
6. Cost of Hiring in Vietnam: True Employer Cost (2026)
This is where most global EOR providers leave you guessing. We don't. Here is a fully loaded cost example for a Vietnamese citizen in Ho Chi Minh City (Region I) earning a gross monthly salary of VND 30,000,000.
Region matters. Vietnam's four-region wage system means a software engineering role in Ho Chi Minh City has a different cost basis than the same role in Da Nang or Can Tho. SHUI contributions are calculated on salary (not minimum wage) up to certain caps, so the variance is mostly through base pay rather than statutory percentages — but unemployment insurance is capped at 20× the regional minimum wage, creating a real difference for senior roles. AYP quotes by region.
Foreign worker exception. Foreign employees on a work permit must contribute to BHXH (since 2018) and BHYT, but not BHTN. Under the new Social Insurance Law 41/2024 (effective July 2025), foreign workers leaving Vietnam permanently may claim a one-time SI payout under updated rules. AYP advises on this at offboarding.
What this excludes. Optional employer-funded benefits (private medical top-up, allowances, equity), bonuses beyond customary 13th-month, and one-off costs (work permit fees, TRC fees, relocation). AYP itemises every line in your quote.
7. Work Permits & Visas for Foreign Employees in Vietnam
To employ a foreign national in Vietnam, three documents must be sequenced correctly. The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and the Immigration Department administer these.
Common eligibility criteria: Bachelor's degree (or equivalent professional qualification), minimum 3 years' relevant experience, no criminal record, and a health certificate. Certain positions are restricted to Vietnamese nationals. AYP handles the entire sequence — approval submission, work permit application, TRC issuance — as part of EOR service.
8. Termination & Severance in Vietnam
Vietnam is a moderately complex termination jurisdiction. Lawful grounds are listed exhaustively in Article 36 of the Labour Code 2019 — including mutual agreement, expiry of definite-term contracts, sustained underperformance, and structural redundancy.
Notice periods depend on contract type:
- Indefinite-term: 45 days
- Definite-term (12–36 months): 30 days
- Definite-term (less than 12 months): 3 working days
Severance and job-loss payments
How AYP protects you. Our HR advisors structure terminations to fit lawful grounds under Article 36, draft compliant termination decisions, calculate severance, manage SI deregistration and final PIT clearance. For foreign hires, we coordinate work permit cancellation and TRC return. We have closed dozens of Vietnamese exits without a labour arbitration claim.
9. Why AYP Group is the Best EOR Vietnam Provider
Comparing EOR Vietnam providers, the meaningful differences come down to four factors. Here is how AYP performs against each.
Our three commitments to you
- No Uncertainty — clear advisory at every step from a named HR specialist in HCMC, not a generic ticketing queue.
- No Penalty — we hold the compliance liability and stand behind every SHUI filing and PIT remittance.
- No Hidden Costs — one transparent fee structure, with trade union fee and 13th-month itemised before you sign.
Employer of Record
Scale across Asia with compliance built into the platform
Our technology handles onboarding, payroll, and compliance automatically, so your team can focus on growth
10. Get Started with EOR Vietnam Today
You have three options.
Book a 30-minute call — Speak with an HCMC-based HR specialist about your role, region, timeline and budget. We'll send a transparent quote within one working day.
Read the Vietnam Hiring Cost Guide (2026) — Full breakdown of regional minimum wages, SHUI contributions, trade union fees, PIT brackets and indicative salaries by function.
Compare AYP vs other EOR Vietnam providers — See how we stack up against Deel, Remote, Multiplier, Acclime and BiPO on price, coverage and compliance.
Questions?
We're here to help
Yes — when properly structured. Vietnam does not have a single “EOR” statute, so providers operate under one of two legal models. The first is labour outsourcing (cho thuê lại lao động), regulated by Decree 145/2020/ND-CP. This route is limited to about 20 specific job categories and capped at 12 months. The second is direct employment: the Vietnamese entity itself is the legal employer of the worker under the Labour Code 2019, with a corporate service agreement between the EOR and the client. AYP uses the second model. This is the structure most appropriate for indefinite-term professional hires and is widely accepted by reputable advisers.
PE risk arises if a client company is deemed to have a fixed place of business in Vietnam through their EOR worker. The risk is highest where the worker has authority to conclude contracts on behalf of the foreign company. AYP structures the employment so that the worker reports operationally to the client but the legal and economic employer relationship sits with AYP. For senior commercial roles (e.g. country managers with binding authority), we advise clients to seek separate corporate tax advice.
For a Vietnamese citizen with no visa requirement, AYP can have the employee contracted, registered with the Social Insurance Agency, and on payroll in 5–10 working days from quote acceptance. Foreign hires requiring a Work Permit + TRC take 6–10 weeks, driven by DOLISA processing timelines.
Yes. AYP sponsors the foreign worker approval, Work Permit and Temporary Residence Card applications as the registered Vietnamese employer. Note that foreign workers must contribute to BHXH (social insurance) and BHYT (health insurance), but not BHTN (unemployment insurance).
An EOR is the legal employer when you have no Vietnamese entity. A PEO co-employs workers, but only if you already have a registered Vietnamese subsidiary. AYP offers both, and advises which fits your stage.
Pricing varies by provider and seniority of role. Transparent flat monthly fees in the market typically range from US$300–US$650 per employee per month. AYP quotes per role based on complexity and scope. Statutory employer costs (BHXH, BHYT, BHTN, trade union fee) are passed through at cost.
Yes. Under Vietnamese law, all employers must contribute 2% of monthly payroll to the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, regardless of whether the company has an internal union. This is widely missed by global EOR providers quoting Vietnam pricing — and is a frequent source of year-end true-up surprises.
Yes. While not legally mandated in Vietnam, the 13th-month bonus (paid before Tết / Lunar New Year) is near-universal market practice. AYP schedules and itemises this in your monthly billing so you can choose to include it. Most employers do.
Yes — and this is increasingly important. Vietnam's tax authority and labour inspectorate have intensified scrutiny of contractor misclassification. If your “contractor” works fixed hours, reports to a manager and uses your tools, an audit will likely re-classify them as an employee with back-payment liability for SHUI plus PIT. AYP can convert them cleanly via EOR.
Yes, end-to-end. We structure terminations to fit lawful grounds under Article 36 of the Labour Code, draft compliant termination decisions, calculate severance and unemployment insurance entitlements, manage SI deregistration and final PIT clearance, and represent the employer in any conciliation or labour arbitration.
Nationwide. We have placed employees across Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Bac Ninh and beyond — covering all four regional minimum wage zones.
More questions?
We're here to help. Whether it's pricing details, country-specific compliance, or how we compare to other EORs, let's talk.
