Employment registration and foreign-worker permit (quota · entry approval · work permit · renewal)
外籍用工/工签
ການຂຶ້ນທະບຽນການນຳໃຊ້ແຮງງານ ແລະ ໃບອະນຸຍາດເຮັດວຽກຂອງແຮງງານຕ່າງປະເທດ (ໂກຕາ · ອະນຸຍາດນຳເຂົ້າ · ບັດອະນຸຍາດເຮັດວຽກ · ຕໍ່ອາຍຸ)
Handling agency: Dept of Employment (MOLSW)
Source: 劳动社福部就业管理司(Wayback存档) (https://web.archive.org/web/20231004105529id_/http://www.lmi.molsw.gov.la/Download/QTA%202023.pdf)
Where to apply
Quota: the MoLSW Skills Development & Employment Department (Arts. 18, 19). Entry approval and work permit: the provincial/Vientiane Labour and Social Welfare Department and employment service centres (Arts. 22, 25, 38, 39). The labour authority runs: ministry → provincial department → district office → village unit (Labour Law (revised), Art. 155).
Procedure
- Draw up the unit's Lao and foreign labour-use plan and report it to the labour authority (Labour Law Art. 37)
- Apply to the Skills Development & Employment Dept for the annual foreign-labour quota and get the quota permit (Art. 19; allocation within 15 working days)
- Against the quota, apply for entry approval at the provincial/Vientiane dept or an employment service centre (Art. 22; entry approval within 3 working days)
- Within 30 days of entry, apply for the work permit (Art. 25; issued within 5 working days)
- Renew before expiry as needed (up to 12 months each time, up to 5 years total) (Art. 10)
Statutory time limit
Quota allocation within 15 working days; entry approval within 3 working days; work permit issued/renewed within 5 working days (2021 Decision, Art. 38). Apply for the work permit within 30 days of entry (Art. 25); the quota permit lasts up to 1 year and ends on 31 December (Art. 21); contract terms of 1/3/6/12 months, up to 5 years total (Art. 10).
Common questions and pitfalls
- Foreign labour is capped (current): 15% manual and 25% mental/skilled of the unit's total Lao workers; large investment/government-priority projects follow the project contract or a special government instruction — over-quota hiring is not registered (2021 Decision, Art. 17)
- Lao workers first: prioritise Lao workers and plan to transfer skills to them (Labour Law Art. 68)
- Hard deadline: apply for the work permit within 30 days of entry, or face a fine (2021 Decision, Art. 25)
- Quota does not carry over: the quota permit ends on 31 December each year, and unused quota cannot be used the next year (2021 Decision, Art. 21)
- A work permit is not long-term residence: terms of 1/3/6/12 months, up to 5 years total, renewed on time (2021 Decision, Art. 10)
- Some people need no permit: foreign investors named in the operating licence, diplomats, persons on duty under a government agreement, meeting/training attendees, UN/international-organisation staff, etc. (2021 Decision, Art. 6)
- This is not social-security registration: NSSF enrolment is a separate matter to handle elsewhere
17 items to fill in