Doing Business in Vietnam for Foreigners

Corporate income tax

Standard rate 20%. A new Corporate Income Tax law (No. 67/2025/QH15, effective 1 October 2025) introduced tiered rates of 15%–17% for qualifying small and medium enterprises.

Streamlined setup from March 2026

The amended Law on Investment reduced conditional business lines from 234 to 196 and, in qualifying cases, allows the Enterprise Registration Certificate to be obtained before the Investment Registration Certificate.

Registration process

Obtain an Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) and an Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC) from the provincial Department of Planning & Investment. The new law allows ERC-first registration in qualifying cases.

Typical timeline

Roughly 8–12 weeks from first filing to first invoice for a services LLC in an open sector; sector licensing can extend this.

Capped and conditional sectors

Examples of caps: legal services generally require a joint venture with foreign share of about 51% or less; e-commerce platforms are typically capped at around 49% unless tech-transfer commitments are demonstrated. Banking/finance, advertising, telecommunications, logistics, real-estate brokerage, media, and parts of tourism, education and healthcare are restricted or conditional.

Caps are volatile and sector-specific — confirm the current limit for your activity against the Law on Investment before committing.

Application steps

The employer justifies the foreign-labour need at least 30 days ahead, then files the full application at least 15 days before the start date. A work permit supports a Temporary Residence Card for longer stays.

Personal accounts require residency

Major banks now require a residence document valid at least 12 months (a Work Permit or TRC); tourist visas are not accepted as of 2025–2026. Biometric (facial) verification is required, and from July 2026 biometric authentication is required for larger transfers.

Corporate accounts

A registered foreign-owned company (after obtaining its ERC) opens a business/capital account to receive charter capital and to repatriate profit.

Corporate income tax & SME rates

Standard corporate income tax is 20%; qualifying SMEs pay tiered rates of 15%–17% under the 2025 CIT law.

Global minimum tax (OECD Pillar Two)

Effective 1 January 2026, multinational groups with global revenue of about EUR 750M or more must reach a 15% effective rate in Vietnam, with any top-up tax collected locally.

Profit repatriation & dividend withholding

Foreign investors may remit profit annually after fiscal year-end, once tax obligations are met and audited financials plus the CIT finalisation are filed. Dividends to corporate shareholders carry 0% withholding; to individual shareholders, about 5%.

Economic structure

By the most recent full-year breakdown (2023): services ~42.5%, industry ~38.1% and agriculture ~11% of GDP. This is 2023 data pending a fresher official split.

Growth engines

Export manufacturing and electronics, textiles and footwear, wholesale and retail, financial services, IT/communications, tourism and agriculture. The 2026 GDP growth forecast is around 5.6%, with the 2026–2030 plan targeting higher.