Healthcare Legal Consultant Vietnam: How Foreign Doctors Can Obtain a Vietnamese Medical Practice License Step by Step

The Vietnamese medical practice license (Giay phep hanh nghe kham benh, chua benh) is the foundational document that authorizes a medical professional to examine and treat patients in Vietnam. Without it, any clinical contact — including consultations, diagnoses, or treatment recommendations — constitutes unlicensed medical practice, which carries administrative sanctions under Article 20 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023 and may expose practitioners to deportation proceedings.

This comprehensive step-by-step guide is designed for foreign doctors — including US-trained physicians, Vietnamese-American physicians with US credentials, and international medical school graduates practicing in the United States — who are navigating the Vietnamese practice license pathway.

Before preparing any documents, consult a healthcare legal consultant to determine which of the two recognition pathways applies to your situation:

• Pathway A — Treaty-Based Recognition:  if a bilateral treaty between Vietnam and your home country specifically provides for recognition of medical licenses, this is the faster pathway. As of 2024, no such treaty exists between Vietnam and the United States.
• Pathway B — Authority Assessment and Recognition:  applicable to US-licensed physicians and the majority of foreign practitioners. Requires the Vietnamese Ministry of Health to assess and formally recognize the licensing authority that issued your foreign license before your specific license can be recognized.

Understanding your pathway at the outset shapes your timeline, document preparation strategy, and cost projections.

Under Article 29 of the 2023 Law, a foreign license recognition application requires the applicant to meet one of three eligibility conditions:

• Vietnamese citizen — OR
• Currently employed at a Vietnamese healthcare facility — OR
• Holder of a valid Vietnamese work permit

For US physicians who do not yet have Vietnamese employment or a work permit, establishing one of these eligibility triggers is a prerequisite for the recognition application. TTVN Legal commonly assists clients in securing the employment contract or work permit that establishes eligibility before the recognition dossier is filed.

The recognition dossier must be submitted to the Department of Medical Services Administration under the Ministry of Health. Required documents include:

• Application Form 08:  the standard recognition application form issued by the Ministry of Health — must be completed in Vietnamese
• Certified true copy of foreign medical practice license:  must be currently valid; consular legalization plus Vietnamese certified translation required for US licenses
• Passport:  valid original copy with sufficient remaining validity
• Work permit or employment contract:  demonstrating your eligibility ground

If the issuing authority (your US state medical board) has not previously been assessed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, the MOH will conduct an assessment that evaluates:

• The professional medical training system in the issuing jurisdiction
• The licensing procedures and conditions applied by the issuing authority
• The professional titles and defined scope of practice in the foreign system compared to Vietnamese equivalents

Upon completion of this assessment, the Ministry of Health issues a formal assessment result, which then triggers the 30-day recognition processing period for your specific license.

Processing timelines under Decree 96/2023/ND-CP:

• Where issuing authority has been previously assessed and recognized:  30 calendar days from submission of a complete and valid dossier
• Where issuing authority requires assessment:  30 days for recognition PLUS the MOH assessment period (typically 2 to 4 additional months)
• Where verification of foreign documents is required:  timeline calculated from receipt of verification results

Following successful recognition, you must apply for the Vietnamese practice license — a separate application to the competent authority (Ministry of Health or provincial Department of Health, per Article 7 of Decree 148/2025/ND-CP). Required documents for this application:

• Application form for practice license issuance:  Ministry of Health standard form
• Recognized foreign medical practice license:  the recognition decision from Step 5
• Health certificate:  from a licensed Vietnamese physician confirming fitness to practice
• Curriculum vitae:  in Vietnamese-standard format
• Language documentation:  Vietnamese language proficiency certificate OR certified interpreter contract
• Photographs:  two portrait photos, 4 cm × 6 cm
• Application fee:  VND 215,000

The competent authority issues the Vietnamese practice license within 30 days of a complete dossier. The license specifies your professional title, scope of practice, and the geographic jurisdiction. If you intend to practice in multiple cities, separate applications are required for each jurisdiction.

Once your Vietnamese practice license is in hand, you are authorized to practice medicine at licensed healthcare facilities in Vietnam. If you are opening your own clinic, the practice license is a prerequisite for the facility’s operating license application — the facility cannot be licensed without a licensed technical director named in the dossier.

The eight-step process described above involves three separate government agencies, bilingual document preparation, and procedural interactions that require familiarity with Vietnamese administrative practice. A healthcare legal consultant ensures that every document is correctly formatted and authenticated, that applications are submitted to the correct authority, and that any request for additional information from the MOH is handled promptly to avoid delay.

TTVN Legal has managed this exact process for physicians from the United States, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Our bilingual legal team communicates with clients in English throughout the engagement and provides written milestone updates at every stage.