10 Best Employer Of Record (EOR) in Vietnam 2026

Vietnam has become one of Southeast Asia’s more active hiring markets for international teams, but the compliance layer is genuinely demanding.

Employer contributions total 23.5% on top of gross salary: 21.5% across social insurance, health, and unemployment insurance, plus a 2% trade union fund contribution that applies to every payroll regardless of whether your employees have joined a union.

Under Decree 293/2025 in force from January 2026, minimum wages in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City sit at VND 5,310,000 per month. Personal Income Tax runs on a progressive scale from 5% to 35% and requires accurate monthly withholding and filing.

The compliance piece that most foreign employers miss: Vietnam classifies EOR arrangements as labour outsourcing, which carries a 12-month cap per engagement under local law. Before you sign with any provider, ask how they handle contract renewal and continuity past that threshold.

We reviewed nine EOR providers operating in Vietnam and ranked the best on compliance depth, entity model, onboarding speed, and value for this market. User ratings and verified review data informed every ranking.

Best EOR solutions in Vietnam: quick comparison

We compared nine EOR providers operating in Vietnam on the factors that decide a compliant hire: whether the provider runs through its own local entity or a partner, how fast they onboard, payroll currency support, and how each one handles Vietnam’s labour outsourcing classification, which affects how long an EOR engagement can run before the contract structure needs to be reviewed.

Vietnam’s 32% total social insurance burden and monthly PIT filing requirements make provider compliance depth more important here than in most Southeast Asian markets.

A provider that handles payroll correctly in Singapore or Malaysia may still get Vietnam wrong if they are running through a thin partner arrangement rather than a properly staffed local presence.

Top 10 Vietnam EOR Solutions in Detail

The nine providers below are evaluated specifically for Vietnam. Each card covers the entity model, social insurance and PIT handling, onboarding speed, and the compliance obligations each provider takes on in this market. Strengths and weaknesses are based on verified review data and independent research, not vendor submissions.

How employment law works in Vietnam

Vietnam’s employment system runs on documentation. Informal arrangements carry no legal weight. Contracts must be written in Vietnamese, contain specific prescribed fields, and be signed before work begins. If a field is missing or worded incorrectly, MOLISA presumes the employer is at fault.

The primary legislation is Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14, in force since January 1, 2021. It governs contracts, working hours, probation, termination, and employee protections. Three bodies enforce it in practice: MOLISA for labor compliance, the General Department of Taxation for PIT, and Vietnam Social Security for insurance contributions.

Companies with 10 or more employees must register internal labor regulations with the provincial DOLISA. These must cover working hours, disciplinary rules, asset protection, and confidentiality provisions. Missing this registration is a compliance gap that surfaces during labor inspections.

Electronic contracts have been valid since 2021 and carry the same legal force as paper contracts, provided they are accessible and have not been altered after execution.

Contracts, employment types, and classification risks

Vietnam recognizes two contract types under the Labor Code: fixed-term contracts of up to 36 months and indefinite-term contracts. Seasonal and task-based contracts are no longer permitted under the 2021 code.

A fixed-term contract can be renewed once. A second renewal automatically converts the agreement into an indefinite-term contract unless a specific legal exception applies. Many foreign companies miss this and attempt multiple short-term renewals, which authorities treat as indefinite employment regardless of what the contract says.

Probation rules are capped by role level. Enterprise managers as defined under the Law on Enterprises can serve up to 180 days. Professional and degree-level roles are capped at 60 days. Technical and vocational roles are capped at 30 days. Pay during probation must be at least 85% of the agreed salary. Extending probation past these limits is not permitted.

Foreign employees are subject to additional constraints. They can only enter into fixed-term contracts with a maximum duration of 24 months. After the permitted renewals, the employer must seek special approval to continue the engagement or rotate the position to a different hire.

Misclassification is the most common and most expensive mistake foreign employers make in Vietnam. Calling someone a contractor does not make them one. If a worker reports to your managers, follows your schedule, uses your systems, and works primarily for your company, they are an employee under Vietnamese law.

