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Payroll and Labour Law

HR and Payroll Setup Checklist for a New Foreign-Invested Company in Vietnam

Once your Vietnam company is registered, the employment side needs its own set-up: contracts, statutory registrations, payroll, Work Permits and a reporting calendar. This checklist puts the steps in order, with the deadlines that apply.

By Truzand

Published 30 October 2026

Colleagues planning around a table with laptops and documents, seen from above

Registering a foreign-invested company in Vietnam gives you a legal entity. It does not yet give you a working employer. Before and shortly after the first employees start, the company needs employment contracts, a salary structure, statutory insurance and personal income tax (PIT) set-up, Work Permits for foreign staff and a calendar of recurring reports.

This checklist covers that HR and payroll side, in the order it usually happens. Company registration, capital contribution, accounting, corporate tax and the annual audit are for your licensed legal, tax and accounting advisers; they are listed at the end so nothing falls between the two.

Before the first employee starts

1. Confirm who needs a Work Permit

Check every foreign national who will work for the company, including the legal representative and directors.

  • A Work Permit, or confirmation that an exemption applies, is needed before the person starts work.
  • Under Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP, in force since 7 August 2025, the explanation of the need for foreign labour is part of the Work Permit application itself, rather than a separate prior approval.
  • Some owners and capital contributors are exempt. For example, the owner or a capital-contributing member of a limited liability company, or the chair or a board member of a joint-stock company, with a capital contribution of at least VND 3 billion. Exempt people still need the applicable confirmation or notification.
  • The authority decides within 10 working days of receiving a complete application. Document preparation (legalised degrees, criminal-record certificates, health checks) usually takes much longer than that, so start early.

Visa and Temporary Residence Card follow the permit or exemption. See Working in Vietnam: from planning to exit for the full sequence.

2. Prepare employment contract templates

  • Contracts are indefinite-term or definite-term (up to 36 months). Written contracts, including qualifying electronic contracts, are the general rule.
  • Probation can be agreed in the contract or separately: up to 6 working days, 30 days or 60 days depending on the role, and up to 180 days for enterprise managers.
  • Bilingual Vietnamese–English templates help both sides understand the terms. Prepare versions for Vietnamese and foreign employees, since their insurance and permit positions differ.

3. Set the salary structure

  • Every salary must be at least the regional minimum wage for the place of work. From 1 January 2026, Region I (central Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, among others) is VND 5,310,000 a month under Decree 293/2025/NĐ-CP.
  • Build a wage scale and pay table and labour norms, consult the employee representative organisation where there is one, and make them public at the workplace before applying them (Labour Code, Article 93).
  • Decide which allowances and bonuses are fixed in the contract. Regular amounts stated in the contract generally form part of the salary on which statutory insurance is calculated.

4. Set the payroll calendar

  • Agree the payroll cut-off, the payment date stated in contracts and the payslip format.
  • Salaries are paid in VND, normally by bank transfer. Foreign employees may be paid in a foreign currency where the rules and the contract allow.
  • Decide who prepares payroll: an in-house team or Outsourced Payroll Services, with your company remaining the legal employer.

Within 30 days

5. Declare labour use

Within 30 days of starting operations, the employer declares its use of labour to the provincial labour authority (Labour Code, Article 12). Since the 2025 reorganisation, this is the provincial Department of Home Affairs. Confirm the local filing route; many provinces accept it online through the National Public Service Portal.

6. Register for statutory insurance

  • Register each employee for social, health and unemployment insurance within 30 days of the employment contract taking effect (Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15).
  • For a Vietnamese employee, the employer contributes about 23.5% of the insured salary (including the 2% trade union fee) and withholds 10.5% from the employee, up to the statutory ceilings.
  • Foreign employees with a definite-term contract of at least 12 months generally join compulsory social insurance, with some exclusions. They do not join unemployment insurance.
  • Employees can follow their contributions in the VssID app.

The Employment Cost Calculator shows the contributions for any salary.

7. Set up PIT

  • The company's enterprise code is also its tax code.
  • Collect each employee's personal tax identification details and any dependants they want to register. For the 2026 tax year, the personal deduction is VND 15,500,000 a month and each registered dependant VND 6,200,000 a month.
  • Agree whether PIT is declared monthly or quarterly, according to the company's eligibility, and add the deadlines to the payroll calendar.

8. Trade union fee

The employer pays the trade union fee of 2% of the salary fund used for social insurance, monthly, alongside the insurance contributions.

When the team reaches 10 employees

9. Register internal labour regulations

  • An employer with 10 or more employees must issue written internal labour regulations covering working time, workplace order, safety, asset protection, disciplinary offences and procedures (Labour Code, Articles 118–119).
  • Consult the employee representative organisation, where there is one, before issuing them.
  • File them with the provincial labour authority within 10 days of issue. They take effect 15 days after the authority receives a complete file.
  • Discipline can only rely on rules that are in force. Below 10 employees, put the key rules in the employment contracts.

