A foreign trader’s representative office is one of the most popular forms of presence in Vietnam Within the scope of activities permitted by law, the representative office can carry out functions of liaison office, market research, promotion of business investment opportunities of the trader, excluding services that establishment of representative office in that field is prescribed by specialized legal documents.
Conditions for establishing a foreign representative office in Vietnam
The foreign representative office must meet the following conditions:
- Foreign enterprise is established and registered for business in accordance with the regulations of the law of countries, and territories participating in international treaties in which Vietnam is a member or is recognized by the law of other countries;
- Foreign enterprise or foreign trader has been operating for at least 01 year from the date of establishment or registration;
- In case Business Registration Certificate or equivalent documents of the foreign enterprise, a foreign trader has regulation of the operational period, this period must be at least 01 year from the date of dossier submission;
- The representative office’s content of operation must be consistent with Vietnam’s commitments in international treaties that Vietnam is a member;
- In case the Representative Office’s content of operation is not consistent with the commitments of Vietnam or foreign trader which does not belong to countries, or territories participating in international treaties that Vietnam is a member, the establishment of the Representative Office must be approved by the Minister or the Head of ministerial-level agencies managing specialized fields.
Procedures for establishing a representative office of foreign traders in Vietnam
| Process | Detailled description |
| Step 1 | Prepare dossiers
Traders need to prepare a dossier full of the documents listed above and submit it to the competent authority. |
| Step 2 | Submit Dossiers
Within 03 working days from the date of receiving the dossiers, the competent authority shall check and request a supplement if the dossier is not complete and valid. The request for the supplement is carried out once during the processing dossier. |
| Step 3 | Receive results
Within 07 working days from the date of receiving the valid dossier, the competent authority shall issue or not issue a License for the Establishment of a Representative Office for foreign traders. In case of rejection, the competent authority must clearly state the reason in writing. Notes:
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| Step 4 | Engrave the seal and register the seal sample
Foreign trader’s representative offices operating in Vietnam can register a seal for carrying out management activities of a representative office in Vietnam. |
| Step 5 | Register for tax code notification
Foreign trader’s representative office in Vietnam has its own tax code to fulfil the tax obligations and declare with tax management authority, specifically the Department of Taxation. |
