Vietnam has been, and will continue to be, an attractive investment destination for foreign investors. Apart from the business plan, to be able cary on occupations in Vietnam, the foreign investors shall be granted Vietnam Investment Certificate or more exactly "Investment Registration Certificate" (IRC) which is a permit from the Vietnamese government.

Investment projects of foreign investor, foreign owned capital company that foreign investors hold 51% or more of charter capital are cases for which investment registration certificates are required.

Preparation of dossier

A written request for permission for execution of the investment project;

Documents certifying the legal status of the investor: A copy of the ID card or passport (if the investor is an individual); a copy of the Certificate of establishment or an equivalent paper that certifies the legal status of the investor (if the investor is an organization).

An investment proposal that specifies: investor(s) in the project, investment objectives, investment scale, investment capital, method of capital rising, location and duration of investment, labor demand, requests for investment incentives, assessment of socio-economic effects of the project;

Copies of any of the following documents: financial statements of the last two years of the investor; commitment of the parent company to provide financial support; commitment of a financial institutions to provide financial support; guarantee for investor’s financial capacity; description of investor’s financial capacity;

Demand for land use; if the project does not use land allocated, leased out by the State, or is not permitted by the State to change land purposes, then a copy of the lease agreement or other documents certifying that the investor has the right to use the premises to execute the project shall be submitted;

Explanation for application of technologies to the project which specifies: names of technologies, origins, technology process diagram, primary specifications, conditions of machinery, equipment and primary technological line;

The business cooperation contract (BCC) (if the project is executed under a BCC).

Order and Procedure

Investors submit the dossier at Department of Planning and Investment (or management of economic zones, high-tech zones);

Within 15 days after receiving a complete application file, the investment registration agency shall grant an investment registration certificate. In case of refusal, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason to the investor.

In practice, the time duration would be lengthened due to the time for preparation of documents from investor, getting them notarized, legalized and authenticated before being accepted in Vietnam. The documents in foreign languages shall need to be translated into Vietnamese.  The actual time for processing paper at the State authority would also last longer in practice when the State authority evaluate the project plan of the investor to ensure that its Vietnam investment purpose is achievable economically and in accordance to the regulations of Vietnam.  It is advised that the client engage professional law firm in Vietnam to assist with advisory and investment registration process.

Conclusion, contact:

The Hue Tran Law Firm advantage is a domestic law firm which is totally familiar with carrying out the procedure and corporating with the state agency. In addition, Hue Tran Law Firm also offers advice not only on the company registration services, but also on corporate services, tax and associated regulatory work to foreign invested companies in Vietnam. Your choices to Hue Tran Law Firm is confidently and quickly overcome initial Vietnam investment procedure and penetrate the Vietnamese market.