The administrative side of moving your medical career to Vietnam involves gathering a specific set of documents, known locally as your application dossier (hồ sơ). Having an organized checklist is your best defense against processing delays. In this guide, we provide an overview checklist that you need to prepare inadvance as following:
Nursing Diploma/Degree: your official nursing qualification certificate. The document must be legally authenticated (if required) and accompanied by a certified translation into Vietnamese.
Valid Nursing Licence from Your Home Country: a current nursing licence that has been recognised or accredited by the Ministry of Health (MOH), where applicable
Language Certificate: proof of proficiency in the required medical language, or provide a verified registration profile if you are using a locally registered medical interpreter.
Criminal Record Check: a criminal record certificate issued within the past six months by the competent authority in your home country. If you are already residing in Vietnam, you may submit a Vietnamese Judicial Record Certificate (Lý lịch tư pháp) issued within the last six months.
Health Check-Up Report: a health check-up report issued within the past six months by an authorised hospital or medical facility in Vietnam..
Vietnam Work Permit: a valid work permit authorising you to work in Vietnam
Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Résumé: an up-to-date CV outlining your education, professional qualifications, and work experience.
Color photos: recent colour photographs (4 cm × 6 cm) taken within the past six months, with a white background, facing the camera directly, without headwear or glasses (unless worn for religious or medical reasons).
Vietnamese licensing authorities require a highly structured dossier to verify that a foreign professional is fully qualified and safe to practice. Under Decree 96, these documents must not only be collected but must also undergo consular legalization and certified translation into Vietnamese. This prevents document fraud and ensures that the reviewing officers can easily verify the authenticity of your credentials.
Submitting incomplete dossiers or using outdated templates is the number one cause of licensing delays. Sponsoring clinics must establish secure internal checklists and cross-match every document against the requirements of Decree 96. Checking document expiration dates—especially for health checks and criminal records—before filing is crucial to avoid having your entire application returned.