10. Hold the annual workplace dialogue

Employers hold a periodic dialogue with employees at least once a year (Labour Code, Article 63). Keep a record of what was discussed.

The recurring calendar

A professional writing on a glass board in an office
When What Where it goes
Monthly Payroll, payslips, PIT withholding, statutory insurance and trade union fee; report joiners, leavers and salary changes Employees; tax authority; social insurance agency
Monthly or quarterly PIT declaration Tax authority
Before 5 June and 5 December Labour utilisation report (half-year and annual) Department of Home Affairs, via the National Public Service Portal
Before 5 July and 10 January Workplace accident summary Provincial labour authority
Before 10 January Annual occupational safety and health report Provincial labour and health authorities
Before 15 January Previous year's unemployment insurance participation Department of Home Affairs
By the end of the third month after year-end Employer's PIT finalization Tax authority
By each expiry date Work Permit, visa, TRC and fixed-term contract renewals Competent authorities; employees

Receiving bodies and filing routes change from time to time; confirm local instructions before each deadline. Labour Reporting Support covers the recurring labour reports from VND 800,000 per report for businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

Records to keep

For each employee, keep the employment contract and appendices, the payroll ledger, PIT withholding records, insurance details, leave balances, Work Permit and residence documents, and any disciplinary file.

Employee files contain personal data. The Personal Data Protection Law (No. 91/2025/QH15), in force since 1 January 2026, applies to how the company collects, stores and shares it. Limit access to the people who need it.

Your HR and payroll setup checklist

Item When
☐ Work Permits or exemptions confirmed for every foreign national Before they start work
☐ Employment contract and probation templates (Vietnamese and English) Before the first hire
☐ Wage scale, pay table and labour norms published Before applying them
☐ Payroll calendar, payment date and payslip format agreed Before the first payroll
☐ Labour use declared Within 30 days of starting operations
☐ Employees registered for statutory insurance Within 30 days of each contract taking effect
☐ Employee tax details and dependants collected; PIT declaration cycle set Before the first payroll
☐ Trade union fee included in the monthly payments Monthly
☐ Internal labour regulations issued and registered Once there are 10 or more employees
☐ Annual workplace dialogue held and recorded At least once a year
☐ Reporting calendar set up with owners and deadlines First month
☐ Employee files organised, with access limited Ongoing

What sits with your other advisers

Several obligations of a new foreign-invested company are not HR matters and need licensed legal, tax or accounting advisers. They include:

  • investment and enterprise registration, and any changes to them;
  • contributing the charter capital on time, through the direct investment capital account;
  • bookkeeping, corporate tax and VAT, e-invoices and the annual financial statements;
  • the annual audit, which foreign-invested enterprises must have under the Law on Independent Audit; and
  • statistical reports.

Investment project reporting sits between the two: Truzand's Investment Project Reporting Support helps prepare the periodic reports, based on the information you provide.

Frequently asked questions

How soon must a new company register employees for social insurance in Vietnam?

Within 30 days of each employment contract taking effect, under Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15. Separately, the company declares its use of labour within 30 days of starting operations.

Does a foreign director need a Work Permit in Vietnam?

Usually, unless an exemption applies. An owner or capital-contributing member of a limited liability company, or the chair or a board member of a joint-stock company, with a capital contribution of at least VND 3 billion is exempt, but still needs the applicable confirmation or notification before starting work.

When does a company need internal labour regulations?

Once it has 10 or more employees. The regulations must be written, filed with the provincial labour authority within 10 days of issue, and take effect 15 days after the authority receives a complete file.

Can a new company outsource payroll from the start?

Yes. With Outsourced Payroll Services, your company remains the legal employer while the provider runs payroll, PIT and statutory insurance administration within the agreed scope.

How Truzand can help

Truzand's HR Compliance & Setup support covers the steps in this checklist, depending on the agreed scope: contract templates, internal labour regulations, statutory registrations, payroll set-up, Work Permit, Visa and TRC coordination and a reporting calendar with owners and deadlines. Once the set-up is complete, Outsourced Payroll Services can run the monthly cycle, with your company remaining the legal employer.

If your company is not registered yet and you need people in Vietnam now, an EOR can employ them in the meantime. See EOR, Outsourced Payroll, your own entity or contractors?

Tell us when the company was registered, how many people you plan to employ and whether any are foreign nationals. We set out the steps, owners and deadlines for your first year.

Discuss your set-up

What this does not cover

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Requirements depend on the company's activities, location and workforce, the competent authorities, current rules and the agreed scope. Company registration, accounting, corporate tax and the annual audit need licensed advisers. Figures and deadlines reflect the rules as of October 2026.

Official sources

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