Temporary Residence Card in Vietnam | ANT Lawyers

 

If a foreigner have been sponsored work permit in Vietnam to work or he/she decides to set up a company in Vietnam, he/she could be granted temporary residence card to live in Vietnam instead of applying and re-newing business or travel visas every three months.

We detail here some procedures which help foreigners to prepare for before applying for temporary residence card.

I. Subjects to be granted temporary residence card:

• Members of foreign representative agencies and their accompanying relatives (father, mother, wife, husband, children under 18 years old).
• Foreigners who work with the Institute of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Supreme People’s Court, the ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government and People’s Committees of provinces and cities directly under the Central Government and the Central offices of mass organizations, mass organizations.
• Foreigners who work in projects already approved by competent state agencies licensed in Vietnam.
• Foreigners who work with businesses in Vietnam has the work permit valued more than 01 year.
• Persons on the payroll of foreign representative offices and branches of economic organization, culture and other professional organizations of foreign non-governmental organizations based in Vietnam.
• Foreigners staying in Vietnam for other purposes.

II. Conditions for implementation

+ Time to stay in Vietnam more than 01 year;

+ Valid passport more than 01 year;

III. The composition, the number of records:

1) The composition profile, including:

• A written request of agencies, organizations and individuals offering, guarantee and propose for temporary residence card;
• 01 declaration of information of foreigners who apply for temporary residence, with photos and sealed by the agency or organization: A written request for temporary residence card (Form N7A); a declaration about Foreigners applying for temporary resident card (Form N7B)
• 02 3 x4 cm size photographs;
• 01 copies of passport, valid visa, immigration cards (bring original for comparison);
• 01 copies or photo (bring the original for comparison) proof of purpose to stay in Vietnam.

As the case may file appropriate documents: investment licenses, permits the establishment of enterprises, work permit in Vietnam, certificate of board members and permits the establishment of representative offices, marriage/birth registration.

2) The number of records: 01 (one).

IV. Implementing agencies administrative procedures:

Immigration management Department, Police provinces and cities directly under the Central Government.

V. Implementation time: 05 to 07 days;

VI. Subjects performed:  by organizations and individuals;

How to Obtain Construction Practicing Licenses in Vietnam? | ANT Lawyers

The Construction Practicing License (practicing license) shall be issued to any Vietnamese citizens, overseas Vietnamese or foreigners who legally carry out construction activities in Vietnam in order to hold certain positions or operate their own construction business as prescribed in the amended Law on Construction 2020.

Holders of titles and individuals practicing construction activities who are required to possess practicing licenses as prescribed in Law on Construction include construction investment project managers, construction planning design managers, construction survey managers, construction design or design verification managers, construction supervision consultants, and managers in charge of formulating, verifying and managing construction investment costs. Any foreigner who obtained a practicing certificate issued by a foreign authority or organization and has practiced construction in Vietnam for less than 06 months shall be permitted to practise construction activities. If he or she has practised construction in Vietnam for at least 06 months, he or she is required to change the construction practicing license.

A foreigner shall be issued with the practicing license if he or she: has full legal capacity as prescribed by law and obtains a residence permit or work permit in Vietnam; has qualifications and experience relevant to requirements of the practicing certificate; passes the test in the field that is covered by the practice license applied for.

Practicing licenses shall be classified into Rank-I, Rank-II and Rank-III. In particular, a Rank-I practicing license is granted to the individual who gains a bachelor’s degree in appropriate major and at least 07 years’ experience relevant to requirements of that practicing license; a Rank-II practicing license is granted to the individual who gains a bachelor’s degree in appropriate major and at least 04 years’ experience relevant to requirements of that practicing license; a Rank-III practicing license is granted to the individual who has appropriate qualifications and at least 02 years’ experience relevant to requirements of that practicing license with respect to the holder of the undergraduate degree and at least 03 years’ experience with respect to the holder of the associate degree or intermediate diploma.

The competence authority in Vietnam to grant practice licenses: the construction-specialized agencies directly under the Ministry of Construction shall grant Rank-I practicing licenses; The Department of Construction issues Rank-II, Rank-III practicing license and recognized socio-professional organizations grant Rank-II, Rank-III practicing license to individuals who are their members and members.

