Name the work form before you name the start date

In plain termsDecree 219 lists statutory work forms for foreigners — not job titles on LinkedIn. Form A and form M are the employment limbs. ICT is an intra-company transfer. DOLISA reads the limb you file, not the story you tell.

Start here — three checks

How many limbs? 13
Employment A/M — contract first? yes
ICT prior months. 12 months

Four buckets, not thirteen rows

Your situation	Which bucket	If you mis-file
Local hire, salary, Vietnam contract	Employment limbs A/M. Written contract before start.	You start on a verbal offer and backfill the contract.
Same group, sent from the foreign employer	ICT limb. Prior-month proof at the sending entity.	You file as a local employee to skip the 12-month evidence.
Owner / member with charter capital under the small-owner line	Still a permit. yes	You treat “I own the company” as an automatic skip.
Board, contractor, or another listed limb	Still one of the 13. Ask counsel to name the letter. Do not invent a 14th.	You copy last year’s employment file onto a contractor.

Common wrong movesThe hub already prints the letter map. This page is the triage.

Changing the form letter after the person has already worked a month.
Using the ICT bucket without the prior-month proof.
Calling a contractor an employee to reuse an A/M template.

If HR already picked the wrong letterStop the start date. Re-file the real limb.

A title change after issue is a new permit, not a letter swap in email.
A pending wrong form is not permission to work.

Evidence and sources4 dated facts for Which of 13 Vietnam foreign-worker forms are you on

The readable briefing above uses these cells. Open a source only when you need to verify a number, date, or legal gate.

Number of statutory work-form limbs for foreign workers
NĐ 219/2025/NĐ-CP Điều 2 khoản 1 điểm a→m
13checked Aug 2026
Forms a and m require a written employment contract before start
NĐ 219/2025/NĐ-CP Điều 22 khoản 4 — forms a and m must sign written employment contract before planned start
yeschecked Aug 2026
Board/owner under 3bn VND is a permit-required work form
NĐ 219/2025/NĐ-CP Điều 2 khoản 1 điểm l — capital under 3 billion VND is a work form that requires a permit
yeschecked Aug 2026
Intra-company transfer: prior continuous employment months required
NĐ 219/2025/NĐ-CP Điều 7 khoản 13 điểm b
12 monthschecked Aug 2026

Work-permit hubThe 13-letter map lives there. This page is the bucket.Contract clausesA/M: write the contract before the start.New titleA later promotion is a new file, not a form-letter edit.

Common questions

Do I pick one of 13 letters myself?

The company names the work form in the dossier. There are 13 statutory limbs. Guessing the letter after you have already started is the wrong order.

If I am an employee, what must exist before Monday?

Forms A and M require a written labour contract before you start. A handshake or an offer email is not that contract.

I am transferring from the parent company. Is that employment form A?

Intra-company transfer is a different limb. The exemption path files prior months at the sending entity. Do not file it as a local hire to skip that proof.