{"id":985,"date":"2025-04-05T13:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T04:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/?p=985"},"modified":"2026-04-07T10:59:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T01:59:54","slug":"vietnam-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/en\/social-insurance-en\/vietnam-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"Eligibility Criteria and Calculation Methods for Social Insurance in Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In Vietnam, three main public insurance schemes are in place: social insurance (BHXH), health insurance (BHYT), and unemployment insurance (BHTN), and both companies and employees are obligated to participate.<br>\nFor many companies, it can be difficult in practice to understand \u201cwho must be enrolled\u201d and \u201cwhich amounts should be used as the basis for calculation.\u201d<br>\nIn this article, we will\u6574\u7406 Vietnam\u2019s social insurance system with a focus on <span class=\"swl-inline-color has-swl-deep-01-color\"><strong>eligibility criteria<\/strong> and <strong>calculation methods<\/strong><\/span>, and summarize the key points that Japanese companies should keep in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Who Is Covered by Vietnam\u2019s Social Insurance System?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First, let\u2019s confirm who is required to enroll in social insurance. The basic idea is that employees who have an employment contract with a Vietnamese entity for a certain minimum period are subject to mandatory enrollment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1-1. Basic Categories of Eligible Employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-big_icon_point\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Employees with an employment contract of 1 year or longer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Employees with an employment contract of 3 months or longer (including short-term contracts)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Full-time local staff<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Foreign employees (including expatriates) who meet the required conditions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"swl-fz u-fz-l\">Key point:<\/span><\/strong><br>\nAs a rule of thumb, employees with an <span class=\"swl-marker mark_orange\"><strong>employment contract of 3 months or longer<\/strong><\/span> are subject to mandatory social insurance enrollment. Even in the case of part-time or short-term contracts, some employees may still be eligible depending on the contract terms, so it is important to carefully review the contents of the employment contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Social Insurance Obligations for Foreign Employees (Expatriates)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Under Decree 143\/2018, foreign employees who meet certain conditions are also required to enroll in Vietnam\u2019s social insurance system. However, there are exceptions for Japanese expatriates and others, and misjudgments can lead to compliance risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2-1. Main Cases Where Enrollment Is Required<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-big_icon_caution\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The employee holds a valid work permit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The employee has a direct employment contract with a Vietnamese company<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Salary is paid by the Vietnamese entity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The employment contract is intended to continue for a certain minimum period (e.g., 1 year or longer)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2-2. Typical Cases Where Enrollment Is Not Required<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-big_icon_good\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The employee is covered by Japan\u2019s social insurance and can provide proof (such as an A1 form)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The employee has an employment contract only with the Japanese head office and no direct contract with the Vietnamese company<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The assignment is for a short-term project, with a short work permit period and no expectation of continuous employment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"swl-fz u-fz-l\"><span class=\"swl-inline-color has-swl-deep-01-color\">Important:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><br>\nThe treatment of expatriates requires case-by-case judgment, taking into account the type of employment contract and any arrangements to avoid double social insurance coverage between countries. It is crucial to work with local accounting firms or specialists and clearly define your company\u2019s policy in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Structure of Social, Health, and Unemployment Insurance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Vietnam\u2019s public insurance system is broadly composed of the following three schemes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"est-article__table-wrapper\">\n        <table class=\"est-article__table\">\n          <thead>\n            <tr>\n              <th>Category<\/th>\n              <th>Abbreviation<\/th>\n              <th>Main Purpose<\/th>\n            <\/tr>\n          <\/thead>\n          <tbody>\n            <tr>\n              <td>Social Insurance<\/td>\n              <td>BHXH<\/td>\n              <td>Benefits related to old age, sickness, maternity, occupational accidents, death, etc.