The consequences include backdated social insurance contributions, tax penalties, and potential labor disputes.

Minimum wages and regional zones

Vietnam uses a four-region minimum wage system. The applicable rate depends on where the employee’s work is registered, not where your company is headquartered or where the EOR’s office sits. This catches foreign employers who assume a single national rate applies across all their Vietnam hires.

Under Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, effective January 1, 2026, Region I covers Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, and Da Nang. Region IV covers the remaining rural provinces. The average increase across all regions was 7.2% from the prior year.

One detail that consistently catches international employers: employees who have completed vocational training must be paid at least 7% above the applicable regional minimum. For a Region I worker, that means VND 5,681,700 rather than VND 5,310,000. Vietnam’s labour inspection system cross-checks payroll declarations against social insurance filings, and this uplift is one of the most commonly flagged errors during audits.

If your company has employees in multiple cities, each location must use its own regional rate. If a branch operates across areas with different rates, the highest applicable rate applies to that branch.

Payroll, personal income tax, and social insurance

Vietnam payroll runs on a monthly cycle. Salary is typically paid on the last working day of the month, and any deviation from that schedule must be stated explicitly in the employment contract. Payslips must show gross salary, all deductions, and net pay on every pay cycle.

Personal income tax uses a progressive rate structure from 5% to 35%. Employers withhold PIT monthly and remit it to the General Department of Taxation.

Employees can reduce their taxable income through a personal deduction of VND 15,500,000 per month, updated under Resolution 110/2025, and a dependent deduction of VND 6,200,000 per month per registered dependent.

Dependent registration must be submitted through the tax system before the deduction applies. If it is not set up correctly, employees overpay tax and typically request retroactive adjustments, which creates additional filing work for the EOR.

Social, health, and unemployment insurance contributions are mandatory for all employees on contracts of one month or more. Employers must register employees with Vietnam Social Security promptly after hiring. Under the Social Insurance Law 2024, effective July 1, 2025, late contributions attract interest at 0.03% per day on overdue amounts. There is no grace period.

The total employer contribution burden sits at 23.5% of the salary base. On top of that, the trade union fund contribution adds 2% of total payroll, payable by the employer regardless of whether employees have joined a union. The salary base used for contribution calculations is capped at 20 times the government reference wage, which limits costs for higher-paid employees.

For foreign employees on fixed-term contracts of 12 months or more, social insurance participation is mandatory under Decree 143/2018/ND-CP. Some exemptions apply depending on the employee’s home country social security agreement with Vietnam.

Working hours, overtime, and night work

The standard workweek in Vietnam is capped at 48 hours, with no more than eight hours per day. Many international companies run a 40-hour week in practice, but this must be written explicitly into the employment contract. If it is not specified, the 48-hour default applies and overtime calculations change accordingly.

Overtime requires employee consent before it is assigned. It cannot be imposed unilaterally. Under the Labor Code, overtime is capped at 40 hours per month and 200 hours per year. Certain sectors including electronics manufacturing and seasonal industries are permitted up to 300 hours per year under Decree 145/2020/ND-CP, subject to separate approval.

Overtime pay rates are fixed by law. Weekday overtime is paid at 150% of the normal hourly rate. Weekend overtime is 200%. Public holiday overtime is 300%. Night work between 10pm and 6am carries an additional 30% premium on top of the normal rate. Night overtime stacks a further 20% on top of that, making it the most expensive labour cost scenario in Vietnam.

Employees who are seven or more months pregnant, nursing a child under 12 months, or classified as disabled cannot be assigned overtime under any circumstances.

Leave entitlements and public holidays

Employees with less than five years of service are entitled to 12 working days of paid annual leave per year. This increases to 14 days for hazardous roles and 16 days for highly hazardous work. One additional day is added for every five years of service. Leave is pro-rated for employees with less than 12 months of tenure.

Vietnam has 11 public holidays per year. When a holiday falls on a weekend, the following Monday is substituted. The Tet holiday typically spans five consecutive days in late January or early February and has the most significant effect on operational capacity of any leave period in the year. Foreign employers hiring for the first time should build it into their project planning from day one.

