LAW NO. 22/2026/QH16: 10 NEW POINTS ON VIETNAMESE WORKERS WORKING ABROAD, EFFECTIVE FROM 01/3/2027

On August 24, 2026, at the same time as the Law amending the Law on Investment, the XVI National Assembly passed Law No. 22/2026/QH16 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Workers Working Abroad under Contracts, effective from March 1, 2027. If Decree 283/2026/ND-CP (effective in September 2026) focuses on sanctions, Law No. 22/2026/QH16 directly amends the original regulations on operating conditions, rights and obligations of service enterprises, with about 10 groups of important new points.

1. Removing the procedure for obtaining permission but tightening the responsibility for information disclosure

1.1. Abolishing the procedure for applying for approval before preparing the labor force

Service enterprises no longer have to apply for approval from the state management agency in charge of labor before conducting labor force preparation activities (information, consultancy, preliminary selection, skills training cooperation); instead, they only need to notify in writing the commune-level People's Committee where the activity is carried out, at least 3 days before the start^[1].

1.2. Tighten the obligation to disclose and update information in 5 days

In return, enterprises must post on their websites and update them in the national database within 5 days from the date of change in legal representatives, personnel in charge, addresses of head offices, branches, training and orientation education institutions and other information as prescribed by the Government^[2].

2. Tightening the conditions for collecting training fees, prohibiting the authorization of selection through intermediaries

2.1. Training fees can only be collected after employees sign contracts

Service enterprises are only allowed to collect fees for training and fostering vocational skills and foreign languages after the employee has been selected and signed a labor contract by the foreign employer^[3], instead of collecting in advance as in some cases has occurred in practice.

2.2. Prohibition of delegating selection to third parties

Service enterprises must directly carry out the recruitment of employees, not authorized or assigned to other organizations and individuals^[4] - in order to limit recruitment through many intermediary layers, incurring unreasonable costs for employees.

3. Expanding the scope of restrictions and stronger sanctions against violating enterprises

3.1. Expanding the ban on sending massage workers to risk areas

The law expands the prohibition on sending massage workers to all forms of massage services abroad^[5], instead of only limiting them to restaurants, hotels, and entertainment establishments as before. The law also expands the prohibition on sending workers to areas at risk of armed conflict or areas where Vietnamese representative missions abroad recommend that citizens limit or not to visit^[6], instead of only applying to areas where conflicts occur as before.

3.2. Revocation of licenses, prohibition of re-licensing for 5 years

An enterprise or its legal representative whose license is revoked due to fraud, deception or serious damage to employees will not be granted a license to operate the service of sending workers to work abroad for a period of 5 years from the date of revocation^[7].

4. Supplementing the obligation to protect employees and handle the situation of bankruptcy of enterprises

4.1. The contract must clearly stipulate the termination, dispute and compensation

The contract for sending workers to work abroad must clearly stipulate the conditions for unilateral termination of the contract, the dispute settlement mechanism and the compensation liability between the parties[8]. Service enterprises must maintain representatives in the labor-receiving countries to support and protect the legitimate rights and interests of employees and promptly report incidents affecting their safety, life and health^[9].

4.2. Regulations when an enterprise is opened for bankruptcy procedures

When the service enterprise is accepted by the Court to open bankruptcy procedures, the enterprise is not allowed to sign a labor supply contract or a new selection contract, but the previously signed contracts continue to be implemented in accordance with the bankruptcy law^[10].

4.3. Decentralization of internship contract registration to localities

Internship and skill improvement contracts abroad with a term of 90 days or more will be registered at the provincial state management agency in charge of labor^[11] instead of the Ministry of Home Affairs as before, helping to shorten the time for processing procedures.

5. What should service enterprises prepare?

With Law No. 22/2026/QH16 having been passed and will officially take effect from March 1, 2027, service enterprises sending employees to work abroad should:

5.1. Review and adjust the process of preparing labor resources from the mechanism of "applying for approval" to "notifying" the commune-level People's Committee on time at least 3 days before implementation;

5.2. Develop an internal process to publish and update information on the enterprise's website and national database within 5 days every time there is a change in representatives, personnel, addresses, branches or training institutions;

5.3. Adjust the time and process of collecting training fees, ensuring that they are collected only after employees are selected and sign labor contracts;

5.4. Terminate the authorization of labor selection to a third party, reorganize the direct recruitment department within the enterprise;

5.5. Review the list of markets and industries that are sending workers to work, paying special attention to the group of massage services and areas recommended by Vietnamese representative agencies to be restricted;

5.6. Consolidate the overseas representative network, develop a process for reporting incidents and provide timely legal support to employees;

5.7. Consult the legal consultant to review the contract form, licensing documents and prepare the necessary conditions before the Law officially takes effect from March 1, 2027.

The above are the most important new points of Law No. 22/2026/QH16 amending and supplementing the Law on Vietnamese Workers Working Abroad under Contracts - a document that has a direct impact on all service enterprises operating in this field. In case of needing advice on the conditions for the service of sending workers to work abroad or relevant labor law regulations, Lexsol is always ready to accompany and support businesses.

See more: Decree 283/2026/ND-CP: New Fines In The Fields Of Labor And Social Insurance That Businesses Need To Know