VietnamThe expired card is not an HR souvenir
In plain termsWhen the job ends, the work permit (WP) is already dead. DOLISA is the issuer you return the plastic to. Immigration is told by that authority — not by a Slack message from HR.
Start here — three checks
- Does the permit survive job loss? yes
- Days to return the card. 15 days
- Who tells Immigration? yes
Company checklist, not a stay calendar
| What HR still holds | What the statute asks | If you sit on it |
|---|---|---|
| Card of a person who quit last Friday | Return to the issuer inside 15 days. | You keep it “in case they come back next month.” |
| Card of a person dismissed mid-term | The permit already died with the job. Return it anyway. | You wait for the printed expiry date on the plastic. |
| Card after a title change that needed a new permit | Old card is spent. Return the spent one; file the new limb. | You laminate both and call it one file. |
| A photocopy in the personnel folder | The original goes back. A scan is not the return. | You email a JPEG and keep the original in the safe. |
Common wrong movesThis is not the worker asking how long they may remain.
- Treating 15 days as extra working days after the last payroll.
- Mailing the card to the worker “to sort out Immigration.”
- Assuming silence from DOLISA means Immigration was never told.
If the 15 days already lapsedReturn the card now. Do not invent a second clock.
- Send the original to the issuer. Keep a dated handover record.
- Open the worker-exit page only for the person’s stay question — not to excuse HR delay.
Evidence and sources3 dated facts for Employer must return an expired work permit in 15 days
The readable briefing above uses these cells. Open a source only when you need to verify a number, date, or legal gate.
- Days for employer to return an expired/invalid work permit to the issuerNĐ 219/2025/NĐ-CP Điều 31 khoản 115 dayschecked Aug 2026
- Permit dies when the employment contract ends — does not wait for printed expiryBLLĐ 45/2019 Điều 156 khoản 2 via NĐ 219/2025 Điều 30 khoản 1yeschecked Aug 2026
- On administrative revoke, issuer notifies employer and Immigration DepartmentNĐ 219/2025/NĐ-CP Điều 31 khoản 2yeschecked Aug 2026
For firmsHR duties around foreign hires.Worker exit clockThe person’s stay question after the job dies.New titleA promotion spends the old card too.
Common questions
Who physically returns the work-permit card?
The employer. The 15-day clock is a company duty to the issuer. It is not a grace period for the worker to keep working.
Does keeping the card in a drawer pause Immigration?
No. The issuing authority notifies Immigration when the permit is revoked or returned. Parking the plastic in HR does not hide the job loss.
Is this the same as asking how long the person may remain in Vietnam?
No. The worker’s exit path after the contract dies is a different page. This page is only the company’s return of the expired card.