An application for issuance of the construction practicing license for the first time includes: An application form enclosed with the applicant’s 02 color 4 x 6 cm and white background pictures which are taken within the last 06 months; Qualification(s) granted by a legal training institution in accordance with the type or rank of the certificate applied for; Decisions on task assignment (responsibility assignment) issued by an organization to an individual or written confirmation of completed typical tasks provided by the legal representative of the investor, in case the individual runs his/her own construction business, a contract and record on commissioning of listed typical tasks are required; Legal residence-related documents or work permit issued by a Vietnam competent authority, applicable to foreigners. The above documents must be notarized, legalized, authenticated then translated with certified true copies into Vietnamese or included in a file that contains color photos of originals or copies presented together with the originals for comparison. Besides, satisfactory test result in case the test is done before the date of submission of the application for the practicing license.

For application of the practicing license, the applicant shall submit an application form for issuance of the practicing license, electronically or by post or in person, to the issuing authority. From the date on which the satisfactory application is received, the issuing authority shall issue the construction practicing license within 20 days in the case of issuance of the license for the first time. In the case the application is unsatisfactory, the issuing authority shall notify the applicant in writing once within 05 days from the date on which the application is received.

The practicing license of a foreign individual, its effective period shall be determined according to the period specified in the work permit or temporary resident card issued by a competent authority but not exceed 05 years.

The above are provisions on the process of granting construction practicing licenses for foreign individuals working in Vietnam under the amended Law on Construction 2020. The amended Law on Construction 2020 takes effect from January 1, 2021.

ANT Lawyers, a law firms in Vietnam with offices in Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh city could assist clients with application process.

What Are Tax Obligations of a Representative Office in Vietnam? | ANT Lawyers

Vietnam-based representative office of a foreign trader means a dependent unit of the foreign trader, which is established under the provisions of Vietnamese law to conduct market survey and a number of commercial promotion activities permitted by Vietnamese law.

Representative office of foreign trader in Vietnam has the rights and obligations in accordance with the law of Vietnam. Foreign trader is responsible before the law of Vietnam for all operations of its representative office in Vietnam.

Accordingly, representative office in Vietnam is not allowed to conduct business activities, nor carry out other activities for profit-generating purposes. The representative office in Vietnam only performs the activities for the right purposes, scope and duration specified in the certificate to establish the representative office. Besides, the representative office in Vietnam has the right to rent the head office, rent and buy the facilities and materials necessary for the operation of the representative office; to recruit Vietnamese and foreign employees to work at the representative office in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law; to use an account in foreign currency, in Vietnam dong of foreign currency origin opened by a foreign trader at a bank licensed to operate in Vietnam and only use this account for the operation of the representative office; to have a seal bearing the name of the representative office according to the provisions of Vietnamese law. Representative office in Vietnam can sign contracts, perform transactions with partners when authorized by the enterprise.

Hence, due to the limited scope of activities, the tax liability of a foreign representative office in Vietnam is narrower than that of an enterprise. As the representative office does not produce or trade in goods and services, it is not required to pay license fees as prescribed. Representative office of foreign trader in Vietnam is dependent unit of foreign trader, established to investigate the market and carry out some trade promotion activities permitted by Vietnamese law, does not carry out production and business activities, so it is not required to pay license fees.

The fact that the representative office has the right to recruit Vietnamese or foreign employees to work at the office is the basis for arising personal income tax obligation. At the same time, representative office of foreign organization is subject to personal income tax registration. For employees working at foreign representative office in Vietnam, the taxable incomes are based on salaries and wages. Declaring, withholding, paying taxes and settling personal income tax of employees working at foreign representative office is the responsibility of such representative office.

ANT Lawyers, a law firm in Vietnam with offices in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City could help client to set up representative office in Vietnam and advise on the compliance on regular basis.

What Are Conditions to Clean Up Criminal Records? | ANT Lawyers

Offenders who have completely served their penalties shall be given conditions to do business, live honestly and integrate with the community, and when they meet all the conditions prescribed by law, their conviction may be expunged and their criminal records will be cleaned. A person whose criminal record is removed is considered as having not been convicted. There are three cases of conviction expungement, including: Automatic conviction expungement; Conviction expungement under a Court’s decision; Special cases of conviction expungement.

