Vietnam Work Permit for a Japanese Chef Under Decree 219 (2026)

Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, in force since 7 August 2025, replaced Vietnam's two-stage foreign worker approval with one combined application: a labour demand explanation plus a 5 day recruitment notice, filed 10 to 60 days before the chef starts. A chef with 3 or more years of experience usually qualifies as a "technical worker" on experience alone. Visa and residence card fees run about US$145 each; no official Vietnamese wage figure exists for a chef, so set pay by the method below.

1. Vietnam in numbers

• MAFF counted 1,820 Japanese restaurants in Vietnam in 2025, up 200 on 2023.
• The Japanese community is shrinking: 16,636 Japanese nationals lived in Vietnam on 1 October 2025, down 4.4% on the year and down from 21,819 in 2022. Nearly all (16,086) were long term residents rather than permanent residents (MOFA).

More restaurants and fewer Japanese residents means more of the demand for Japanese food now comes from Vietnamese diners, and a smaller pool of Japanese cooks already in the country. Most Japanese chefs will have to be brought in from Japan.

2. Fitting a chef into a work permit category

A foreign worker must be at least 18, have the professional or technical ability and experience for the job, meet health requirements and have no criminal record. Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, in force from 7 August 2025, then defines which positions a foreigner can hold. For a chef, two categories are realistic:

The technical worker route suits a traditionally trained Japanese chef without a degree. Authorities decide on paper, so document the experience: letters from previous restaurants with dates, positions and duties. A culinary school certificate of a year or more supports the "1 year of training" limb where the chef has one.

Some people are exempt from work permits altogether, for example an owner or capital contributor of a limited liability company with capital of at least VND 3 billion, or a foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen and working in Vietnam. Depending on the exemption, the employer must either report the worker or apply for confirmation of the exemption before work starts.

3. The combined application: labour demand and recruitment notice

Before Decree 219, an employer advertised to Vietnamese workers for at least 15 days, filed a report explaining the need for a foreign worker at least 15 days before the start date, and waited for written approval before applying for the permit. Decree 219 merged these into one application form. For "performing a labour contract" work, which is how a restaurant hires a chef, the employer must:

• include the explanation of labour demand in the form itself, stating why the position needs a foreign worker; and
• announce the recruitment of Vietnamese workers at least 5 days before submitting the application, per Article 11(1) of the Labour Code, stating the position (with details and field), the form of work, the location, duration and technical expertise required.

Write the explanation specifically. "We need a sushi chef" is weak. "The position requires Edomae sushi preparation including fish ageing and knife technique; we advertised for 5 days and no Vietnamese applicant had the required experience" is the kind of reasoning the form asks for.

4. Setting pay: no official figure, so a method

We found no official Vietnamese wage figure for a Japanese chef, expatriate or otherwise; Vietnam does not publish anything comparable to Thailand's or Hong Kong's occupational wage tables for this role. Do not invent one. Build the offer instead:

1. Start from what the chef earns in Japan. MHLW's 2025 survey puts regular cash pay for cooks in Japan at ¥286,600 a month; a chef moving to Vietnam expects at least that level of purchasing power once local cost of living and the expatriate package are counted in.
2. Compare with the region. Neighbouring markets do publish figures: Thailand's floor is THB 50,000 a month for a Japanese national, and our sushi chef salary by country page lists every official figure that exists. A candidate weighing Vietnam against Thailand or Singapore will use these.
3. Add the legal minimum wage as your floor for local staff, not the chef. Vietnam's regional minimum wage applies to the rest of your kitchen; see our Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City guides for the current Region 1 figure and how it is changing into 2027.
4. Price the full package, not just cash. Housing, flights and home leave are the norm for an imported head chef; see relocation packages for chefs.

5. Cost total and the fees we could confirm

Government fees are modest next to salary and relocation. Figures below are from JETRO's fee summary and the visa/TRC fee schedule under Circular 25/2021/TT-BTC as amended by Circular 62/2023/TT-BTC:

Add your own figures for a Vietnamese lawyer or agent if you use one; JETRO's summary does not price this, and rates vary by firm and province.

6. A schedule from a target start date

The employer must submit the work permit application at least 10 days and no more than 60 days before the chef is due to start work in Vietnam. Working backwards for a chef starting on 1 March:

Japanese nationals can enter Vietnam visa-free for stays of up to 45 days, useful for a pre-employment visit, but any work requires the permit first.

7. Residence, insurance and renewals

• Temporary residence card (TRC). Workers on labour visas can get a TRC; for the LD1, LD2 and PV1 categories it cannot exceed 2 years, and it replaces the need for a visa while valid.
• Health insurance. From 1 July 2025, foreign workers on a contract of 12 months or more with a Vietnamese employer are covered by compulsory health insurance, with limited exceptions such as intra-company transferees. The current rate is 4.5% of the insured salary, of which the employer pays two thirds.
• Plan renewals early. Treat each renewal as a fresh check of the chef's documents and the position, not a formality.

Train Vietnamese cooks around the Japanese chef: with a shrinking Japanese community, one sponsored head chef plus a trained local team is more durable than several imported cooks. See training local staff in Japanese cuisine and the contract checklist for what the offer should include. For a regional comparison, see Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.

General information checked in September 2026 against JETRO's summaries of Vietnamese law and Japanese government statistics, not legal or immigration advice. Vietnamese practice varies by province. Confirm requirements and current fees with the provincial labour authority or a Vietnamese lawyer before applying.