Maternity leave is six months, funded through VSS rather than directly by the employer, provided contributions are current. Male employees are entitled to five days of paid paternity leave for standard births, seven days for C-section births, and 10 to 14 days for multiple births. From July 1, 2025, the window for taking paternity leave was extended from 30 to 60 days after the birth date.

Sick leave is funded through VSS after three days of illness with a valid medical certificate. Employees can claim between 30 and 60 days of sick leave per year depending on how many years of social insurance contributions they have accumulated.

Probation, termination, notice periods, and severance

Vietnam does not permit at-will termination. Ending employment requires a legally recognized ground, written notice, supporting documentation, and payment of all outstanding amounts within 14 working days of the termination date. Employers who miss that 14-working-day deadline face administrative fines and mandatory interest on late payments.

Grounds for lawful termination are defined in Article 36 of the Labor Code and include repeated failure to perform duties, prolonged illness, force majeure requiring workforce reduction, and retirement age. Termination outside these grounds is wrongful and can result in a reinstatement order, back pay for the full period since dismissal, and additional compensation of two months’ salary on top of severance.

Six situations prohibit termination entirely regardless of grounds: during sick leave with a medical certificate, during annual leave, during maternity leave, during pregnancy and nursing up to 12 months after birth, while an employee is serving elected representative duties, and when the employer has not followed required disciplinary procedures.

Severance is calculated as half a month’s average salary per year of service, based on the average of the last six consecutive months before termination. The working period used excludes any years covered by unemployment insurance contributions.

Since UI became mandatory in 2009, most of a long-serving employee’s tenure is already covered, so the employer’s actual severance obligation is often lower than it first appears. Severance is exempt from personal income tax.

Mutual termination agreements are commonly used to reduce procedural risk. Both parties sign a document specifying the end date, final payments, and any agreed compensation above the statutory minimum. This avoids the procedural requirements of unilateral termination and reduces the risk of a labor dispute.

Bonuses, benefits, and market expectations

The 13th-month salary is not legally required under the Labor Code. In practice, almost every employer in Vietnam pays one. It is expected by employees, commonly paid before Tet, and failing to pay it is a meaningful retention risk. Most EOR providers include it in their cost modelling by default, but confirm this explicitly before signing.

Meal and transport allowances can be structured as non-taxable allowances up to statutory thresholds, reducing the employee’s PIT liability. Getting this wrong turns a tax-efficient benefit into taxable income and produces a payroll correction that is uncomfortable to explain to a new hire. An experienced EOR structures these correctly from the first contract.

Beyond the 13th month, competitive packages in Vietnam’s urban tech and professional services sectors typically include private health insurance above the statutory VSS coverage, phone or internet stipends, annual performance bonuses, and equipment or home office support.

In Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, private health insurance has become close to expected for white-collar roles, even when the base salary is competitive.

For technology companies hiring senior engineers or product managers, equity or phantom equity arrangements are increasingly part of the conversation. These fall outside the standard EOR scope and require separate legal structuring. Raise this early with your provider rather than trying to layer it in after the employment contract is signed.

Hiring foreign nationals and work permits

Foreign nationals working in Vietnam for more than 90 cumulative days per calendar year require a work permit. The employer initiates and sponsors the application. Under Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, effective August 7, 2025, the expert qualification threshold requires a degree plus a minimum of two years of relevant work experience.

Workers in priority sectors including finance, technology, science, and digital transformation may qualify for exemption under specific conditions.

Processing takes 10 working days from the point a complete dossier is submitted to the provincial DOLISA. In practice, document preparation, notarisation, and translation from the employee’s home country add four to eight weeks to the total timeline. Plan for two to three months from the point of hire decision to the first working day for any foreign national.

Work permits are valid for two years and can be renewed once. After the first renewal expires, the employer must either transition the role to a Vietnamese national, apply for a new exemption, or rotate a different foreign employee into the position.