Automatic conviction expungement applies to people convicted not for crimes of infringing upon national security and crimes of undermining peace, against humanity and war crimes when they have completed their main penalty, the probationary period of the suspended sentence, the person has served the additional penalty, other decisions of the judgment or has expired and does not commit any new crime during the periods specified below: (i) 01 year in case of a warning, fine, community sentence or suspended imprisonment; (ii) 02 years in case of imprisonment of up to 05 years; (iii) 03 years in case of imprisonment from over 05 years to 15 years; (iv) 05 years in case of imprisonment of over 15 years or commuted life imprisonment. A convict serving an additional punishment that is mandatory supervision, prohibition from residence, prohibition from holding certain positions, prohibition from doing certain jobs, deprivation of certain citizenship rights for a period longer than those specified in points (i), (ii), (iii) above, automatic conviction expungement shall be granted when he/she finishes serving the additional punishment.

Conviction expungement under a Court’s decision is applicable to persons convicted of crimes of infringing upon national security and crimes of undermining peace, against humanity and war crimes. The Court shall decide the conviction expungement of convict based on the nature of the crimes committed, the law-observing attitude, the convicted person’s labor attitude and the following conditions:

The Court shall grant conviction expungement if the convict, after serving the primary sentence or probation period as well as additional sentences and other decisions of the judgment, does not commit any new crime over the following periods: (i) 01 year in case of warning, community sentence, or suspended imprisonment; (ii) 03 years in case of imprisonment of up to 05 years; (iii) 05 years in case of imprisonment of between more than 5 years and 15 years; (iv) 07 years in case of imprisonment of more than 15 years, life imprisonment or death sentence that is commuted.

If the convict is serving an additional sentence which is mandatory supervision, prohibition from residence, or deprivation of certain citizenship rights for a longer period than that specified in points (i), (ii) above, conviction expungement shall be considered when he/she finishes serving the additional sentence.

If an application for conviction expungement is rejected for the first time, it may only be resubmitted after 01 year from the day on which it is rejected; if the application for conviction expungement is rejected for the second time, it may only be resubmitted after 02 years from the day on which it is rejected.

Where a convict shows remarkable improvements and has made reparation in an effort to atone for the crime and conviction expungement is requested by his/her employer or local authority, the court shall decide to grant conviction expungement if has served at least one third of the above period.

In order to be automatically expunge conviction or expunged conviction according to the decision of the Court, the convict must fully comply with the decisions in the judgment including the payment of court costs and not commit any new crime within the prescribed time limit. For special cases of conviction expungement, convict must have at least one-third of the time limit for conviction expungement according to regulations and the Court shall decide to expunge conviction at the request of agencies or organizations where the person works or the local government where the person resides.

The period after which a conviction may be expunged depends on the primary sentence. If the convict who has not had the conviction expunged commits a new crime which leads to a conviction under an effective judgment, the period after which the conviction may be expunged shall start over from the day on which the primary sentence has been served or the end of the probation period of the new judgment or from the deadline for execution of the new judgment. If the convict has committed more than one crime and one of which is automatically eligible for expungement, one of which is eligible for expungement under a court’s decision, the Court shall decide expungement pursuant to the prescribed time limit for conviction expungement under the Court’s decision.

A convicted corporate legal entity shall automatically have its conviction expunged if it does not commit any new criminal offence for 02 years from the day on which the primary punishments, additional punishments, other decisions of the judgment are served or from the expiration of the time limit for execution of the judgment.

Criminal record card can be obtained at authority to reveal the current criminal conviction situation or changes of situation of such conviction.

Startup Company in Vietnam | ANT Lawyers

From 2015 onwards, the wave of small and medium-sized startups in Vietnam has been developing rapidly. This development is followed by government’s support in forming legal corridors, scheme to favour startup ecosystem and encourage science and technology organizations, research institute, technology incubator, etc. To be deemed as a startup, an individual or business must start their own business along with an innovative idea. Currently, startup is the legal term as recognized under the laws, especially on Law on Small and Medium Enterprises Assistance 2017.


For clarification, small and medium startups are small and medium enterprise (“SME”) established to implement its business ideas based on the utilization of intellectual property, technology and new business models and are able to grow rapidly. These enterprises are in the stage of getting a business up and running, attaches to science and technology or find out new business models, provide products and services to new market segmentation, growth rapidly and make a difference to domestic and foreign enterprises.

