Vietnam talent visa and 5-year PIT exemption: what the draft resolution means for employers

The Vietnam talent visa is a proposed new visa track for foreign experts who take on state-designated strategic tasks, paired with a 5-year Personal Income Tax (PIT) exemption on their salary and bonuses. Both measures sit in a draft National Assembly resolution published for comment in October 2026, so nothing has changed for payroll yet. This guide explains what the draft says, who it would cover and what HR and finance teams should prepare.

Updated: October 26, 2026

What is the Vietnam talent visa proposal?

The Vietnam talent visa (“Thị thực Nhân tài Việt Nam”) is a UĐ1 incentive visa that the draft would grant to foreign talent and their foreign collaborators who work on a strategic task. It is part of a broader package that ties visas, work permits, tax and funding to specific national projects rather than to job titles.

The package comes from a draft National Assembly resolution on special mechanisms and policies for talent. The Government’s submission states it implements Conclusion 105-KL/TW of the Party Central Committee on attracting and employing talent in key sectors. The draft submission on the Government portal is dated October 16, 2026.

The central idea is a shift from screening people by degrees and seniority to selecting them for a defined task with defined outputs. Ministers, heads of central agencies and provincial People’s Committee chairs would publish lists of strategic tasks, then select talent by competition, direct invitation or commissioning.

Who would qualify as talent under the draft resolution?

Talent would be anyone with outstanding ability, creativity, special potential or breakthrough results who contributes to a strategic task. The draft says selection does not require an academic title, degree, rank, seniority or a formal talent designation, except where a profession legally requires a licence.

Three groups fall within scope under Article 1:

• Talent who are Vietnamese citizens, overseas Vietnamese or foreign nationals.
• Agencies, public service units and enterprises of every ownership type.
• Other organisations and individuals involved in the tasks.

The draft also extends benefits to “collaborators” (cộng sự) who meet the conditions set by the resolution. For an FDI employer, that matters: a foreign specialist hired into a project team led by a recognised talent could be covered, not only the team lead. The Government would issue the detailed national criteria framework after adoption.

How would the 5-year PIT exemption for foreign experts work?

The PIT exemption for foreign experts would cover salary, bonuses and other income earned directly from a strategic task for 5 years, starting when qualifying income first arises. It would apply only to income not already exempt under current law, in both the public and private sectors.

Clause 3 of the same article adds two limits. An incentive cannot be applied twice to the same income or cost, and any portion already funded by the state budget does not count. The draft submission also says a confirmation mechanism for eligible tasks and income will be needed, so payroll teams should expect paperwork, not an automatic exemption.

The proposal widens incentives that already exist. Article 5 of PIT Law No. 109/2025/QH15, in force from July 1, 2026, already grants 5-year exemptions to high-quality digital technology personnel and to high-tech personnel doing R&D in priority or strategic technologies. The draft would extend the same 5-year logic to any strategic task, including fields such as finance, infrastructure and basic science.

What would the PIT exemption save in practice?

For a non-resident foreign expert, the saving equals the 20% flat rate on Vietnam-source employment income. Article 21 of PIT Law No. 109/2025/QH15 taxes non-residents at 20% of salary received for work in Vietnam, wherever it is paid.

Example: Company A, an FDI manufacturer, seconds an engineer to a provincial semiconductor task for four months. The engineer stays fewer than 183 days and is a non-resident. Salary for work in Vietnam is VND 200,000,000.

1. PIT today: VND 200,000,000 x 20% = VND 40,000,000.
2. PIT if the task and income are certified under the draft: VND 0 on the qualifying salary.
3. Extra CIT deduction for Company A: 50% x VND 200,000,000 = VND 100,000,000 of additional deductible expense.
4. CIT effect at the standard 20% rate: about VND 20,000,000 less corporate tax, if Company A is profitable.

For tax-resident experts, the saving depends on the progressive schedule and family deductions, so the gross-to-net model has to be rerun for each person. Our expat payroll guide for Vietnam walks through the resident calculation.

What does the UĐ1 visa change for residence and family?

Under the draft, foreign talent and foreign collaborators on a strategic task could receive a UĐ1 visa, then a matching temporary residence card. Spouses and children under 18 could receive UĐ2 visas and residence cards.

The UĐ1 visa already exists. Law No. 118/2025/QH15, which amended the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners, created UĐ1 and UĐ2 visas of up to 5 years and UĐ1 residence cards of up to 10 years. Until now UĐ1 has been granted directly only to high-quality digital technology personnel; other groups had to wait for a law or National Assembly resolution. The talent resolution would be that resolution.

