Nhan Kiet review: Vietnam EOR fees, licence and alternatives (2026)

Nhan Kiet at a glance

What does Nhan Kiet charge?

Nhan Kiet's EOR fee is 8% of each employee's gross salary per month, with a floor of VND 2,600,000 (about US$99) and a cap of VND 5,200,000 (about US$199), the same on both of its legal routes. Because of the floor, anyone earning under VND 32.5 million a month pays the floor; at VND 50,000,000 the fee is VND 4,000,000; and no one is charged above the cap however high the salary.1 A refundable deposit of one month's gross salary per employee applies from 1 October 2026, and there is no onboarding, offboarding or conversion fee.1

The line buyers most often miss is VAT. Nhan Kiet states that, because it is the employer under a labour sub-leasing arrangement, the whole invoice — gross salary, statutory contributions and the service fee — carries VAT, at the reduced 8% rate until 31 December 2026 and 10% from 1 January 2027 unless the reduction is extended.1 On Nhan Kiet's own worked example for a Vietnamese employee on VND 10,000,000 gross, the month costs VND 16,146,000: salary 10,000,000, employer contributions 2,350,000, fee 2,600,000 and VAT 1,196,000.1 Whatever provider you choose, ask how VAT is applied to its invoice and model the total, not the fee. Our payroll guide shows how the employer contributions are built up.

Licence and legal routes

Vietnam has no “EOR” statute, so an EOR has to work inside an existing legal framework — see whether an EOR is legal in Vietnam. Nhan Kiet offers two:1

• Labour sub-leasing (outsourcing). The worker signs an employment contract with Nhan Kiet but works under your direct supervision. This needs a sub-leasing licence, which Nhan Kiet holds, and the law limits it to the 20 occupations in Appendix II of Decree 145/2020/ND-CP and to 12 months per worker with the same client.56 Our guide to labour outsourcing and dispatch explains the limits.
• Service contract. Nhan Kiet supplies and manages the staff and answers for the result; there is no occupation list and no 12-month limit. Nhan Kiet states that you direct the technical work while it organises working time, workplace rules, attendance and discipline — the split that keeps a service contract from being treated as disguised outsourcing.1

Which route fits depends on the role and how long you need the person, and it changes who formally directs the work. Nhan Kiet says it settles the route before signing; ask for it in writing.

Can Nhan Kiet hire foreign nationals?

Only if you have, or set up, your own presence in Vietnam. Nhan Kiet states plainly that it cannot sponsor a work permit for a company with no Vietnamese entity, because under Decree 219/2025/ND-CP the permit is granted for a named employer with a head office, branch, representative office or business location in the province where the foreign national works.17 Once your entity exists, it runs the permit procedure and takes over payroll, insurance and tax. For the rules, see work permits for foreign employees.

Strengths

• Long-established and licensed. Operating since 2009, with a labour sub-leasing licence since 2015 and the statutory deposit lodged.2
• Published fee with a cap. The 8% fee, floor and cap are on its website, which makes budgeting at any salary straightforward.1
• Low fee at lower salaries. The VND 2.6 million floor (about US$99) is below most published global-platform fees.
• Scale across Vietnam. By its own figures, 40,000+ workers in all 34 provinces and cities — relevant for multi-site teams in factories, warehouses and retail; People Managing People labels it “best for multi-site workforce compliance”.23
• No exit fee to your own entity. When you set up a Vietnamese company, staff move across with no conversion or buy-out fee; only the statutory settlement is passed through.1

What to check before you sign

• VAT on the whole invoice. At 8% now and 10% from 2027 unless extended, VAT is charged on salary and contributions too; on Vietnamese salaries above roughly VND 24 million a month it comes to more than the service fee itself.1
• A percentage fee. Between the floor and the cap the fee rises with salary, so model it at your real offers.
• Route limits. Direct supervision under sub-leasing is limited to 20 occupations and 12 months per worker; longer or other roles go under a service contract, where Nhan Kiet supervises working time and discipline.15
• Foreign hires need your own entity. Nhan Kiet cannot employ a foreign national for a company with no Vietnamese presence.1
• Vietnam only. For staff in other countries you will need a second provider.

Alternatives to Nhan Kiet

The table compares Nhan Kiet with other providers that offer EOR in Vietnam, using each provider's own Vietnam page. It is not a ranking; after Nhan Kiet, providers are listed alphabetically. Fees sit on top of salary and the roughly 23.5% employer contributions, and VAT treatment differs by provider and structure, so compare written all-in quotes.

Who is Nhan Kiet a good fit for?

Nhan Kiet fits a foreign company hiring Vietnamese nationals, especially in numbers or across several sites, that wants a long-established, licensed local employer and a published fee with a cap. Look at an alternative if you need to hire foreign nationals without your own entity, if your team spans several countries and you want one platform, or if a flat fee suits your budgeting better than a percentage. In every case, ask for a written all-in quote that shows salary, contributions, fee and VAT as separate lines.