<\/td>\n            <\/tr>\n            <tr>\n              <td>Health Insurance<\/td>\n              <td>BHYT<\/td>\n              <td>Reducing the burden of medical expenses<\/td>\n            <\/tr>\n            <tr>\n              <td>Unemployment Insurance<\/td>\n              <td>BHTN<\/td>\n              <td>Benefits during unemployment and support for vocational training<\/td>\n            <\/tr>\n          <\/tbody>\n        <\/table>\n      <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For each of these three schemes, both employees and employers contribute premiums at fixed rates specified by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Contribution Rates and the Salary Base<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Social insurance premiums are calculated based on an amount called the <span class=\"swl-marker mark_orange\"><strong>\u201csocial insurance salary base (Insurance Salary)\u201d<\/strong><\/span>. The legally defined contribution rates are applied to this salary base to determine the monthly premiums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4-1. Employee and Employer Contribution Rates (Typical Example)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"est-article__table-wrapper\">\n        <table class=\"est-article__table\">\n          <thead>\n            <tr>\n              <th>Category<\/th>\n              <th>Employee Contribution<\/th>\n              <th>Employer Contribution<\/th>\n            <\/tr>\n          <\/thead>\n          <tbody>\n            <tr>\n              <td>Social Insurance (BHXH)<\/td>\n              <td>8%<\/td>\n              <td>17.5%<\/td>\n            <\/tr>\n            <tr>\n              <td>Health Insurance (BHYT)<\/td>\n              <td>1.5%<\/td>\n              <td>3%<\/td>\n            <\/tr>\n            <tr>\n              <td>Unemployment Insurance (BHTN)<\/td>\n              <td>1%<\/td>\n              <td>1%<\/td>\n            <\/tr>\n          <\/tbody>\n        <\/table>\n      <\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4-2. Allowances Included in \/ Excluded from the Salary Base<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether a specific allowance should be included in the insurance salary base is determined based on the company\u2019s internal salary regulations and interpretation of the relevant laws. Typical examples are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Allowances Often Included in the Salary Base<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-big_icon_point\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Base salary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Job allowances \/ responsibility allowances<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Position allowances<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Skill allowances, service allowances, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Allowances Often Excluded from the Salary Base<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-big_icon_caution\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Meal allowances<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Transportation allowances<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Housing allowances<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Telephone \/ communication allowances<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bonuses (one-time payments)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"swl-fz u-fz-l\"><span class=\"swl-inline-color has-swl-deep-01-color\">Important:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><br>\nIf the treatment of allowances is left ambiguous, it can later be discovered that contributions have been \u201coverpaid\u201d or \u201cunderpaid.\u201d It is important to clearly define which allowances are included in the salary base in your internal regulations and align your understanding with your accounting firm or tax advisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. How to Calculate Social Insurance Premiums<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, let\u2019s look at the actual calculation formulas. We will start with the basic formulas for the employee and employer contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5-1. Calculation Formulas for Employee Contributions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-bg_grid has-border -border02\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">Social Insurance (BHXH)  = Insurance Salary \u00d7 8%\nHealth Insurance (BHYT)  = Insurance Salary \u00d7 1.5%\nUnemployment Insurance (BHTN) = Insurance Salary \u00d7 1%<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5-2. Calculation Formulas for Employer Contributions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-border -border02 is-style-bg_grid\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">Social Insurance (BHXH)  = Insurance Salary \u00d7 17.5%\nHealth Insurance (BHYT)  = Insurance Salary \u00d7 3%\nUnemployment Insurance (BHTN) = Insurance Salary \u00d7 1%<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In practice, these amounts are usually calculated automatically using a payroll system or Excel, and then reflected in monthly payslips as well as in government filings and payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Example: When the Insurance Salary Base Is 10,000,000 VND<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s calculate the employee and employer contributions for an employee whose insurance salary base is 10,000,000 VND.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6-1. Employee Contributions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-big_icon_good\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Social Insurance (BHXH) 8%: <strong>800,000 VND<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Health Insurance (BHYT) 1.5%: <strong>150,000 VND<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unemployment Insurance (BHTN) 1%: <strong>100,000 VND<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"swl-marker mark_orange\"><strong>Total employee contribution: 1,050,000 VND<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6-2. Employer Contributions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-big_icon_good\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Social Insurance (BHXH) 17.5%: <strong>1,750,000 VND<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Health Insurance (BHYT) 3%: <strong>300,000 VND<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unemployment Insurance (BHTN) 1%: <strong>100,000 VND<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"swl-marker mark_orange\"><strong>Total employer contribution: 2,150,000 VND<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, even with the same insurance salary base, the amounts borne by the employee and the company differ significantly. When simulating personnel costs or designing salary tables, it is important to understand the total cost, including social insurance contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Common Issues Resulting from Enrollment Gaps and Calculation Errors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you