VI Changes in business strategy or market expansion needs may lead to a foreign trader’s representative office needing to relocate its headquarters to a different province or city. This is a significant decision that requires the business to complete all legal procedures to ensure continuous operation and compliance with Vietnamese law. The process for an inter-provincial address change is more complex than a change within the same province, as it involves transferring files between state management agencies. Understanding this process will help businesses save time and costs, and avoid unnecessary legal risks. Let’s learn about these procedures with Pham Consult!
- Regulations of Vietnamese law on inter-provincial address changes for a representative office of a foreign trader in Vietnam
According to Article 7 of Decree 07/2016/NĐ-CP of the Government on representative offices and branches of foreign traders in Vietnam, a foreign trader is granted a license to establish a representative office when it meets the statutory conditions. In a case where a representative office relocates its headquarters from one province, centrally-run city, or a geographical area under the management of one Management Board to another, the foreign trader’s representative office must apply for a re-issuance of its establishment license as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 18 of Decree 07/2016/NĐ-CP.
- Dossier for inter-provincial address change for a representative office of a foreign trader in Vietnam
The dossier for an inter-provincial address change for a representative office of a foreign trader is specified in Clause 1, Article 19 of Decree 07/2016/NĐ-CP, and includes the following documents:
(i) Application form for re-issuance of the License for Establishment of a representative office, using Form MĐ-1 issued with Circular No. 11/2016/TT-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, signed by the authorized representative of the foreign trader.
(ii) Notice of termination of the representative office’s operations sent to the licensing authority in the former location as per Point a Clause 1 Article 36 of Decree 07/2016/NĐ-CP.
(iii) A copy of the representative office’s current establishment license.
(iv) Documents on the proposed new location of the representative office’s headquarters as required by Point e Clause 1 Article 10 of Decree 07/2016.
- Procedures for inter-provincial address change for a representative office of a foreign trader in Vietnam
A foreign trader must carry out the inter-provincial address change procedure within 30 days from the date of notifying the termination of the representative office’s operations at the old location. If this period is exceeded, the foreign trader must follow the procedures for establishing a representative office as stipulated in Articles 10 and 11 of Decree 07/2016.
Step 1: Submitting the dossier
The foreign trader submits the dossier directly, by mail, or online (if eligible) to the licensing authority.
Step 2: Processing the application
Within 03 working days from the date of receiving the dossier, the licensing authority will review it and request additional documents if the dossier is incomplete or invalid. The request for additional documents is done only once during the entire process.
Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, the licensing authority will re-issue the License for Establishment of a representative office. If the license is not re-issued, a written explanation must be provided.