Directive 9/CT-TTg dated on February 18th, 2020 of the Prime Minister requires relevant ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Science and Technology, etc. to implement solutions, remove barriers and resolve difficulties, issue policies to create favorable conditions for startups. These include the proposal to amend the Law on Investment in the direction of facilitating foreign investors to establish, contribute capital, purchase shares, or contributed capital of startup investment funds in Vietnam. Before establishing an economic organization, the foreign investor must have an investment project and carry out the procedures for issuance or amendment of the Investment Registration Certificate, except for the establishment of small and medium-sized startups and startup investment funds in accordance with the Law on Small and Medium Enterprises Assistance. Although the Law on Small and Medium Enterprises Assistance 2017 and guiding decrees have taken effect, it is not clear what procedures the foreign investors are required to do to set up a SME startup. It is necessary to wait for specific instructions for startup formation.

Moreover, according to the Law on Investment 2020, startup investment projects are included in the beneficiaries of investment incentives as recently added. Technology and intellectual property exploitation are two of subjects which are considered as startup projects. The technology sector, before the Law on Investment 2020 takes effect, has achieved a number of tax incentives for eligible enterprises, for example: enjoying enterprise income tax at rate of 10% for 15 year or tax exemption for four years, 50% reduction of taxable for the next nine years, not subject to value added tax. Furthermore, SME startups selected for SME support project are entitled to enjoy the following assistances: (i) consultation on intellectual property, intellectual property utilization and development; (ii) procedures for technical regulations and standards, quality measurement, testing and improvement of new products and business model; (iii) technology uses and transfers; (iv) training, information, trade promotion and commercialization; (v) use of technical facilities, incubators, and common working areas according to Decree No. 39/2018/ND-CP.

We help clients overcome cultural barriers and achieve their strategic and financial outcomes, while ensuring the best interest rate protection, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance. ANT lawyers have Attorneys in Hanoi, Attorneys in Ho Chi Minh and Attorneys in Danang, will help customers conveniently drafting contracts, Debt Recovery, Set up business, Foreign invest, Real estate ....

Conditions for Foreigners When Buying Houses in Vietnam | ANT Lawyers

With open-door policies and a stable socio-economic situation, Vietnam is one of the countries with great attraction to foreign investors. There are many foreign individuals and organizations come to Vietnam to live and work and a number of foreigners or foreign organizations wish to buy houses or apartments. Many real estate developers also wish to expand the customers base through selling houses and apartments to foreigners in Vietnam.

However, according to current law, foreigners or foreign organizations can buy houses and apartment in Vietnam; and real estate developers could sell houses and apartments in Vietnam but must meet some conditions.

First of all, to be able to buy a house in Vietnam, foreign individuals and organizations must be one of the subjects that can own houses in Vietnam. Specifically, foreign organizations and individuals that are allowed to own houses in Vietnam include: (i) foreign organizations and individuals investing in housing construction under projects in Vietnam; (ii) foreign-invested enterprises, branches, representative offices of foreign enterprises, foreign investment funds and foreign bank branches operating in Vietnam; (iii) foreigners whom are allowed to enter Vietnam. Accordingly, to be able to buy a house in Vietnam, these subjects must prove that they fully meet the conditions prescribed by law.

Specifically, foreign organizations and individuals investing in housing construction under projects in Vietnam must have an Investment Certificate and have houses built in the project according to regulations. For foreign organizations, they must set up company in Vietnam, have an investment certificate or a document related to being allowed to operate in Vietnam, issued by a competent Vietnamese state agency. Foreign individuals must be subject to permission to enter Vietnam and not be entitled to diplomatic and consular privileges and immunities.

Besides, depending on each different object, the documents proving the object and conditions for owning a house in Vietnam vary. For a foreign individual, s/he must have a valid passport with an entry verification stamp of the exit and entry management agency of Vietnam and not be eligible for special privileges and immunities. On the other hand, for foreign organizations, they must be eligible to own houses and have an Investment Registration Certificate or a document authorized by a competent Vietnamese agency to operate in Vietnam. In addition, these individuals and organizations should note that these documents must be valid at the time of signing the housing transactions.