Fines for employing a foreign national without a valid permit are significant. The individual faces a fine of VND 15 to 25 million. The employing organisation faces VND 60 to 150 million. These are not discretionary warnings: DOLISA inspections actively check permit status and cross-reference it against VSS registration records.

An EOR that sponsors the work permit becomes the legal employer for the foreign hire. Confirm with your provider whether work permit sponsorship is included in the standard EOR fee or billed separately, what documents they need from your company to initiate the application, and how they handle the transition at renewal.

Permanent establishment risk

A permanent establishment (PE) is triggered in Vietnam when a foreign company has a fixed place of business, a dependent agent authorised to sign contracts on its behalf, or a services presence exceeding 183 cumulative days in any 12-month period.

A foreign company with multiple employees in Vietnam who regularly negotiate contracts, close deals, or generate local revenue faces real PE exposure even if no office or entity exists on paper.

Vietnam’s Corporate Income Tax Law, updated in October 2025, extended PE rules to digital platforms generating revenue from Vietnamese users. This expands the risk landscape for technology companies with even a small Vietnamese customer base, regardless of whether any employees are physically present.

A properly structured EOR eliminates the most common PE trigger by placing the employment relationship under the EOR’s local entity. The foreign company does not establish a local presence, does not register a place of business, and does not hold employment contracts directly.

That said, EOR coverage has limits. If your Vietnamese employees are signing local commercial contracts, closing sales, or conducting activities that look operationally like a registered business rather than a support function, the EOR structure alone does not fully address the exposure.

PE risk in Vietnam is assessed on substance, not just structure. Get tax advice alongside your EOR arrangement if your team in Vietnam is doing anything beyond internal support, software development, or back-office functions.

EOR versus setting up a local entity in Vietnam

Setting up a Vietnamese LLC requires registered capital, a physical office address, licensing through the Department of Planning and Investment, tax registration, and accounting infrastructure from day one. The process takes three to four months and creates ongoing reporting obligations that do not scale for a team of one or two.

An EOR gets a compliant contract signed and first payroll running in days. The break-even point where entity setup makes financial sense typically sits between eight and fifteen employees, depending on salary levels and EOR pricing.

One factor that rarely makes the comparison: entity dissolution in Vietnam is slow, involving tax clearance, VSS deregistration, and corporate filings. An EOR relationship ends when the employment contracts end.

Vietnam EOR onboarding: what to expect

Most providers complete onboarding in two to five days once all documents are submitted. The five steps are offer approval, contract preparation in Vietnamese, employee document collection, VSS registration, and payroll setup.

The most common delay is incomplete employee documentation. Vietnam’s VSS registration requires national ID, household registration documents, and prior insurance records. If a previous employer did not properly deregister the employee from VSS, the registration takes longer.

For foreign national hires, the work permit process runs in parallel and sets the actual start date. Do not commit to a start date until the work permit dossier is confirmed complete.

Vietnam’s labour outsourcing classification and the 12-month cap

Vietnam classifies EOR arrangements as labour outsourcing under local law. Labour outsourcing contracts are subject to a 12-month cap per engagement under the Labor Code, and certain job categories are restricted from outsourcing entirely.

Before signing with any provider, ask directly: how do you structure local agreements to address Vietnam’s labour outsourcing classification? What happens at the 12-month mark? A provider without a clear answer to both questions has not thought through Vietnam compliance at the depth this market requires.

When EOR is not the right fit for Vietnam

An EOR works well for teams hiring one to ten employees, testing the Vietnam market, or filling specific roles without entity infrastructure. Three situations where it does not work cleanly:

If your Vietnamese employees are signing local commercial contracts or generating revenue attributable to a Vietnamese business presence, PE risk is real and an EOR alone does not fully address it.

If you are approaching 15 or more employees with stable long-term headcount, run the numbers on entity setup. The monthly per-seat cost often tips the calculation at that scale.

If the roles you are hiring fall into job categories restricted from labour outsourcing under Vietnamese law, confirm with your provider how their local structure specifically handles this before committing.