VietnamDirector on the card is not a legal category
In plain termsVietnamese labour law does not care that your email signature says Director. NĐ 219 (Decree 219/2025) asks whether you are a manager, executive, expert, technician — or an owner/board member on a specific exemption limb. Title is branding. Category is the file.
Start here — three checks
- Pull the charter, labour contract draft, and job description. They must tell one function story.
- Map that function to an NĐ 219 category before anyone designs a business card
- If exemption is the hope, test the actual limb (capital, ICT, marriage, under-90-days). Title is not a limb.
Decision map
| Signal | Lock now | If skipped |
|---|---|---|
| Group HQ title is Director; Vietnam duties are expert delivery | File expert with matching evidence. Keep the HQ title off the labour form if it fights the duties. | Officers read a manager file with expert evidence, or the reverse. |
| Person is legally the company representative on the ERC | Still classify the labour act of working in Vietnam. Representation on the ERC is not a work-permit waiver by itself. | Founders work for months on an investment-visa theory. |
| Executive / manager claim | Show authority: reports, budget, hiring. A manager with no one to manage is an expert question. | Category collapses into a weak expert file after refusal. |
| Two documents, two titles | Normalise before filing. Translations must use one category story. | The dossier argues with itself. |
| Exemption assumed because “directors don’t need permits” | Open the under-3bn and director-expert pages. Many directors still need a permit. | Unlawful work under a confident title. |
Common wrong movesWhere people lose time on this exact question.
- Importing the global grade structure onto the Vietnam application form.
- Writing “Director” on the permit form and “expert” on the degree letters.
- Treating ERC legal-representative status as a labour exemption.
If this fails, do this nextRecovery order — not a generic legal memo.
- Stop the filing. Pick one category from duties, not from the card.
- Rebuild evidence for that category only. Delete leftover titles from translations.
- If they already started work, freeze and re-enter on the correct permit or a real exemption limb.
Director and expert requirementsThe pillar door for who actually needs a permit.Capital under 3bn director caseOwner/board treatment when charter capital is modest.Work permit hubAll categories and exemption limbs.
Common questions
Does a Director title mean I do not need a Vietnam work permit?
No. Title is not a category and not an exemption. You still map to NĐ 219: manager, executive, expert, or a named exemption limb with its own facts.
What should match before we file?
Charter, job description, contract, and evidence must describe one function. If those four disagree, officers will not pick your favourite title.
Why is this a frequent trap?
Global org charts use Director as a grade. Vietnam uses legal categories. Copying the grade into the form is how strong people file weak dossiers.