Social Insurance Compliance Guide For Foreign Companies In Vietnam 2025

Key takeaways

• Foreign companies must follow social insurance regulations for businesses with a total contribution rate of 30% on payroll for employees with contracts of 12 months or longer
• From July 1, 2025, the Social Insurance Law 2024 and Decree 158/2025/ND-CP tighten regulations on eligible participants, contribution rates, and salary calculation methods for social insurance
• Violations can lead to multi-year back payments and administrative fines up to 150 million VND (~$6,000 USD) for organizations in Vietnam, seriously damaging company reputation
• Proper compliance with business social insurance regulations not only avoids legal risks but also creates a foundation for sustainable development and improved competitiveness
• Companies need to proactively review labor contracts, build transparent payroll systems, and establish regular update procedures

Business social insurance regulations in Vietnam are becoming increasingly strict, especially with the Social Insurance Law 2024 and Decree 158/2025/ND-CP officially taking effect from July 1, 2025. For CEOs and FDI business leaders operating in Vietnam, understanding these regulations is no longer optional – it’s an urgent requirement to ensure stable operations, avoid unnecessary legal risks, and build a sustainable development foundation in the Vietnamese market.

1. Eligible participants and participation conditions

Accurately identifying who must participate in social insurance is the first and most important step for FDI companies to avoid legal risks in Vietnam and ensure compliance with legal regulations.

Vietnamese employees

All Vietnamese employees working under indefinite-term labor contracts or fixed-term labor contracts lasting one month or longer must participate in mandatory social insurance.

The important thing to note is that Vietnamese law examines the actual nature of the employment relationship, not the contract title. Many companies try to “rename” labor contracts as cooperation agreements or subcontracting to avoid social insurance obligations. However, Vietnamese authorities will examine whether there’s actual payment of wages and management, direction, or supervision by one party.

Foreign employees

Foreign employees working in Vietnam must participate in mandatory social insurance when working under fixed-term labor contracts lasting 12 months or longer with employers in Vietnam. This condition is stricter than for Vietnamese employees, reflecting considerations about stability and long-term commitment of foreign workers.

Social insurance regulations for foreign companies include three cases where foreign employees are exempt from mandatory social insurance participation:

• Intra-company transfers according to regulations on foreign employees working in Vietnam
• Employees who have reached retirement age according to Labor Code regulations at the time of contract signing
• Cases under international treaties where Vietnam is a member with different provisions (such as the bilateral social insurance agreement between Vietnam and South Korea effective from January 1, 2024)

2. Required social insurance contributions

Understanding the social insurance contribution structure not only helps companies comply with Vietnamese laws but also supports accurate financial planning.

Participant	Retirement & Death Fund	Sickness & Maternity Fund	Work Injury & Occupational Disease Fund	Health Insurance Fund	Total
Employer	14%	3%	0.5%	3%	20.5%
Foreign Employee	8%	–	–	1.5%	9.5%

Employer contribution rates

Companies must contribute a total of 20.5% of the salary used as the basis for social insurance contributions. This includes 17% to the social insurance fund (14% for retirement and death fund, 3% for sickness and maternity fund), 3% to the health insurance fund, and 0.5% to the work injury and occupational disease insurance fund.

For companies operating in industries with high risks of work injuries or occupational diseases, if they meet conditions and receive approval from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, they may apply a lower contribution rate of 0.3%.

Foreign employee contribution rates

Foreign employees contribute a total of 9.5%, including 8% to the retirement and death fund and 1.5% to the health insurance fund. An important point is that foreign employees are not required to participate in unemployment insurance, so they don’t need to contribute to this fund. Learn more about social insurance benefits to better understand the benefits employees receive.

