Within 15 days from the date of receipt of a sufficient and valid dossier, the Department of Industry and Trade shall complete its appraisal and grant the License for the Establishment of a Representative Office. — Illustrative image/ File Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Foreign businesses (FBs) wishing to establish representative offices (ROs) and branches in Viet Nam are recommended to take notice of statutory conditions, dossier components, orders, procedures, and required tasks.

The representative offices of FBs should be established or registered as legal businesses in compliance with the law of the country, after remaining operational for no less than 1 year since the legal establishment or valid business registration in the countries of origin.

Once these conditions are met, an FB may compile a dossier of application for license, which shall be filed with the Department of Industry and Trade. Such a dossier should consist of the following documents:

A request form signed by the competent representative of the FB and a copy of the FB's consular legalised Business Registration Certificate or other documents of equivalent value. In cases where such documents prescribe a period of the FB's operation, the remaining time must be at least 1 year. Audited financial reports or other alternative documents proving the real existence and operation of the FB in the most recent fiscal year should also be included in the dossier.

The copies of Business Registration Certificate, financial reports, and other aforementioned alternative documents must be translated into Vietnamese and consular legalised. A copy of Corporate Charter, in case the FB is an economic organisation; a copy of the RO's location lease contract; a copy of the head of RO's passport (applied to foreign nationals) or identity card (applied to Vietnamese citizens) are also required in the dossier.

Within 15 days from the date of receipt of a sufficient and valid dossier, the Department of Industry and Trade shall complete its appraisal and grant the License for the Establishment of a Representative Office.

Branch

FBs are established or registered as legal businesses in compliance with the law of a country, after remaining operational for no less than 5 years since the legal establishment or valid business registration.

When the aforementioned conditions are fully satisfied, FBs shall submit a dossier to the Department of Industry and Trade, which comprises the following documents:

A request form signed by a competent representative of the FB and a copy of the charter of the branch, stating the scope of the authorization of the branch's head. A copy of the FB's consular legalized Business Registration Certificate or other documents of equivalent value. In cases where such documents prescribe a period of the FB's operation, the remaining time must be at least 3 years. Audited financial reports or other alternative documents proving the real existence and operation of the FB in the most recent fiscal year should be included as well.

The copies of the charter of the branch, Business Registration Certificate, financial reports, and other aforementioned alternative documents must be translated into Vietnamese and consular legalized. A copy of the branch's location lease contract; a copy of the branch head's passport (applicable to foreign nationals) or identity card (applicable to Vietnamese citizens) should also be attached.

The Department of Industry and Trade shall complete the appraisal and grant the License for the Establishment of Branch within 15 days from the date of receipt of sufficient and valid dossier.

Within 45 days of receiving the license, ROs and branches are required to carry out the following tasks:

Operation notification: This should be posted on three consecutive issues of newspapers or news websites legally published in Vietnam. ROs shall officially come into operation and report to the Department of Trade its opening at the registered place. Branches shall officially be active and report to the Ministry and Department of Industry and Trade their location and opening at the registered place.

It is essential to note that the above regulations shall not apply to the ROs and branches of foreign-invested enterprises set up in Viet Nam. — PLF Law Firm