Therefore, if organizations and individuals meet the above conditions, foreign individuals and organizations can purchase houses in Vietnam. However, it should be noted that foreign individuals can only own houses in Vietnam in the form of apartments or separate houses in an investment project to build commercial housing.

In addition, foreigners are also not allowed to purchase houses in areas that are subject of national defense and security under Vietnamese law. Further, foreign organizations and individuals are also limited in the number of ownership. Accordingly, foreign organizations and individuals are only allowed to own no more than 30% of the total number of apartments in an apartment building, and no more than 10% for an individual housing project of less than 2,500 units.

In general, purchasing houses for foreign individuals and organizations are subject to complicated legal conditions. Therefore, in order to ensure that the purchase of housing in Vietnam is in accordance with the regulations and to limit the risks arising, relevant individuals and organizations need to learn and seek legal advice and support from real estate lawyers in Vietnam.

What is Value-added Tax Reduction Policy in 2022? | ANT Lawyers

In order to stimulate growth and recover the economy after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has issued a policy to reduce value added tax. The reduction of value-added tax is an effective solution and tool to stimulate consumption and is expected to create a driving force for rapid development to help businesses restore business and production.

The value-added tax reduction policy has been promulgated by Decree 15/2022/ND-CP stipulating the tax exemption and reduction policy according to the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 43/2022/QH15 on fiscal and monetary policies currency to support the program of socio-economic recovery and development. Accordingly, value added tax will be reduced from 10% to 8%. This reduction will create conditions for consumers to increase spending, through which businesses will sell more products.

The value-added tax reduction will be applied to groups of goods and services currently subject to the 10% tax rate, except for the following groups of goods and services: (i) Telecommunications, financial and banking activities commodities, securities, insurance, real estate trading, metals and prefabricated metal products, mining products (excluding coal mining), coke, refined petroleum, chemical products; (ii) Products, goods and services subject to excise tax; (iii) Information technology under the law on information technology. However, if the goods and services are not subject to value-added tax or subject to value-added tax of 5% according to the provisions of the Law on Value-Added Tax, the provisions of the Law on Value-Added Tax shall be applied and not entitled to value added tax reduction.

It is important to note the value-added tax calculation method to apply. Accordingly, if the enterprise calculates value-added tax by the deduction method, the value-added tax rate of 8% shall apply; and in case the enterprise calculates value-added tax according to the percentage method on sales, collected, it will be reduced by 20% of the percentage rate for calculating value-added tax when issuing invoices for goods and services eligible for value-added tax reduction as prescribed.

The value-added tax reduction will be implemented quickly and businesses and consumers will immediately benefit. This tax reduction is expected to help reduce the cost of products and services, thereby stimulating consumer demand. Besides, it will help increase production output of enterprises and create more jobs for workers. Therefore, the reduction of value added tax is considered necessary solutions to promote the economy to recover soon after a long time affected by the pandemic.

The value-added tax reduction policy will be effective from February 1st, 2022 to the end of December 31st, 2022. Previously, value-added tax was only reduced for a few specific products, but with this policy, the object of tax reduction has been expanded in most fields of business and production. Therefore, the impact of this policy on the economy in the future is very large. However, in order for the value-added tax reduction to reach consumers, tax authorities need stricter inspection and control to meet the set goals. When in doubt, it is important to consult with tax lawyers for solutions and advice.

When Should the Employer Send Notice of Termination of Labour Contract to Employee Before Contract Expiration? | ANT Lawyers

Expiration is one of the circumstances which permit termination of labor contract under the Labor Code 2012. Accordingly, the employer must inform in writing to the employee of the terminating date of labor contract at least 15 days prior to the expiration. Termination of labor relationship in each circumstance must follow different conditions and procedures to ensure the interests and obligations of both employee and employer and avoid potential labor disputes.

Previously, an administrative penalty was applied to violations of the labor contract termination notice mentioned above. If the employer fails to inform the employee, the employer will be subject to a warning or a fine with amount from VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000. However, the Decree 28/2020/ND-CP issued on March 1st, 2020 by the Government has repealed sanction for this behavior.

If the employee continues to work upon expiration of labor contract, both parties will be required to sign a new labor contract within the next 30 days, otherwise the signed contract will become an indefinite-term. Failure of the employer to inform the labor contract termination to the employee does not mean that the labor relationship is automatically extended after the expiration. If both parties fail to sign a new labor contract within the next 30 days, but the employee still do normal assigned job and is paid a full monthly salary, an indefinite-term labor contract is deemed as entered into by them. Any disputes arising out then will be settled based on provisions of indefinite term labor contract and laws.

