Vietnamese rules you should know

Service fees under Vietnamese law, licensed companies, debt, and your Vietnamese nationality.

What a Vietnamese labour-export company may charge

The Law on Vietnamese Workers Working Abroad under Contract (Law 69/2020/QH14) caps the service fee (tiền dịch vụ) a licensed company may take from a worker (Art. 23). According to a secondary source (the official text could not be opened): at most 1 month's wage per 12 months of contract, at most 3 months' wages for contracts of 36 months or more, and at most 0.5 month's wage per 12 months on an extension. On top of the service fee, a broker commission (tiền môi giới, Art. 22 and Circular 02/2024/TT-BLĐTBXH, in force since 15 May 2024) of at most 0.5 month's wage per 12 months of contract, at most 1.5 months' wages for 36 months or more, may be passed on to you. A newer circular may have changed details. Check the current text before you sign.

• Get every payment in writing, with a receipt. Compare with the German limits: a German placement agent may take at most €2,000, and only after success (§ 296 SGB III); see Avoiding scams.
• Only companies with a licence for sending workers abroad may do this business. Ask to see the licence. The Ministry of Labour (MOLISA) is reported to have been merged into the Ministry of Home Affairs on 1 March 2025; which office now keeps the register was not checked.
• Students and Ausbildung applicants are not "contract workers" in this sense; for them the German rules and the advice on Avoiding scams matter most.

Debt

Many people borrow large sums for an agency. A loan that you can only repay if everything goes perfectly puts you under pressure to accept bad conditions in Germany. Calculate first with the official costs on Costs.

Nationality

• Germany allows multiple citizenship since 27 June 2024; naturalisation is possible after 5 years, see Already in Berlin.
• Vietnam amended its Nationality Law by Law 79/2025/QH15, in force since 1 July 2025. Whether you keep Vietnamese nationality when you become German was not verified for this site. Ask the Embassy of Vietnam in Berlin before you apply.