Online Sick Leave Certificate in Vietnam

Workers, students and travellers in Vietnam are the people most often asked for a medical certificate. An employer may want a note after a sick day, a university may want one for a missed exam, and a traveller may need proof of fitness, or of unfitness, before a flight.

Weather plays a part.

The rainy season brings a rise in fevers and stomach bugs, and dengue is a familiar worry in the wetter months. Hanoi's cool, damp winter brings its share of colds and flu. A person in bed with a high temperature rarely wants to sit in a clinic queue for a note.

Office staff in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, factory workers and university students all face the same problem when a manager or lecturer asks for paperwork.

Travel is the other common trigger. Visitors and expats passing through Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai or Da Nang airport can fall ill right before a flight and need a document for the airline.

An online request lets a person in any of these situations ask a doctor from a phone. Whether the employer, school or airline accepts the certificate is their decision. Check with them first.

The doctor reads your form, checks that your details and symptoms fit together, and decides whether a certificate is appropriate. Paying for the review does not guarantee a certificate.

The doctor looks at the reason you gave, when your symptoms started, the dates requested and any records you shared. If something is unclear, the doctor can ask follow up questions in the chat.

Give accurate answers.

DrCertificate does not diagnose, treat or prescribe. The platform connects you with an independent doctor, and that doctor alone makes the call. A certificate is issued only when the doctor finds it appropriate for your situation. The period it covers is a medical judgement based on what you describe, so the doctor may approve fewer days than you asked for or none at all.

Acceptance is decided by the organisation receiving the certificate, not by DrCertificate. Ask your employer, school, airline or sports body whether they take online medical notes before you apply.

Vietnamese law sets formal rules for sickness benefit. Article 43 of the Law on Social Insurance 41/2024/QH15 allows up to 30 working days a year in normal working conditions with under 15 years of contributions, 40 days with 15 to under 30 years, and 60 days with 30 years or more.

Article 47 lists a certificate of leave for social insurance among the outpatient claim documents, and the Minister of Health sets its form, procedure and issuing authority. Article 48 requires the employee to hand the claim file to the employer no later than 45 days after returning to work.

DrCertificate certificates must not be used for insurance, so they are not a substitute for that social insurance document.

Airlines set their own fit to fly and unfit to fly rules, and those can differ from one carrier to the next.