Foreign intra-corporate transferees are not subject to mandatory SI participation..

Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP stipulates the forms in which foreign workers work in Vietnam as follows: Performing an employment contract; Intra-corporate transfer; Implementing economic or social contracts or agreements; A contract service provider; Offering services; A volunteer;  A person responsible for establishing a commercial presence; Being transferred from an overseas agency, organization, or enterprise to work in Vietnam, except for cases of intra-corporate transfer; Participating in the execution of tenders or projects in Vietnam; Relatives of members of foreign representative agencies in Vietnam who are permitted to work in Vietnam under international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory; Chairpersons and members of the Board of Directors of joint-stock companies, owners, and members of limited liability companies with a contributed capital value of less than VND 3 billion; Performing an employment contract with a foreign diplomatic representative agency or foreign organization in Vietnam.

Point a, Clause 2, Article 2 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance stipulates that foreign employees they are working in Vietnam are subject to mandatory SI participation when working under a fixed-term employment contract for a duration of 12 months or more with an employer in Vietnam, except for cases of "intra-corporate transfers in accordance with the law on foreign workers working in Vietnam."

Foreign employees working in Vietnam

Point a, Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No.219/2025/ND-CP, which regulates foreign workers working in Vietnam, stipulates that the form of employment for foreign workers working in Vietnam is "performing an employment contract."

Clause 4, Article 22 of Decree 219/2025/ND-CP stipulates: “For foreign employees specified in Points a and m, Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree, after the foreign employee is granted a work permit, the employer and the foreign employee must enter into a written employment contract in accordance with Vietnamese labor law before the expected starting date…”

In case a foreign employee working in Vietnam is paid a salary in Vietnam, before the expected starting date, the employer must apply for a work permit for the foreign employee, enter into an employment contract in accordance with the Labor Code, and participate in SI in Vietnam in accordance with the SI regulations.

 "Intra-Corporate Transferee" form of employment:

In the case of a foreign employee working under the form of an ICT, the employer must apply for a Certificate of Exemption from the Work Permit requirement, as stipulated in Article 8 of Decree 219/2025/ND-CP. Specifically, Point c, Clause 5, Article 8 regulates the required supporting documents for this case as: “A document proving the employee is a manager, executive director, expert, or technical worker as stipulated in Article 19 of this Decree, together with a written document from the foreign employer assigning the foreign employee to work temporarily at the commercial presence in the territory of Vietnam, and confirming that the foreign employee has been employed for at least 12 consecutive months immediately before entering Vietnam to work.”