Vietnam's bet on talent
Vietnam is competing for skilled people, Vietnamese or foreign. A new government plan, a draft five-year tax break and easier work permits all landed in one week.
From the editor
Welcome to the first OV Vietnam Brief.
I grew up in Germany and moved to Vietnam in 2024. Since then, this keeps surprising me: much of the most useful news about Vietnam never reaches English, or it arrives without the context you need to act on it.
At OV, our 1,000+ members frequently ask us: what is changing in Vietnam, and what does it mean for me? This brief is our answer, every week, in about five minutes.
This week the big story is talent. Vietnam wants more skilled people, wherever they come from, and many of our members will see themselves in it.
What do you want to understand better about Vietnam? Email me and tell me.
Quang Do, Editor · Founder, Overseas Vietnamese
The big story: Five tax-free years for talent, Vietnamese or foreign
On 23 October the government issued Resolution 336, its action plan for attracting and using talent in key sectors. It sets aside about 0.1% of GDP a year for this work. It opens strategic projects to experts from abroad: Overseas Vietnamese and international experts can now lead or co-lead them, not only advise. (Báo Chính phủ)
The bigger offer is still a draft. A National Assembly resolution, written by the Ministry of Home Affairs and published for comment on 16 October, would exempt talent and their collaborators from income tax on salary and bonuses for five years. Employers could deduct an extra 50% of that pay. Foreign talent would get a new Vietnam Talent Visa and no work permit requirement, and their spouses and children under 18 a separate visa. (draft text, LSVN)
The draft says talent can be Vietnamese citizens, Overseas Vietnamese or foreigners, and that no academic title, degree or seniority is required. The tax break is tied to work on strategic tasks, and the detailed criteria come later. What already applies today, from citizenship to work permits, is in our guide to working in Vietnam as an Overseas Vietnamese. (Báo Quốc tế)
- 2 Aug: Resolution 23 calls the 6.5 million Vietnamese abroad a strategic resource (what it means)
- 16 Oct: Draft talent resolution published for comment
- 20 Oct: Decree 393 widens work permit exemptions
- 23 Oct: Government Resolution 336 sets the talent plan
- 21 Nov: National Assembly session the draft is planned for ends
- 5 Dec: Decree 393 takes effect
Why it matters: Vietnam aims for high income by 2045 with a population that is getting older (see the chart below). Growing richer with fewer young workers needs more skilled people, and Vietnam is now competing for them abroad as well as at home.
What to watch: Two things. Whether the draft gets a debate date before the session ends on 21 November, and the criteria for who counts as talent. They decide whether the offer reaches many professionals or a small group of top experts.
Chart of the week: Vietnam is getting older, fast
People aged 60 and over in Vietnam, millions. 2034 to 2074 are projections.
Source: national statistics office and UNFPA, population projection 2024 to 2074, via Tuổi Trẻ.
Vietnam had 14.2 million people aged 60 or over in 2024. The official projection has 20.9 million by 2034, when Vietnam becomes an aged society (14% aged 65 or over), and 27.5 million by 2044, a year before the 2045 high-income target. Fewer young workers for every older person means growth has to come from skills, which is the backdrop to this week's talent plan.
Also this week
Saigon's financial centre names its first 10 members
The Vietnam International Financial Centre in Ho Chi Minh City named its first 10 official members on 28 October, among them VinaCapital International Partners, Gemadept, REE Energy Finance and Keppel Asset Management. Together they committed $2.7bn by 2027. Rules for investment funds are due in November. (Viet Nam News)
Why it matters: the centre is moving from plans to firms that hire. Ho Chi Minh City also rose 17 places to 67th in the latest Global Financial Centres Index (VIR). See finance jobs on our job board.
Money sent to Saigon from abroad picks up again
Ho Chi Minh City received $2.835bn in remittances from July to September, up 3.6% on a year earlier and the first quarter of growth this year. January to September is still down 13.8%, at $6.87bn. (Viet Nam News)
Why it matters: the city received $10.34bn last year, and the State Bank branch expects $9.5bn to $9.8bn this year. The talent plan asks Vietnamese abroad for their skills as well as their money.
Land prices set every three years, and a tax on idle land
The amended Land Law would have provinces set land price tables every three years instead of every year. The Assembly debates it today and is expected to vote on 21 November. Separately, the government proposed a 0.2% tax on land left unused or used late, the highest rate in the law, from 1 January 2027. (VnExpress, Thời báo Tài chính)
Why it matters: land price tables set what the state pays in compensation and charges in land fees, so they move property costs. Holding land without using it would also cost more.
Banks told to cut rates on deposits and loans
On 21 October the State Bank told banks to cut average rates on new deposits of six months or more by at least 0.5 points by the end of the year, and to cut lending rates in practice, not only on paper. Banks that do not follow risk smaller credit growth quotas. (CafeF)
Why it matters: borrowing should get cheaper for homes and businesses, and savings rates in dong will fall.
What changes for you
Rules that change daily life for people who live, work or invest here.
Working here on a foreign passport: 18 ways to work without a work permit, from 5 December
Decree 393 lists 18 cases where foreigners need no work permit. They include owners with VND 3bn or more in a limited liability company, doctorate holders who teach or do research, experts in strategic technology, and foreign spouses of Vietnamese citizens who live in Vietnam. Overseas Vietnamese on a foreign passport follow the same rules as other foreigners. (VOV, LuatVietnam)
What to do: check whether you fit a case before your next permit renewal. Our guide to working in Vietnam as an Overseas Vietnamese explains every route, including citizenship.
Buying property: Foreigners may lose the right to buy houses
The amended Housing Law, presented to the Assembly on 22 October, drops the right of foreigners to own standalone houses, so they could buy apartments only. A September draft kept the 30% cap per building and the 50-year term, renewable once. No vote date is set yet. (LSVN, Tạp chí Kinh tế - Tài chính)
What to do: what you can buy depends on your status: Vietnamese citizen, person of Vietnamese origin or foreigner. If you plan a house rather than an apartment, follow the final text before you sign. We explain the groups in Buying property in Vietnam as an Overseas Vietnamese.
Going home for Tết: 4 to 10 February 2027 for public employees
Public employees get seven days off, from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February 2027 (28 Chạp to mùng 5). (CafeF)
What to do: if you plan to fly in for Tết, book around these dates now.
Coming up
- 29 October: the Assembly debates the Land Law.
- November: the financial centre in Ho Chi Minh City sets its rules for investment funds.
- 21 November: the Assembly session ends with its final votes, the Land Law among them.
- 5 December: the new work permit exemptions take effect.