Social insurance for foreign employees in Vietnam

Do foreign employees pay social insurance in Vietnam?

Yes, in most cases. A foreign national who holds a work permit (or practising certificate) and works under a Vietnamese labour contract of 12 months or more is subject to compulsory social insurance and health insurance, under the Social Insurance Law 41/2024/QH15 in force since 1 July 2025. Foreign employees are excluded from unemployment insurance, which applies to Vietnamese citizens only.12

Because unemployment insurance drops away, a foreign employee carries a slightly lighter load than a Vietnamese one: about 9.5% withheld from the employee and 20.5% from the employer in social and health insurance — roughly 30% of the contribution salary between them — against 10.5% and 21.5% for a local hire. The 2% employer trade-union fee still applies regardless of nationality, so the employer's all-in cash on-cost is about 22.5%. This page sits alongside the general guide to social insurance in Vietnam (BHXH), which covers the three funds, the caps and the filing calendar in full.12

Who is covered?

Compulsory social and health insurance is triggered by the combination of a work permit and a labour contract of 12 months or more with a Vietnamese employer. Shorter engagements, and foreigners working in Vietnam without a local labour contract, fall outside the compulsory scheme. Sponsoring the work permit is a separate step the employing entity handles first — see work permits for foreign employees for eligibility, timeline and documents.1

Three groups can sit outside compulsory social insurance even on a long contract: foreign employees at or above statutory retirement age; intra-corporate transferees who still meet the (now narrower) transferee definition; and workers covered by an applicable bilateral social-security agreement, such as a posted Korean employee (see below). Each of these is a status that has to be established on the facts, not assumed.23

What is the social insurance rate for foreign employees?

The social-insurance rate is 8% employee and 17.5% employer, and health insurance is a further 1.5% and 3%. There is no unemployment-insurance line. Contributions are charged on salary up to the social- and health-insurance ceiling of ₫50,600,000 a month as of October 2026; salary above the cap is not charged. The table sets the foreign-employee position beside a Vietnamese one.12

Are intra-corporate transferees exempt?

Sometimes, but less often than before. An intra-corporate transferee — a manager, executive, expert or technical worker moved into a Vietnamese entity from within the same group — could historically be kept outside compulsory social insurance. Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, in force since 7 August 2025, tightened the definition of a transferee, so fewer seconded expatriates keep the exempt status, particularly where the Vietnamese entity bears any part of the person's pay.3

The exemption still exists, but it is narrower and fact-specific. Do not assume an expatriate is exempt without checking their classification against Decree 219/2025; getting it wrong means back-dated contributions, interest and penalties once the position is corrected. Where the transferee test is not met, the ordinary 12-month-contract rule applies and the rates above are due.3

Does Vietnam have a social-security agreement with my country?

Usually not. A bilateral social-security agreement lets a posted worker stay in their home system and avoid paying into both countries at once. Vietnam has very few: South Korea is in force, Japan is still being negotiated, and there is no agreement with the United States. If your country is not on the list, a 12-month-plus contract means Vietnamese social and health insurance apply as normal.4

The Vietnam–Korea agreement took effect on 1 January 2024 and was Vietnam's first-ever bilateral social-security agreement. A worker posted between the two countries keeps paying compulsory social insurance only in the sending country for up to 60 months, extendable by a further 36 months if they stay with the same employer, and is exempt from host-country compulsory contributions for that period. Vietnam Social Security set out how to apply it in Official Dispatch 862/BHXH-TST of 29 March 2024, including the coverage certificates that prove where someone is paying in. The agreement is designed to protect the social-insurance rights a worker builds up while moving between the two countries.4 It is the backdrop to much of our work with Korean companies hiring in Vietnam.

Japan and Vietnam began intergovernmental talks on their first agreement in July 2025, but nothing is signed, ratified or in force as of October 2026 — so, for now, staff posted between Japan and Vietnam can still face charges in both systems. Treat any Japanese relief as unavailable until an agreement actually enters into force; the position for Japanese companies hiring in Vietnam is that the ordinary rules apply.6

Can a foreign employee claim back social insurance on leaving?

Yes. A foreign employee who has paid Vietnamese social insurance can usually claim a one-time lump-sum when they stop working in Vietnam — when the labour contract ends, or the work permit or practising certificate expires and is not renewed, or they leave the country. Unlike Vietnamese nationals, a foreigner does not have to wait a year after stopping work to be eligible; terminating the contract is enough.5

As a rule of thumb the payout is about two months of the average monthly contribution salary for each year contributed. Compulsory social insurance for foreign workers began on 1 December 2018 (Decree 143/2018/ND-CP) and was carried into the 2024 Law, so all foreign contribution years fall under the two-month-per-year rate rather than the lower pre-2014 rate. Part-years count as half a year (1–6 months) or a full year (7–11 months). The exact figure depends on the current formula and the annual adjustment factor, so confirm it at the time of claim; be aware, too, that claiming and then quickly resuming work in Vietnam can trigger a repayment.5

What if there is no agreement? (the US case)

Without a social-security agreement, there is nothing to stop two systems charging at once. A US national on a 12-month-plus Vietnamese contract can pay Vietnamese social and health insurance here while remaining within reach of US Social Security and self-employment tax — there is no totalisation agreement between the US and Vietnam to assign coverage to one country or credit the periods across. This is separate from the income-tax question, where there is also no treaty in force; both gaps are covered on the double tax treaties in Vietnam page, which is worth reading alongside the guidance for US companies hiring in Vietnam. Plan for the double exposure before an assignment rather than after.7

How EOR Vietnam handles foreign-employee social insurance

When EOR Vietnam is the legal employer, a licensed Vietnamese entity registers the foreign hire for compulsory social and health insurance, withholds the employee share, pays the employer share and the trade-union fee, and remits everything to the provincial social-security office on schedule — the same mechanics set out in Vietnam payroll and employer costs. We check each person's position first: whether the 12-month-contract rule is met, whether a transferee classification under Decree 219/2025 or a treaty exemption applies, and, on exit, we handle the one-time lump-sum claim. For how the employer-of-record structure itself works, see what an EOR is in Vietnam.

On price, the statutory contributions above are passed through at cost — we do not mark them up. Our service fee for a Vietnamese national is a flat US$149 per employee per month (as of October 2026), with no setup, onboarding, offboarding or payslip fees; a foreign national who needs a Vietnamese work permit is quoted separately on request, because the permit and immigration work varies by case. A refundable security deposit equal to two months of the employee's employment cost (gross salary plus statutory employer contributions) is held for the engagement and returned at the end, less any unpaid amounts. You can model the underlying numbers with the EOR cost breakdown.