Compulsory Social Insurance Scheme in Vietnam
Full compliance with regulations in host countries can reduce bureaucratic processes and penalties, demonstrate a commitment to development, and help establish a positive workplace for employees.
One notable point of ongoing compliance when doing business in Vietnam is contributing Social Insurance (SHUI) on monthly basis once the employment is officially engaged via employment contract.
Compulsory SHUI scheme in Vietnam includes three key elements, in particulars:
🔷 Social Insurance (SI)
🔷 Health Insurance (HI)
🔷 Unemployment Insurance (UI)
From 1 Jul 2025, Law on Social Insurance and Law on Health Insurance with certain changes put new implementation in SHUI scheme, where they introduce new concept “referral salary” [Mức lương tham chiếu] to replace “minimum basic salary” [Mức lương tối thiểu cơ sở], in order to set the threshold for monthly SHUI contribution.
Currently, referral salary is VND 2,340,000 (USD95) and equal to minimum basic salary. It is supposed to be changed from time to time following resolution from Vietnam Government.
Table below provide key point of SHUI scheme in Vietnam for quick reference.
| ITEMS | VIETNAMESE | EXPATRIATE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Condition for employment | N/A | Obtaining Work permit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employment | Probation (maximum 60 days)
Labor contract (definite or indefinite-term) |
Normally no probatio Labor contract (definite-term based on WP) |
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| SHUI contribution |
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| SHUI contribution (con’t) |
Threshold of SI & HI contribution is 20 times of “referral salary” i.e. VND 46,800,000 (equivalent to USD1,800) (*) Threshold of UI contribution is 20 times of “regional minimum salary” i.e. VND 99,200,000 (equivalent to USD3,800) (**) (*) From 1 Jul 2025, referral salary (RS) is used to replace minimum basic salary to set the threshold for SHUI contribution. RS is supposed to change from time to time following resolution from Vietnam Government. Currently, RS is VND 2,340,000 regulated in Decree 73/2024/ND-CP. (**) For region I | Central city, metropolitan areas i.e. Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh etc. |
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| SHUI Registration and Ongoing Compliance |
ER is liable on registering SHUI unit code for monthly contribution SHUI is contributed on MONTHLY basis, no later than the last working day of each month Any changes relating to new-hire, resignation, increasing/decreasing salary etc. must be informed to Vietnam SHUI authority on time. |
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