Foreign-invested company setup · Vietnam
Once you have decided to establish a company in Vietnam, the next priority is to turn that business plan into a legally workable structure. Before you commit capital, sign a long-term lease or legalise foreign documents, we help you confirm that the activities, ownership, funding, location and licensing sequence fit together.
Share these details for an initial review
Clear answers before you commit time and capital
At this stage, you need more than general market information. You need clear, project-specific answers that protect your launch date, control the budget and ensure the proposed company can operate as intended.
Priority 01
The answer depends on the precise business activities, investor nationality, applicable market-access commitments, ownership limits and sector-specific requirements. We help you identify the workable structure before the application is prepared.
Priority 02
The registered capital should be realistic for the office, staffing, equipment, contracts and operating plan. A well-supported amount reduces questions during licensing and helps your company contribute capital on a practical schedule.
Priority 03
A convenient office is not always a legally workable project location. We recommend checking the permitted use, the lessor’s authority and any sector-specific conditions before you sign a long-term lease.
Priority 04
IRC and ERC are important milestones, but they are not the entire launch schedule. Capital accounts, tax registration, e-invoices, staffing and additional licences may determine when your company can actually begin business.
Priority 05
We help you separate legal service fees from legalisation, translation, premises, banking, accounting, tax, staffing and sector-licence costs, so you can plan the investment budget more accurately.
Priority 06
Many legal and filing steps can be coordinated remotely. Where original documents, legalisation, bank onboarding or an in-person procedure is needed, our team explains the requirement early and helps you plan it efficiently.
Choose an ownership structure that supports your business plan
Many business activities can be carried out through a wholly foreign-owned company. Duong Tri Law reviews the exact activity wording, investor nationality, ownership chain and operating licences so that the selected structure is both legally available and commercially practical.
Common structure
This structure may be suitable when the intended activities permit full foreign ownership and the investor can support the proposed capital, location and implementation plan.
Strategic or required
A joint venture may be appropriate when a Vietnamese partner is legally required or can contribute licences, premises, distribution networks, local relationships or operational capabilities.
After registration
Your company may receive its registration documents but still need a trading, retail, education, logistics, tourism, digital or other specialist licence before the regulated activity can begin.
Confirm the key decisions before signing or legalising documents
A strong application tells one consistent story. The investor, business activities, capital, location and implementation schedule should support each other across the project proposal, charter, lease, financial evidence and any later operating-licence application.
Support tailored to your project and internal team
Duong Tri Law can manage the full setup or support a specific stage, depending on the experience and resources of your internal team. Before work begins, the quotation clearly explains the deliverables, your responsibilities, expected timing and external costs.
01 · Assessment
We review the proposed activities, foreign ownership, investor status, capital, location, company type and approvals needed for the selected business model.
02 · Planning
Your team receives a clear plan showing who must issue, sign, legalise and translate each document, including expected lead times and validity requirements.
03 · IRC
We prepare the project information, investor documents, financial-capacity evidence and explanations required for the applicable investment route.
04 · ERC
We prepare the charter, members or shareholders, authorised representatives, legal representative information and enterprise registration documents.
05 · Filing
Luật Dương Trí coordinates filing, monitors progress, keeps you informed and prepares amendments or explanations within the agreed scope.
06 · Readiness
After registration, we help your company prioritise capital accounts, contribution, tax, invoices, contracts, staffing, reporting and sector licences before operations begin.
Prepare the time-sensitive documents first
The exact dossier depends on the investor and business sector. We help you start with the foreign-issued documents, corporate approvals, financial evidence and location records that usually require the longest preparation time.
Individual investor
An individual investor will normally provide a passport, personal details, evidence of financial capacity, powers of attorney and any additional documents relevant to the selected activities and funding plan.
Corporate investor
A corporate investor will normally provide its certificate of incorporation, charter or constitutional documents, investment resolution, authorised-representative documents, powers of attorney, financial statements and ownership information where required.
Project and company file
The project file includes the business description, capital structure, implementation schedule, office or site documents, company name, legal representative, charter and governance arrangements.
Understand what each registration document does
The correct sequence depends on the investor, activities and investment route. Where both documents are required, they must remain consistent, although each serves a different legal purpose.
IRC · Investment project record
Where applicable, the IRC records key project information, including the investor, objectives, capital, location, implementation schedule and other approved details.
ERC · Enterprise record
The ERC establishes the legal entity and records the company name, enterprise code, registered address, charter capital, legal representative and other corporate information.
A clear process with one responsible legal team
Our process is designed to resolve legal and documentary issues in the right order. You receive clear next steps at each stage, helping your team avoid signing, legalising or filing documents that later need to be replaced.
We listen to your objectives and map the investor, activities, ownership, capital, location, schedule and decision makers.
We confirm market access, ownership conditions, required approvals and any operating licences your company may need.
We organise signatures, legalisation, translations, approvals, financial evidence and location documents in a practical sequence.
The project, corporate, capital, address and authority information is drafted and cross-checked for consistency.
We coordinate submission, track progress and help respond to clarification or amendment requests.
Your handover includes priority actions for banking, capital, tax, invoices, staffing, reporting and operating permits.
Plan the registration schedule and total setup budget
A useful estimate separates document preparation, authority processing and post-registration readiness. Duong Tri Law also distinguishes legal fees from official charges, translation, legalisation and operating costs so you can budget with greater confidence.