Total monthly social insurance cost = Salary basis for social insurance contributions × 30% (20.5% paid by company + 9.5% paid by employee)

Salary basis for social insurance contributions

The salary basis for social insurance contributions includes basic salary by job or position, salary allowances, and other supplementary amounts agreed to be paid regularly and consistently in each pay period. It’s important to clearly distinguish between stable allowances and supplements versus variable amounts based on productivity to build a transparent, law-compliant payroll system. Accurately calculating these amounts is an important part of total human resource costs that companies need to consider.

For cases where wages stated in labor contracts and wages paid to employees are in foreign currency, the salary basis for social insurance contributions is calculated in Vietnamese Dong based on the average exchange rate announced by 4 state-owned commercial banks in Vietnam at the end of January 2 for the first 6 months of the year and July 1 for the last 6 months of the year.

3. Registration procedures and documentation

The social insurance registration process for FDI companies requires thorough preparation and strict compliance with documentation requirements.

Initial unit code registration and participation

Companies without social insurance unit codes must register first before reporting employee additions. This process includes two main steps: registering the unit code and reporting employee additions to social insurance.

Unit code registration documents include:

1. Notarized copy of business registration certificate
2. Social insurance and health insurance participation and adjustment declaration form TK3-TS

Employee social insurance addition documents include:

1. Social insurance participation declaration for employees without social insurance codes form TK1-TS
2. Labor utilization report and list of employees participating in social insurance form D02-LT
3. Notarized copies of ID cards/citizen ID cards/passports of employees
4. Labor contracts signed between the company and employees

Special requirements for foreign employees

When preparing social insurance addition documents for foreign employees, personal information such as names, nationality, and gender must be written according to international phonetics. Personal documents must be translated into Vietnamese and properly notarized according to Vietnamese legal requirements.

Companies can submit documents directly to district/city social insurance offices in Vietnam or submit documents online through Vietnam’s Social Insurance Public Service Portal. The deadline for document submission is within 30 days offrom signing the labor contract. After receiving the results, companies will receive social insurance books and health insurance cards for employees.

4. Management, control, and important notes

Effective social insurance management requires companies to build strict internal control systems and regularly update legal changes.

Four important steps companies need to take

1. Review all labor contracts, including “renamed” contracts like cooperation agreements or subcontracting that have the nature of paid labor and management, as they still fall under mandatory social insurance participation requirements.
2. IdentifyClearly identify salary basis for social insurance contributions, distinguish between stable allowances and supplements versus variable amounts based on productivity to build transparent, law-compliant payroll systems, avoiding back payments or overpayments.
3. Pay attention to social insurance obligations for foreign employees, especially contracts of 12 months or longer, not exempt (intra-company transfers, retirement age, or different international treaty provisions).
4. Establish regular inspection and update procedures for social insurance policies, train responsible personnel to promptly grasp legal changes, especially as the Social Insurance Law 2024 and Decree 158/2025/ND-CP have tightened regulations on participants, contribution rates, and foreign currency salary conversion calculations. To ensure proper regulatory compliance, companies can refer to social insurance consulting according to the latest Social Insurance Law updates.

Benefits of proper compliance

Fully and accurately fulfilling social insurance obligations will help foreign companies comply with Vietnamese law, avoid administrative violations, and avoid multi-year back payments. At the same time, this helps optimize costs for reasonable and transparent human resources, improve financial management capabilities, and build a reputable image and professionalism in the eyes of partners and employees. Understanding employee benefit types, including mandatory social insurance, will help companies build effective human resource strategies.

Social insurance regulations for businesses are not just mandatory legal obligations but also an important part of human resource policies, social welfare, and corporate culture. In the context of increasingly clear and strict social insurance legal regulations, especially with the Social Insurance Law 2024 and Decree 158/2025/ND-CP taking effect, companies need to proactively update, review, and adjust promptly to ensure compliance.To have a detailed and continuously updated HR compliance handbook, business leaders need to act today by reviewing all labor contracts to correctly identify who must participate in social insurance, building transparent payroll systems that clearly distinguish social insurance-eligible income, and establishing regular inspection and update procedures to stay ahead of legal changes