misjudge who should be enrolled or how to set the insurance salary base, the following types of problems may occur:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-big_icon_caution\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enrollment gaps are discovered and the company is required to make retroactive payments for several months or even several years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allowances that should have been excluded are mistakenly included, and employees subsequently demand refunds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mistakes in handling expatriates are pointed out during tax or social insurance inspections<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After revising salary regulations, the company fails to update social insurance settings, and the calculation logic no longer matches the actual situation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"swl-fz u-fz-l\">Key point:<\/span><\/strong><br>\nSocial insurance is an area that <strong><span class=\"swl-inline-color has-swl-deep-01-color\">must be reviewed regularly in line with salary regulation changes and legal revisions, rather than being \u201cset once and forgotten.\u201d<\/span><\/strong> Particular care is needed if settings and operations are highly dependent on specific individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"index_id16\">8. Summary: Understanding the System and Standardizing Operational Rules Are Key<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The eligibility criteria and calculation methods for Vietnam\u2019s social insurance can be difficult to grasp for first-time HR or payroll staff, because many of the underlying assumptions and local rules differ from Japan.<br>\nHowever, once the main points are organized, you can reduce them to relatively simple rules such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-big_icon_point\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Determine coverage based on \u201ccontract period\u201d and \u201cemployment type\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clearly define in internal regulations which allowances are included in the insurance salary base<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Standardize the contribution rates and calculation logic for both employees and the company<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For special cases such as expatriates, define a clear policy in consultation with experts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, the key is to break things down into simple, easy-to-follow rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with understanding the\u5236\u5ea6, building a <span class=\"swl-marker mark_orange\"><strong>\u201csystem that allows anyone to perform the calculations in the same way\u201d<\/strong><\/span><br>\nis the quickest way to stabilize social insurance operations at your Vietnam office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">For Companies Looking to Standardize Social Insurance and Payroll Operations in Vietnam<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>EST is an <span class=\"swl-marker mark_orange\"><strong>HR, labor, attendance, and payroll management system<\/strong><\/span> designed specifically for Vietnam offices.<br>\nBy managing social insurance salary rules as master data and configuring automatic calculation logic, EST helps standardize operations that tend to become overly dependent on individual staff members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-big_icon_good\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reflect your social insurance salary rules directly in the system<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Centralized management of attendance, payroll, and various allowances<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Flexibly update settings and respond to\u5236\u5ea6 revisions directly on screen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are facing challenges in payroll processing or HR and labor management at your Vietnam office, please feel free to contact us.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"p-blogParts post_content\" data-partsID=\"983\">\n<div class=\"swell-block-fullWide pc-py-60 sp-py-40 has-bg-img alignfull lazyload\" style=\"background-color:rgba(247, 247, 247, 0.41)\" data-bg=\"http:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC_1122.jpg\"><div class=\"swell-block-fullWide__inner l-article\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"http:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cta2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cta2.png 600w, https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cta2-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"swell-block-button blue_ is-style-btn_normal\"><a href=\"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/en\/download\/\" class=\"swell-block-button__link\"><span>Download Document<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"http:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cta1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cta1.png 600w, https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cta1-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"swell-block-button green_ is-style-btn_normal\"><a href=\"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/en\/contact\/\" class=\"swell-block-button__link\"><span>Contact<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Vietnam, three main public insurance schemes are in place: social insurance (BHXH), health insurance (BHYT), and unemployment insurance (BHTN), and both companies and employees are obligated to participate. For many companies, it can be difficult in practice to understand \u201cwho must be enrolled\u201d and \u201cwhich amounts should be used as the basis for calculation.\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"swell_btn_cv_data":"","_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/?p=952","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-insurance-en","en-US"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/column2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=985"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1089,"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/985\/revisions\/1089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/est.haro-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}