Straightforward foreign-invested company
Legal service fee from USD 1,500
This is an indicative range for a non-conditional project with a confirmed legal route, usable investor documents and a suitable location.
From registration to basic operational readiness
Depends on banking, tax and permits
The practical launch schedule should also include capital accounts, contribution, tax, e-invoices, staffing and any required operating licences.
Conditional or complex project
Quotation after legal review
Regulated activities, multiple investors, special locations, investment-policy approval or additional permits may require a longer, project-specific schedule.
Items commonly included in the legal scope
Items quoted or paid separately
Registration is followed by operational compliance
Receiving IRC and ERC is an important milestone, but your company may not yet be ready to trade. The first weeks after registration determine whether it can receive capital, issue invoices, sign contracts, hire staff and begin regulated activities properly.
Open the appropriate bank and capital accounts, arrange the contribution on time and keep evidence that matches the approved capital plan.
Complete the tax, accounting, digital-signature and e-invoice arrangements before transactions are recorded.
Finalise internal authority, corporate records, contract templates and signatory controls for day-to-day operations.
Review work-permit, exemption, visa and temporary-residence requirements before foreign employees begin working in Vietnam.
Assign reporting responsibilities, data ownership and submission evidence, and establish a compliance calendar from the beginning.
Obtain any trading, retail, website, education, tourism, logistics, food, data or specialist licence before the regulated activity begins.
Reduce delays and avoid preventable legal costs
Many delays are not caused by a single missing form. They arise when the commercial plan, foreign documents and legal applications do not tell the same story. Early review helps your team correct these issues before they become expensive.
The project proposal, charter, website, contracts and later licence applications describe different business models.
The funding evidence, stated investment capital, premises, staffing and planned scale do not appear credible when reviewed together.
A lease is signed before the permitted use, lessor’s authority, project suitability and operating-licence conditions are checked.
The wrong version is legalised, the signatory’s authority is unclear, signatures are inconsistent or the translation does not match the original.
The corporate decision-maker, authorised representative or signatory powers have not been properly documented.
The company receives its registration documents but cannot yet receive capital, issue invoices, hire staff or start the intended activity.
Always listening · Always finding a practical solution
Duong Tri Law listens carefully to your commercial objectives and focuses on the decisions that affect approval, timing, cost and operational readiness. Instead of disconnected filing tasks, you receive one coordinated legal roadmap and a team that stays accountable throughout the agreed scope.
Your nationality, business activities, ownership, capital, location and later licences are reviewed as one connected project.
Deliverables, investor responsibilities, timing assumptions, exclusions and external costs are clarified before implementation.
Legal requirements, document comments and next steps are explained in clear, practical English so your internal team can respond efficiently.
One responsible team manages document versions, progress updates and coordination across the agreed work.
The handover includes practical priorities for capital, banking, tax, labour, reporting and operating licences.
Investor, ownership, financial and personal information is handled confidentially and only within the scope needed for the legal work.
Continue with the services your company actually needs
After registration, your company may need support with foreign employees, recurring tax compliance, e-commerce registration or later expansion. We connect these services to the original setup plan so that each next step is easier to manage.
Legal framework applied to the 2026 setup plan
The applicable route also depends on the business sector, project location, investor profile and specialist regulations. Duong Tri Law uses the following instruments as the core framework when reviewing and implementing the setup plan.
Practical answers before you start preparing documents
The answers below provide a helpful starting point. Your final registration route should be confirmed against the investor, activities, ownership, capital, location and available documents.
In many sectors, yes. However, full foreign ownership is not automatic. The conclusion depends on the exact business activities, investor nationality, applicable treaty treatment, market-access conditions and specialist rules.
Not every case follows the same sequence. The investor and investment route should be reviewed under the current Investment Law and implementing rules before documents are signed or legalised.
There is no single universal amount for every ordinary business. The capital should be credible for the stated plan, while regulated sectors may impose legal-capital or other financial conditions.
A straightforward project may be planned at approximately 20–35 working days after the legal route, usable documents and suitable location are confirmed. Legalisation, clarification requests and operating licences may extend the schedule.
Many legal and filing steps can be coordinated remotely. Physical presence may still be needed for certain signatures, original documents, banking, immigration or institution-specific procedures. We identify these requirements as early as possible.
The location should be checked before a long-term commitment is made. Building use, lessor authority, address records and sector requirements can determine whether the premises are suitable for the project and later licences.
The contribution plan should match the IRC, charter and applicable enterprise and investment requirements. Your company should also use the appropriate banking route and keep supporting evidence.
Not in every case. Tax, e-invoices, capital accounts, staffing and operating licences may need to be completed before your company can legally carry out the intended activity.
Please share the investor type and nationality, proposed activities, ownership plan, capital, city or project location, expected staffing, target launch date and any foreign documents already available.
Yes. The engagement can cover an initial project assessment, document review, IRC or ERC work, filing coordination, a post-registration roadmap or broader end-to-end support.
A clear first review can save weeks of rework
Share the investor profile, intended activities, ownership plan, proposed capital, location and target launch date. Luật Dương Trí will listen to your objectives, identify the key legal decisions and provide a practical view of the documents, timing and service scope needed for the next step.
Your initial review will focus on
