Establishment of a foreign-invested factory in Vietnam requires two main types of permits: Investment Certificate and Enterprise Registration Certificate. In addition, it is also required to obtain a number of other permits depending on the product to be exported. The followings are some of the tasks to do to set up a foreign-invested manufacturing factory in Vietnam.

Choosing a location to set up a manufacturing factory

• Leasing a facility – a factory that has been built by a company licensed for infrastructure leasing in Vietnam. This option is suitable for an investor wishing to lease land to build a small-scaled factory;
• Leasing land in an industrial park, export processing zone, or high-tech zone. This option is suitable for investors who need to rent land with a long-term lease term to build factories of a medium scale or larger.

Application for an Investment Registration Certificate

To establish a factory in Vietnam, a foreign investor is required to obtain an investment registration certificate. The application dossier for an Investment Registration Certificate includes:

• A written request for the implementation of the investment project (prepared according to the form);
• A copy of the identity card / citizen identity card or passport for an investor that is an individual; a copy of the Certificate of Establishment or another equivalent document certifying the legal status of an investor that is an organization;
• Investment project proposal including the following contents: investor implementing the project, investment objectives, investment scale, investment capital, capital mobilization plan, location, deadline, investment schedule, labor demand, proposal for investment incentives, assessment of socio-economic impact and efficiency of the project;
• A copy of one of the following documents: the investor’s financial statements of the last 2 years; commitment to financial support of the parent company; commitment to financial support of financial institutions; the investor’s guarantee on the financial capacity; documents explaining the financial capacity of the investor;
• Head office lease contract, documents proving the lessor's right to lease (Certificate of land use right, Construction permit, the lessor’s Certificate of business registration with real estate business function or equivalent documents);
• Land use proposal; In case the project does not request the State to allocate or lease land or change the land use purpose, a copy of the lease agreement for the leased location or other document certifying that the investor has the right to use the location for implementing the investment project is required;
• An explanation of technology used for the investment project for projects using technologies on the List of technologies restricted from transfer in accordance with the law on technology transfer, including the following contents: name, origin, process diagram of the technology, main technical parameters, use status of main machinery, equipment, and lines used for the technology;
• BCC contract for investment projects in the form of BCC contract.

Your company must completion online declaration of the investment project on the national foreign investment information system. Within 15 days from the date of online declaration, the investor is required to submit the application for the Investment Registration Certificate to the Management Board of the Industrial Park, Export Processing Zone, or Hi-tech Zone of the province. After the application is received, the State Agency in charge of granting the Investment Registration Certificate will consider the validity of the documents and issue a code for the investment project. In case the application is rejected, this State Agency must notify the investor in writing and clearly state the reason.