The Labor Code 2019 repealed the employer’s informing responsibility upon expiration of labor contract except in a few circumstances such as the employee being sentenced to imprisonment, disciplined, expelled, …, the employer is required to inform the employee in writing the termination of the labor contract.

Why Investors Should Set up Business in Phu Quoc? | ANT Lawyers

The improvement in infrastructure system along with the preferential policies have stimulated investors to come to set up business in Phu Quoc and do company.

Phu Quoc, an island in Kien Giang of Vietnam is in the top of three islands having tourism potential in Southeast Asia comparable to Phuket in Thailand and Bali in Indonesia. Phu Quoc has become a magnet for attracting huge investment flows from foreign investors in the area of real estate, entertainment, casinos, restaurant or food and beverage service business.

Phu Quoc has temperate weather throughout the year. There are also fresh and friendly forest – sea ecology and the modern transport system on the island with international airport and international hospital. Moreover, many infrastructure projects and international schools are under construction, which are necessary and favorable conditions to invite and attract investors to the Pearl Island for doing business.

Capital inflows to Phu Quoc have really exploded after the “knots” in investment were removed. The new airport went into operation that can welcome larger aircraft and serve more flights, in which there are more international direct flights from China, Singapore, Russia and Cambodia. The 51km long radial route on the island has been basically completed; the road around the island and the branch roads are also being deployed. The power grid was pulled from the mainland to the island, replacing the very high cost gasoline power in the past.

The real estate and tourism consultants all agree that Phu Quoc fully convergent elements of an attractive beach for tourist with year-round sunshine, many beautiful beaches such as Long Beach, Truong Beach, Khem Beach and immense virgin forest. Moreover, Phu Quoc has a strategic location with just 1-2 hours flight to the key tourism markets in Southeast Asia.

Both investment and tourism in Phu Quoc have entered the acceleration phase. By the end of July 2015, Phu Quoc has attracted nearly 200 investment projects, including 136 projects that are being implemented in the area of over 5,100 ha with total registered capitals of 6.5 billion USD. Just one part of those projects become reality then it will make Phu Quoc to become a leading tourist destination in Vietnam, ahead of Da Nang and Nha Trang, competing with the top destinations in the area as Phuket and Bali.

Some of the largest Vietnam corporations such as Vingroup, Sun Group, CEO Group, BIM Group are implementing the huge projects that could alter the appearance of the island. In which the giant in real estate sector – Vingroup has invested projects as: Vinpearl Resort on an area of 300 ha in Long Beach, the combining of golf course and safari zoo on an area of more than 2,000 ha, and the 80 ha commercial complex.

The improvement in infrastructure system along with the preferential business and legal environments i.e. favourable land rental rates, corporate income tax, exemption of visa for foreign tourists make Phu Quoc island of Kien Giang, Vietnam a new attractive place for investment.

ANT Lawyers, a law firm in Vietnam could offer service to set-up company in Phu Quoc through its affiliate office. We assist clients needing legal service in obtaining investment certificate, business registration, or other licensing procedures in Phu Quoc, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam.

Penalties on Working Without Work Permit in Vietnam | ANT Lawyers

 Vietnam has become an attractive destination for foreigner investors due to the impressive development of socio – economic in recent years. This is such a good opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to get cooperation in business with foreign partners.

To take advantage of the opportunities to be the pioneer and market share, many of them have demand in employees with good skills and qualifications. To meet these requirements, more and more companies hire foreign workers for specific positions which might lack of human resources within Vietnam territory.

According to Labor Code 2019, the employer wishing to recruit the foreign workers has to explain their labor demand to the People’s Committee of provinces and obtain written approval from this agency. Pursuant to this written approval, the employer shall submit the application for the work permit to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province where the planned working place of such foreign workers is located.

A foreign employee means a person who has a foreign nationality and:

• Is at last 18 years of age and has full legal capacity;
• Has qualifications, occupational skills, practical experience and adequate health as prescribed by the Minister of Health;
• Is not serving a sentence; does not have an unspent conviction; is not undergoing criminal prosecution under his/her home country’s law or Vietnam’s law;
• Possessing a work permit granted by a competent Vietnamese state agency, except the cases specified in Labor Code.

