Under Vietnam Law on Investment, before starting the licensing procedure for obtaining the Investment Certificate for setting up the company (NewCo) to provide accommodation services, you must proceed three following main works:
- Consulting and obtaining an in-principle approval on the Land Use Right (LUR) toward the proposed land lot from the People’s Committee of the relevant city or province (the “ People’s Committee”);
- Consulting and obtaining the support letter for the whole project from the People’s Committee; and
- Consulting and obtaining the Planning Certificate of the proposed project from the Planning and Architecture Department of the relevant city of province (the “Architecture Department”);
a. In-principle approval on the land from thePeople’s Committee (applicable when you leased the land from the State):
Before submitting the application for the Investment Certificate from the Licensing Authority, foreign investors need to consult and negotiate with the existing land user of the proposed land and the People’s Committee relation to the land to be used for the project.
The value of the LUR to be contributed into the proposed project will be negotiated between the parties who may involve a valuation expert.
b. Letters of support from thePeople’s Committee for the proposed project
The letters of support from the People’s Committees of relevant province where the real estate is developed should be addressed to the Licensing Authority and all relevant State authorities.
The letters of support should include the following (i) a statement that the proposed project is compatible with the resources and needs the relevant city or province; and (ii) undertakings of the People’s Committee to support the project. It usually takes about 01 to 02 months to obtain these letters from the People’s Committee.
For the convenience to obtain the support letter from People’s Committees, you must provide a sufficient explanation on the feasibility of your investment project. Scope of investment project and the Investment Capital shall be carefully evaluated to grant the final conclusion.
c. Planning Certificate issued by the Architecture Department
A Planning Certificate (or the “red-line demarcation”) issued by the Architecture Department, will be required for any building or civil work. The issue of the Planning Certificate usually takes up to 2 months after the submission of relevant documents.
An application for the Planning Certificate will include (i) details of the investment project, (ii) the scale of construction works; (iii) the requirements for land and the demand for use of technical infrastructure. The Planning Certificate must be obtained before or at the same time as the application file for the Investment Certificate is submitted to the Licensing Authority.
d. Issuance of Investment Certificate
After completing above works, you shall be required to prepare an application dossier for submitting to the People’s Committee for the issuance of the Investment Certificate.
e. Issuance of the Land Use Right Certificate (applicable when you lease the land from the State)
After the Investment Certificate has been issued by the Licensing Authority to a foreign invested company, the procedure for land lease shall be as follows:
- issue of the Chairman of the People's Committee’s formal approval on land lease;
- signing of a land lease;
- Payment of the land rental to the State; and
- issue of the Land Use Right Certificate.
