Coverage starts with Article 2(2) of the 2024 Law, not with any job
Short answer: not every foreign worker in Vietnam is covered by compulsory social insurance. Since 1 July 2025, coverage starts with Article 2(2) of Law 41/2024/QH15, and it applies only to a specific group; Decree 143/2018, which used to govern this, ceased to apply on the same date under Article 44(2)(b) of Decree 158/2025/ND-CP. A foreign worker is subject to compulsory social insurance when working under a fixed-term employment contract of at least 12 months with an employer in Vietnam. The Law excludes three cases: intra-company transfers under the rules on foreign workers in Vietnam, workers who had already reached retirement age when the contract was signed, and cases where an international treaty to which Vietnam is a party provides otherwise. A worker who falls outside the contract test or inside one of these exclusions should verify their status directly with the social insurance agency rather than assume coverage or non-coverage. The trigger for coverage is therefore the type and length of the employment contract, not the fact of employment itself.
The end of the contract or the permit is one of five lump-sum grounds
Short answer: the lump-sum benefit becomes available when the employment relationship ends or the permit expires without renewal. A covered foreign worker who has stopped participating may request a lump-sum social insurance benefit under Article 70(2)(đ) of Law 41/2024/QH15 when the employment contract ends, or when the work permit, practice certificate, or practice licence expires without renewal. Article 70(2) lists four other grounds: reaching pension age with fewer than 15 contribution years; a listed serious illness (cancer, paralysis or polio (bại liệt), decompensated cirrhosis, severe tuberculosis, AIDS); a work-capacity loss of 81% or more or an especially severe disability; and being eligible for a pension but no longer residing in Vietnam. Leaving Vietnam is not by itself a listed ground. Nothing in the reviewed material records whether a worker who leaves Vietnam before the contract ends or before the permit expires can still claim under point (đ). Articles 70, 78 and 79 of the Law set no filing deadline. A worker approaching the end of a contract or permit should treat that date as the point at which the claim becomes available, and confirm any filing window with the agency.
Form 14-HSB is the application form, not the whole file
Short answer: Form 14-HSB is the application form, but under Article 78(1) of Law 41/2024/QH15 the file also includes the social insurance book. The application for a lump-sum social insurance benefit uses the social insurance lump-sum benefit request form, Form 14-HSB. When the claim rests on illness or disability, Article 78(3) and (4) add a medical-record summary or discharge paper, or a disability assessment record. Older guidance (Official Dispatch 772/BHXH-CĐ of Ho Chi Minh City Social Security, 25 February 2022) also listed a passport with a certified Vietnamese translation, following Article 15(2) of Decree 143/2018, which stopped applying on 1 July 2025; the current Vietnam Social Security list for foreign workers (Decision 2222/QĐ-BHXH as amended by Decision 313/QĐ-BHXH, Appendix I, item 5.1(h)) does not include it, and the same decision lets the agency use its own contribution data in place of the paper book. Local offices may still ask to see your passport or ID card in the original for comparison, so confirm the requirements with the office where you file. This matters because the seven-working-day resolution period starts only from receipt of a complete file (Article 79(3)).
The agency has seven working days to resolve or refuse in writing
Short answer: the social insurance agency has seven working days to resolve the claim after receiving a complete application (Article 79(3) of Law 41/2024/QH15); the five working days found in older guidance came from Decree 143/2018, which no longer applies. If the agency refuses the claim, it must give written reasons. The seven-working-day period starts from receipt of a complete application, not from the date of filing if the application is incomplete. Nothing in the reviewed material records what happens if the agency fails to act within seven working days, or whether the seven-day period is suspended while the agency requests additional documents. A worker who files a complete application should note the date of receipt and follow up if no decision or written refusal arrives within seven working days.