Therefore, based on regulations of the Labor Code of Vietnam, except for the foreign employees exempted from work permit i.e. investor of company established in Vietnam, all of cases the foreign employees wishing to work in Vietnam shall be subject to work permit application. A foreign employee shall produce his/her work permit in Vietnam when carrying out immigration procedures or upon request of a competent state agency.

In case foreign employees who do not belong to work permit exemption being found working in Vietnam without work permit, that person shall be considered violation of the law of Vietnam. In addition, the employer that uses the violated employee without work permit shall be punished accordingly.

According to Decree No. 28/2020/ND-CP dated March 1, 2020 on administrative penalties for violations arising from labor, social insurance and sending Vietnamese workers abroad under contracts.

i) Foreign employee that working without work permits, except for the cases in which the work permit is exempt shall be expelled.

ii) Employers who employ foreign workers in Vietnam without work permits or written confirmations of their exemption from work permit requirements, or employs foreign workers holding expired work permits or written confirmations of exemption from work permit requirements shall be implied:

+ A fine from VND 30,000,000 to VND 45,000,000 if the violation involves 01 – 10 workers;

+ A fine From VND 45,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 if the violation involves 11 – 20 workers;

+ A fine From VND 60,000,000 to VND 75,000,000 if the violation involves 21 or more workers.

What Are New in Real Estate Trading Business From 2021? | ANT Lawyers

The Law on Investment 2020 takes effect from January 1, 2021 with many new highlights, including the amendment of conditions for real estate business in the Law on Real Estate Trading 2014.

Specifically, amending regulations on real estate business conditions in the Law on Real Estate Trading 2014 as follows: “Any organizations and individuals trading in real estate must set up enterprises or cooperatives (hereinafter referred to as an enterprise), except for the case specified in Clause 2 of this Article. ”

Clause 1, Article 10 of the 2014 Law on Real Estate Business stipulates that “Any organizations or individuals wish to conduct real estate trading shall set up enterprises or cooperatives (hereinafter referred to as enterprises) and have legal capital not smaller than VND 20 billion, excluding cases prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.”

In addition, the Law on Investment 2020 also amends regulations on the competence to permit the transfer of all or a portion of real estate projects. For real estate projects approved by investors or granted an investment registration certificate in accordance with the Law on Investment, the competence and procedures for the transfer of all or a portion of the project comply with regulations of the Law on Investment. For real estate projects not falling into the above cases, the competence to permit the transfer of all or a portion of real estate projects is as follows: Provincial People’s Committee decides to allow the transfer of all or a portion of the real estate projects for projects decided by the provincial People’s Committee to invest; The Prime Minister shall decide to permit the transfer of all or a portion of real estate project to projects for which the investment is decided by the Prime Minister.

In case organizations, households or individuals sell, transfer, lease, or lease purchase real estate on a small scale, rarely, it is not required for real estate enterprise to be set up, but they must declare and pay taxes according to the provisions of law.

What are Conditions for Cancellation of Contract? | ANT Lawyers

When entering into a contract, the parties in a contractual relationship always aim for certain interests and purposes. However, in reality, the contract is not always implemented seriously and in good faith. According to Vietnam laws, parties are entitled to cancel the contract to protect rights and interests. Therefore, it is not rare for a party to request to cancel the contract in order not to be bound by the contract. However, it should be noted that the right of cancellation is only applied in some certain circumstances which stipulated by the law. This is to limit arbitrariness of cancelling the contract.

