What are the documents and procedures for granting an investment certificate (investment license) to foreigners? Things to know when applying for an investment certificate in Vietnam. Please read the following article of fdiinvietnam.com for more details.
Considered a country with stable politics and impressive economic growth in the Southeast Asian region, Vietnam is becoming an attractive destination for foreign investors. Therefore, the demand for investment certificates (investment licenses) from foreign individuals and organizations is increasing.
What is an investment certificate?
- Investment certificate or investment registration certificate is a document or electronic copy recording the investor’s registration information about the investment project to conduct business investment activities in a specific area, within a specified period of time.
- Applying for an investment certificate is a mandatory procedure before foreign individuals or organizations want to establish a foreign-invested enterprise in Vietnam.
Forms of foreign investment in Vietnam
- Establishing new economic organizations such as: Establishing a one-member LLC, a two-member LLC, a joint stock company, a partnership.
- Contribute capital, buy shares from Vietnamese enterprises: By transferring capital, transferring shares or contributing capital to establish an enterprise.
- Receive investment project transfer.
- Investment under public-private partnership contract (PPP contract).
- Investment under business cooperation contract (BCC contract).
Conditions for granting investment certificates
To be granted an investment certificate, foreign investors must meet the following conditions:
- Have nationality (individual) or head office address (organization) in a country that is a member of the WTO along with Vietnam.
- The registered investment industry must not be among the prohibited industries. That is, it must be included in the WTO commitment schedule.
Procedures for granting certificates to foreign investors
Within the scope of this article, fdiinvietnam.com would like to provide you with the procedure for granting investment registration certificates for investment projects not subject to investment policy decisions.
⫸Application for investment certificate
Application for investment certificate includes the following documents:
- Document requesting to implement investment project;
- House/office lease contract to implement investment project;
- Copy of ID card/CCCD/passport of Vietnamese (in case of joint capital contribution with Vietnamese);
- Document verifying the foreign investor’s bank account balance equal to or greater than the investment amount. If the account is abroad, the documents must be consularized, then translated and notarized into Vietnamese;
- The investment project proposal includes the following contents: project investor, investment objectives, investment scale, investment capital and capital mobilization plan, location, duration, investment progress, labor demand, proposal for investment incentives, assessment of the project’s socio-economic impact and efficiency.
For foreign investors who are individuals, additional information is required:
- Copy of foreign investor’s passport.
For foreign investors who are organizations, additional information is required :
- Copy of business registration certificate of foreign organization;
- Copy of ID card/CCCD/passport of the representative of capital contribution for foreign investment organization in Vietnam;
- Financial statements within the last 2 years audited by a foreign organization (must be consular legalized, valid for 90 days)
FREE DOWNLOAD: Application for investment certificate.
Note:
- Documents and reports sent to competent state agencies must be in Vietnamese;
- In case the application for investment certificate has documents in a foreign language, they must be consularized and have a valid Vietnamese translation attached to the foreign language documents.
⫸Implementation sequence
- Submitting documents: Investors submit documents directly to the Investment Registration Office – Department of Planning and Investment, where the enterprise has its headquarters;
- Processing time: 15 working days from the date of application submission;
- Results received: If the dossier is valid, the Investment Registration Authority shall issue an Investment Certificate to the investor. If the dossier is invalid, the Investment Registration Authority shall issue a notice instructing the investor to supplement or edit the dossier and resubmit it.
Things to know when applying for an investment certificate
- For the project target (business line) of wholesale and retail distribution: The wholesale distribution section can be registered for normal operation. But to carry out retail distribution, you must apply for a distribution license issued by the Department of Industry and Trade.
- After completing the establishment of a foreign-invested company, the company must open an investment capital account. Then, the investor deposits money into the company’s capital account corresponding to his/her contributed capital.
The procedure for applying for an investment certificate in Vietnam for foreign individuals and organizations is quite complicated and often takes more time than prescribed, not to mention the problems that may arise later. Therefore, fdiinvietnam.com recommends that you hire a professional unit to optimize time and costs. You can refer to the investment certificate application service of fdiinvietnam.com:
– With full service fee from only: 20,000,000 VND
– Completion time: 20-25 working days
– Customers receive:
+ Investment registration certificate;
+ Business registration certificate;
+ Company seal.
Frequently asked questions when applying for investment certificates
Question 1. What are the forms of foreign investment in Vietnam?
Foreign investors can invest in Vietnam in 4 forms: Establishing a new economic organization (establishing a company), contributing capital to a Vietnamese company, investing in the form of a public-private partnership contract (PPP), and investing in the form of a business cooperation contract (BCC).
Question 2. What are the conditions for granting investment certificates to foreign investors?
Investors must have nationality (if individual) or head office address (if organization) in a country that is a member of the WTO and the registered investment industry is not on the prohibited list.
Question 3. What documents are required to apply for an investment certificate for foreign individuals?
The dossier includes: Document requesting to implement the investment project, copy of the foreign investor’s passport, copy of the ID card/CCCD or passport of the Vietnamese (if contributing capital with a Vietnamese person), document verifying the balance in the foreign investor’s bank account equivalent to or greater than the investment amount, house/office lease contract to implement the investment project, investment project proposal;
FREE DOWNLOAD : Application for investment certificate.
Question 4. What do foreign investors need to do to invest in Vietnam?
Investors need to complete procedures for granting investment registration certificates and procedures for granting business registration certificates.
Question 5. Where to submit application for investment certificate?
Investors submit their applications directly to the Department of Planning and Investment where the investment project is implemented or where the head office is expected to be located.
Call us at 0978 578 866 (North) – 0906 687 032 (Central) – 033 9962 333 (South) for support.