You can authorize someone else, but foreign authorization may need an apostille or legalization
Short answer: a claimant who does not file or receive the benefit personally may authorize another person to do so, but authorization completed abroad may require an apostille or consular legalization. This is a general rule of the Law: Article 10(2)(d) of Law 41/2024/QH15 lets a beneficiary authorize another person in writing, and the authorization must be authenticated (chứng thực) under Vietnamese law. If you are leaving Vietnam before the payment is arranged, you can appoint a representative in Vietnam to submit the application and collect the money. The authorization document should state the scope of authority. When the authorization is signed outside Vietnam, it may need an apostille or consular legalization before the social insurance agency accepts it: since 11 September 2026 (Decree 293/2026/ND-CP) an apostille replaces consular legalization for documents from countries to which the Apostille Convention applies in relation to Vietnam, while documents from countries that are not parties to the Convention, or that objected to Vietnam's accession (Germany, Austria and Czechia, according to the HCCH status table), still go through consular legalization. Nothing in the reviewed material records a standard form for this authorization, so you should confirm the exact format with the social insurance office where you file. For practical context on managing money and payments as a foreigner in Vietnam, see banking-money-and-paying-rent-in-vietnam.
Some guidance says file within 10 days before the end date
Short answer: some published procedural guidance says applications should be filed within 10 days before the employment contract ends or the relevant permit or certificate expires, whichever occurs first. The 10-day window comes from Article 15(3) of Decree 143/2018, which stopped applying on 1 July 2025; Articles 78 and 79 of Law 41/2024/QH15 set no such window. If you rely on this timing, confirm it with the social insurance office where you will file, because the reviewed material does not record an official deadline. The seven-working-day resolution period starts from a complete application. If your work permit is expiring, see vietnam-visa-guide-for-long-term-renters for the visa side.
The benefit is calculated at 1.5 or 2 months per contribution year
Short answer: the lump-sum benefit is generally calculated at 1.5 months of average contributory salary per contribution year before 2014 and two months per year from 2014 onward, subject to the applicable law and rounding rules. These multipliers are set by Article 70(3)(a) and (b) of Law 41/2024/QH15. Your average contributory salary is based on the salary used to calculate your compulsory social insurance contributions, not your take-home pay. If your total contribution time is under one year, the benefit equals the amount actually paid in contributions, capped at two months of average contributory salary (Article 70(3)(c)); months beyond full years are rounded under Article 5(6) of the Law, so 1 to 6 extra months count as half a year and 7 to 11 as a full year. Because the formula changed in 2014, workers with contributions both before and after that year will have two different multipliers applied to the relevant periods. The social insurance agency must resolve the claim within seven working days of a complete application. For a broader look at money and payments as a foreigner in Vietnam, see banking-money-and-paying-rent-in-vietnam.
What is still worth confirming with the social insurance office
Short answer: the exemptions from coverage are listed in Article 2(2) of Law 41/2024/QH15 and the file is set by Article 78 (the social insurance book and the application on Form 14-HSB, plus medical papers when the claim rests on illness or disability), but the Law does not describe the filing procedure beyond the seven-working-day rule. Guidance written before Law 41/2024/QH15 took effect on 1 July 2025, such as the translated passport and the 10-day pre-filing window, rested on Decree 143/2018, which no longer applies. Under Article 2(2) of the Law, compulsory social insurance applies to foreign employees on a fixed-term contract of at least 12 months with an employer in Vietnam, except for intra-company transfers, people who had reached retirement age when signing the contract, and cases where an international treaty provides otherwise. The seven-working-day resolution period runs from receipt of a complete file (Article 79(3)); the Law only says the file goes to the social insurance agency and does not describe how to submit it or what happens if it is incomplete, so confirm this with the office where you file. For related practical guidance on health coverage and insurance as a foreigner, see healthcare-and-health-insurance-in-vietnam-for-expats.
Foreign workers employed by Vietnamese organizations: 12-month contract threshold
According to a Viet Nam Social Security News report dated 2025-06-06, the report states that under Clause 2, Article 2 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance (effective 2025-07-01), foreign nationals working in Vietnam must participate in compulsory social insurance when employed by an organization in Vietnam under an employment contract with a term of at least 12 months.
