new member in Hanoi looking for TEFL work or Fitness (part time only).

Summary; 24yr old Brit looking to secure business visa first then work visa/permit later, in Hanoi through part-time employment. (Teaching/TEFL or Fitness).

Summary: That won't happen.

You need the invitation for employment FIRST before a business visa can be issued.

Then you'll probably need to exit and re-enter Vietnam on the new visa.

Some people can stay in Vietnam when switching from a tourist visa, but this doesn't appear to be the case unless a prospective employer does a lot of work to actually get you a new visa (business) before the expiration of your tourist visa.

If the only thing you possess at that time is a letter of invitation, exiting and re-entering will likely be necessary.

Since you don't technically qualify for expert employment as a teacher, it's going to be virtually impossible to gain legal employment.

Hi there, new to the forum, expat.com, Hanoi, Vietnam and Asia. Came here from the UK to work and travel with my partner. Looking for part-time, work no more than 25h a week.

-@Gelofunk

It's difficult to tell these days but is your "partner" an opposite cisgender person to whom you are legally married?   If so you will be able to apply for a visa as a legal spouse of the holder of a work permit.  I believe it is a TT visa.    If "partner" reflects one of the myriad other possibilities, I am afraid you may be out of luck

I've already been round most of the major gyms in city centre Hanoi and the only ones that were willing to offer me a job could only offer me full time employment of 60-80h a week which is crazy. I'm here to work but also to have a life.

Oleg Foiner-Arrand
-@Gelofunk

Welcome to the world of work for many Vietnamese. For both blue and white collar occupations, 6 day weeks are the norm. I can't really tell if they are actually getting more work done than Westerners but Vietnamese do put in a lot of time at work. 

Generally speaking jobs not requiring college or advanced degrees are well filled by the people of Vietnam.  In fact even for white collar occupations, the country may be overeducated in certain areas.  A while back, I know that there were far more college graduates in business than the banking sector of the economy could handle.  I believe the same is true of certain types of engineers.  I personally know of an electrical engineer who recently moved to Canada where his skills were needed. How could a western engineer expect to take his place in Vietnam?  A generation ago, Vietnam needed specialists to get the oil out of the ground and the seabed, but today there are probably plenty of geologists and drilling engineers.  The Philippines is already an exporter of nurses to several western countries.  How long before Vietnam does the same?

As far as the Bachelor's degree requirement for EFL employment, it may seem an overly high bar but what other metric could the administration use?  Many, including myself, have know several anecdotal examples of excellent teachers who lacked degrees, but how would the system work out who those would be?  In the somewhat distant future, I could see a scenario in which the only TEFL jobs in the country would be in "teach-the-teacher," giving classes for Vietnamese public school teachers as well as college level teaching.  In that case the degree requirements could be even higher; perhaps a Master's degree in TEFL.  But breathe easy as this is still a ways off.