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Medical Certificate Vietnam: Work Permit Health Check Guide

Medical certificate Vietnam rules make a health certificate one of the documents you need for a work permit. Under Decree 219 of 2025, it must come from a qualified medical facility, and a certificate from abroad is accepted only in limited cases. This guide explains the rules, what the check includes, and the order to do things in.

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The rule now: Decree 219

Vietnam's rules on foreign workers changed on 7 August 2025, when Decree 219 of 2025 took effect. It replaced the provisions on foreign workers in Decree 152 of 2020 and its 2023 amendment. Permits already issued under the old rules can be used until they expire.

A work permit file must include a health certificate from a qualified medical facility. The same rule applies to work permit exemption certificates and to extensions. There is one exception. You do not need a paper certificate if your health check result is already shared through the national health database.

Work permits and exemption certificates last up to two years and can be extended once.

Sources: Decree 219/2025/ND-CP on foreign workers in Vietnam, English text on LuatVietnam.

What else goes in the application

The health certificate is one of several documents. Under Decree 219 of 2025, the work permit file also needs a letter from the employer on why it needs a foreign worker. It needs a valid passport, a criminal record card and proof of the job. The steps can be done online through the National Public Service Portal.

For a work permit exemption certificate, the decree lists a form, the health certificate and a valid passport. It also asks for two colour photos, 4 cm by 6 cm, on a white background, with no glasses, and proof that the exemption applies.

The UK government adds a point many people miss. Degree certificates, job qualifications and police checks must be legalised before Vietnamese officials accept them. And they can only be legalised in the country that issued them. Start that early.

Sources: Decree 219/2025/ND-CP on foreign workers in Vietnam, English text on LuatVietnam; UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Living in Vietnam (updated 23 September 2025).

When names do not match

Paperwork can stall on a small detail. The UK government says the name on documents for a work permit sometimes does not match the passport, for example when a middle name is missing from a degree certificate. In that case you may need an affirmation that both names are yours. It also says its affirmation service in Vietnam stopped from 1 July 2025, so check with your own embassy what it offers now.

Make sure the name on your health certificate matches your passport exactly, letter for letter.

Sources: UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Living in Vietnam (updated 23 September 2025).

Can I use a certificate from my home country?

Only in limited cases. Decree 219 accepts a certificate from a medical facility abroad only in one case. Vietnam and that country must have a treaty or deal to recognise each other's certificates. Even then, the certificate must have been issued no more than 12 months before the date the application is filed. The Ministry of Health's Circular 32 of 2023 sets a tighter rule for foreign certificates in general: they need the same kind of treaty or agreement, must be no more than six months old, and must be translated into Vietnamese with the translation authenticated. Because the two limits differ, ask the labour office which one it applies.

If your country has no such agreement, plan to have the check in Vietnam. Ask your employer or their visa agent which case applies to you before you book anything.

Sources: Decree 219/2025/ND-CP on foreign workers in Vietnam, English text on LuatVietnam; Ministry of Health, Circular 32/2023/TT-BYT detailing the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, English text on LuatVietnam.

What the health check includes

Since 1 January 2024, health checks for Vietnamese citizens and for foreigners living and working in Vietnam, including checks for employment, follow the Ministry of Health's Circular 32 of 2023. It replaced the older Circular 14 of 2013, which stopped having effect that day. Under Circular 32, the check must be done at a licensed medical facility, and an adult's check follows the medical certificate form (Form No. 01 in Appendix XXIV), with a 4 cm by 6 cm photo on a white background taken within the last six months. A guide from Vinmec, a Vietnamese hospital group, lists what the check covers:

  • physical measures: height, weight, body mass index, pulse and blood pressure;
  • a doctor's exam of your body systems and a surgical check, with a mental health check;
  • checks of eyes, ears, nose and throat, teeth, skin, and a gynaecology exam for women;
  • tests: a full blood count, blood chemistry, urine test, and screening for malaria, syphilis, HIV and hepatitis B;
  • imaging and heart tests: a chest X ray, an abdominal ultrasound and an electrocardiogram.

The same guide says the doctor who signs the result must hold a senior specialty degree (Level I or Level II) or a master's in medicine. If the doctor and the patient do not share a language, an interpreter is needed.

Sources: Ministry of Health, Circular 32/2023/TT-BYT detailing the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, English text on LuatVietnam; Vinmec, Health check to apply for a work permit: what should be examined.

How long is the certificate valid?

Circular 32 of 2023 says a medical certificate is valid for 12 months from the date the doctor signs the health conclusion. The Vinmec guide gives the same 12 months. An earlier article from the Vietnam Law and Legal Forum, published in 2018 under the older rules, said a certificate used for a work permit had to be no more than six months old; that was before Circular 32. Foreign certificates have their own limits, set out in the section above.

Your employer or the labour office can confirm which time limit they apply to your file.

Sources: Vinmec, Health check to apply for a work permit: what should be examined; Vietnam Law and Legal Forum, Where can foreigners get health check ups in Vietnam?, 10 December 2018; Ministry of Health, Circular 32/2023/TT-BYT detailing the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, English text on LuatVietnam; Decree 219/2025/ND-CP on foreign workers in Vietnam, English text on LuatVietnam.

Where you can have it done

Circular 32 of 2023 says health checks are done at medical facilities licensed to provide medical examination and treatment. The Vietnam Law and Legal Forum named hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on a 2015 Ministry of Health list made under the older Circular 14. Lists change, so ask the facility directly whether it issues work permit health certificates for foreigners, and ask for the certificate in the form your employer needs.

Our family clinic picks are about everyday care, not paperwork.

Sources: Vietnam Law and Legal Forum, Where can foreigners get health check ups in Vietnam?, 10 December 2018.

The order of steps

  1. Confirm with your employer which documents are needed and whether your home certificate could count.
  2. Book the health check at a licensed facility. Bring your passport and photos; ask in advance whether you need to fast for blood tests.
  3. Collect the certificate and check that your name and passport number match exactly.
  4. Your employer files the work permit application, often online. It sends the certificate, your passport, a criminal record check and proof of the job.
  5. Once you have the permit and a contract of 12 months or more, you will usually join state social insurance; see our social insurance guide.

Our methodology page explains how our editors check every source.

This guide explains published rules. It is not legal advice. Your employer, a licensed agent or the labour authority can confirm what applies to your application.

Sources: Decree 219/2025/ND-CP on foreign workers in Vietnam, English text on LuatVietnam.

Common questions

Do I need a health check for a work permit in Vietnam?
Yes. Under Decree 219 of 2025, a work permit file must include a health certificate from a qualified medical facility. The only exception is when the result is already shared through the national health database.
Can I use a medical certificate from my home country for a Vietnam work permit?
Only in one case. Vietnam and your country must have a deal to recognise each other's certificates, and the certificate must be no more than 12 months old when the file goes in.
How long is a Vietnam work permit health certificate valid?
12 months from the date the doctor signs the health conclusion, under the Ministry of Health's Circular 32 of 2023. A 2018 legal article written under older rules said six months, so ask your employer or the labour authority which limit they apply.
What tests are in the work permit health check?
The check follows the medical certificate form in Circular 32 of 2023, and Vinmec's guide says it covers a physical and clinical exam and blood and urine tests. It also screens for HIV, hepatitis B, syphilis and malaria, and adds a chest X ray, a stomach ultrasound and a heart trace (ECG).
How long does a Vietnam work permit last?
Up to two years. Under Decree 219 of 2025 a work permit can be extended once.

Sources

Figures checked against these sources. Our method.