The cited Article 70 excerpt: routes for a one-time benefit
As of 20 October 2026, this section reports what the cited excerpt of Law 41/2024/QH15, Article 70, says; it is not a complete current legal interpretation. Under the cited text, a person must have ended social insurance participation and submitted a request. The listed routes include reaching pension age with fewer than 15 years of social-insurance contributions; going abroad to settle permanently; and having certain serious illnesses, including cancer, paralysis, decompensated cirrhosis, severe tuberculosis, or AIDS. The cited excerpt also says a person who does not choose the one-time benefit may instead choose a monthly allowance under Article 23.
One-time payment is now limited to specified cases
Under the 2024 Social Insurance Law, effective 1 July 2025, one-time (lump-sum) payment is restricted to specified cases. These include: reaching retirement age with fewer than 15 contribution years; permanent settlement abroad; certain serious illnesses; severe disability; and certain pre-2025 contributors who meet additional conditions.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I withdraw my social insurance in one lump sum when my work permit expires and I leave Vietnam?
- Yes, if you were covered. Under Article 2(2) of Law 41/2024/QH15, a foreign employee working in Vietnam under a fixed-term employment contract of at least 12 months with a Vietnamese employer is subject to compulsory social insurance, except for intra-company transfers, people who had already reached retirement age when signing the contract, and cases where an international treaty provides otherwise. Under Article 70(2)(đ), a covered worker who has stopped participating may request a lump-sum benefit when the employment contract is terminated or when the work permit, practice certificate, or practice licence expires without renewal. So if your work permit expires without renewal, you can request the lump sum; the rule does not make leaving Vietnam a separate condition.
- What form do I need to file for a lump-sum social insurance claim as a foreign worker?
- You file the social insurance lump-sum benefit request form, Form 14-HSB. This is the form the application uses for a lump-sum social insurance claim.
- How long does the social insurance agency have to pay my lump-sum benefit?
- The social insurance agency is required to resolve the claim within seven working days after receiving a complete application (Article 79(3) of Law 41/2024/QH15; the earlier five-working-day period came from Decree 143/2018). If it refuses, it must give written reasons.
- Can my friend or agent file the lump-sum claim for me if I have already left Vietnam?
- Yes. A claimant who does not file or receive the benefit personally may authorize another person to do so. If the authorization is completed abroad, it may require an apostille (for countries to which the Apostille Convention applies in relation to Vietnam, since 11 September 2026) or consular legalization (for other countries, including Germany, Austria and Czechia, which objected to Vietnam's accession).
- How is the lump-sum amount calculated for foreign workers?
- Article 70(3) of Law 41/2024/QH15 sets the lump-sum benefit at 1.5 months of average contributory salary per contribution year before 2014 and two months per year from 2014 onward, subject to the applicable law and rounding rules.
- What documents are required for a foreign worker's lump-sum social insurance claim?
- The file is the social insurance book and Form 14-HSB (Article 78(1) of Law 41/2024/QH15), plus medical papers when the claim rests on illness or disability. A passport with a certified Vietnamese translation appeared in older guidance under Decree 143/2018, but it is not on the current Vietnam Social Security list for foreign workers (Decision 313/QĐ-BHXH); local offices may still ask to see your passport in the original.
- Can I choose a monthly allowance instead of the one-time social insurance payment?
- According to the cited excerpt, a person who does not choose the one-time benefit may choose a monthly allowance under Article 23 of Law 41/2024/QH15. The excerpt does not detail the allowance amount or procedure.
- Can I still withdraw social insurance as a lump sum after 1 July 2025?
- Yes, but only in specified cases under the 2024 Social Insurance Law. These include reaching retirement age with fewer than 15 contribution years, permanent settlement abroad, certain serious illnesses, severe disability, and certain pre-2025 contributors who meet additional conditions.
Updated: 2026-10-20