The most unusual clause is about timing. The UĐ1 visa could be considered without a labour contract or task contract at the time of application, if a competent authority confirms the person falls within the talent attraction programme. The draft comparison table describes this as following a “Global Talent Visa” model.

Would talent visa holders get a work permit exemption?

Yes. The work permit exemption in the draft covers foreign talent doing professional, research, teaching, advisory, management or other work that matches the purpose of the attraction. They could work for several agencies or enterprises under lawful contracts without a separate permit for each workplace.

Changing employers, or working for more than one at the same time, would not require a new visa while the current one is valid. Today, Article 154 of the Labour Code exempts high-quality digital technology personnel from work permits, but most foreign hires still need a permit tied to one employer.

A work permit exemption does not remove other employer duties. Exempt foreign workers still have to be reported, and payroll still needs a valid basis for PIT, Social Insurance and the labour contract. The guide to working in Vietnam as an expat covers the current permit and residence steps.

What do employers get under the draft?

An enterprise that uses talent directly on a strategic task could add 50% of the actual salary and bonus paid to that talent to its deductible expenses for Corporate Income Tax (CIT). In effect, the cost would be deducted at 150%.

Several news reports described this as a 200% deduction. The October 16 Government submission and the Ministry of Home Affairs comparison table both say “an additional 50%”. The comparison table states the purpose is to let enterprises claim 150% even when the work is not pure R&D, which current CIT Law No. 67/2025/QH15 reserves extra deductions for.

The extra deduction would not apply to cost already supported by the state budget, and it cannot be stacked with an equal or higher incentive on the same cost. Talent at enterprises carrying out tasks without state funding would still qualify for the tax incentives.

Is the Vietnam talent visa in force yet?

No. The Vietnam talent visa and the PIT exemption are proposals in a draft resolution that was open for public comment in October 2026. The draft is expected to go to the 16th National Assembly for review at its second session, and the effective date in the text is still “… 2026”.

Even after adoption, the Government still has to issue the national criteria framework, the process for publishing and assigning tasks, the contract template and the procedure for confirming tax eligibility and issuing visas. Until those exist, payroll should keep withholding PIT under current rules.

A sensible preparation sequence for HR and finance teams:

1. List foreign staff already working on government-linked, R&D, digital or infrastructure projects that could be named strategic tasks.
2. Check whether any of them already qualify under the current 5-year exemptions in Article 5 of the PIT Law.
3. Set up payroll so income from a specific task can be tracked on a separate line from regular salary.
4. Keep the CIT evidence ready: contracts, task approvals and proof of actual payment.
5. Recheck after the National Assembly vote; the final text can change article numbers and conditions.

What should payroll watch when a PIT exemption for foreign experts applies?

The main risk is mixing exempt and taxable income in one figure. The exemption covers income “directly” from the strategic task, so an expert who also does regular work for the same employer will have both types of income in the same month.

Payroll should record the start date of the 5-year window, because the clock starts with the first qualifying income, not with the visa date. Annual PIT finalization, year-end certificates and any later tax audit will rely on that split. Exempt income is still reported, which is why the year-end file matters.

The tax article in the draft covers PIT and CIT only. It does not address Social Insurance, so foreign employees under a labour contract of 12 months or more remain subject to the current rules explained in our guide to the Social Insurance contribution rate for foreigners. The wider July 2026 changes to deductions and filing cycles are in Vietnam payroll, tax and Social Insurance changes from July 2026.

How terra helps employers prepare expat payroll for the talent incentives

Incentives like the Vietnam talent visa only save money when payroll can prove which income qualifies. terra runs monthly payroll for FDI companies with foreign staff and keeps the evidence that tax authorities ask for.

• Splits exempt and taxable income by task, so the 5-year exemption window is tracked per person.
• Recalculates gross-to-net for resident and non-resident experts whenever their status changes.
• Prepares PIT declarations, annual finalization and income certificates in English for headquarters.
• Keeps Social Insurance and work permit data aligned with payroll for foreign staff.

See how the terra payroll service handles expat payroll in Vietnam.

Conclusion

The Vietnam talent visa draft combines a UĐ1 visa, a multi-employer work permit exemption, a 5-year PIT exemption and a 150% CIT deduction for strategic tasks. None of it applies yet, and the conditions will depend on the final resolution and Government guidance. Employers with foreign experts should prepare their payroll data now and wait for the adopted text before changing withholding.