The basic condition for cancelling the contract is the breach. However, it should be noted that not all breaches of contract will result in cancelling the contract. This is stipulated in both of general law and specialized law. According to Commercial law 2005 (“CL”), the sanction of cancelling the contract is applied in case of breaching act be a condition for the cancellation of the contract as agreed upon by the parties or in case of substantial breach of contractual obligations from a party. Specifically, contractual breach means the failure of a party to perform, to fully or properly perform its obligations according to the agreement between the parties or the provisions of CL. Substantial breach means a contractual breach by a party, which causes damage to the other party to an extent that the other party cannot achieve the purpose of the entry into the contract. Civil Code 2015 (“CC”) also stipulates correspondingly but it uses the term “serious breach”: “A party has the right to cancel the contract and shall not be liable to compensate for damage in the following cases: (i) A breaching act of one party is a condition for the cancellation of the contract as agreed upon by the parties; (ii) The other party seriously violates the obligations in the contract; (iii) Others circumstances as provided by law. Serious violation means the failure to fulfill obligations properly by a party which make the other party cannot achieve the purpose of the entry into the contract”. However, currently there is no specific guidance on identifying the substantial breach of contractual obligations and the serious breach of contractual obligations. Therefore, determining whether a party’s breach is considered as a substantial breach of contractual obligations or a serious breach of contractual obligations will be within the competence of the jurisdiction.

A lawfully concluded contract may be canceled when a party breaches its basic contractual obligations. After cancelling the contract, such contract shall be invalid from the time it is entered into, and the parties shall not have to continue performing their contractual obligations, except for their agreements on their post-cancellation rights and obligations and resolution of disputes. The parties shall have the right to claim benefits brought about their performance of their contractual obligations. If parties have indemnity obligations, their obligations must be performed concurrently. Where it is impossible to make the indemnity with benefits which one party has enjoyed, the obliged party must make the indemnity in cash. Breached parties are entitled to claim damages.

In conclusion, from the regulation of law, it can be seen that nature of contract is to benefit for the parties and not to be canceled. The cancellation is very serious so the contract can only be canceled in some certain conditions. The contract cannot be canceled as a sanction if there is no contract breach. Simultaneously, the party requesting cancellation also needs to know that such request is only accepted if there is enough foundation to affirm that the other party has substantial breach of contractual obligations or the serious breach of contractual obligations. Parties encountering potential dispute should consult with dispute lawyers in Vietnam for proper resolution.

How Amendment to Contracts Can be Made? | ANT Lawyers

Once a contract is made legally, contracting parties shall implement and such contract is respected by third parties. As stated in Civil Code 2015 (“CC”): “Each commitment or agreement that does not violate regulations of law and is not contrary to social ethics shall be bound by contracting parties and must be respected by other entities”. However, in the implementation process, the contract can be amended, which means, rights and obligation of parties can be amended accordingly.

Due to the fact that the contract is result of before agreement, amendment shall follow certain conditions. According to laws, parties may agree to amend a contract. Enterprises need to pay attention to some following issues when amending the contract in the implementation process:

Firstly, entities participating in contract amendment is the matter which enterprises need to notice. Both contract and supplemental agreement are made on behalf of the parties, which means between two juridical persons. In reality, juridical persons only carry out transactions through representatives, it may be legal representative or authorized representative. Therefore, entities participating in contract amendment shall be representative of juridical persons. A civil transaction entered into and performed with a third person by a representative in accordance with his/her scope of authorization shall give rise to rights and obligations of the principal. Regarding consequence of civil transactions made by unauthorized persons or by representatives beyond scope of representation, such civil transactions shall not give rise to rights and obligations of the principal or not give rise to rights and obligations of the principal with respect to that part of the transaction which exceeded the scope of representation, except for any of the following cases: (i) The principal recognizes the transaction or gives consent; (ii) The principal knows it without any objection within an appropriate time limit; (iii) It is the principal’s fault that the other party does not know or is not able to know that the person entering into and performing the civil transaction therewith was unauthorized or beyond his/her scope of representation. In above circumstances, the unauthorized person must fulfill the obligations to the person with which he/she transacted or the obligations owning to the person with which he/she transacted in respect of the part of transaction which is beyond the scope of representation, unless such person knew or should have known that the representative was unauthorized or the scope of representation was exceeded but still transacted. A person having transacted with above representative has the right to terminate unilaterally the performance or to terminate the made civil transaction or to terminate the civil transaction with respect to that part which is beyond the scope of representation or with respect to the entire transaction and to demand compensation for any damage, except that such person knew or should have known that that the representative was unauthorized or the scope of representation was exceeded or the case of which the principal recognizes the transaction or gives consent. If above representatives and the other party in a civil transaction deliberately enter into and perform such transaction and thereby cause damage to the principal, they must jointly compensate for the damage.

Form of agreement on amending contract is the second matter which needs to be taken into consideration. Amendment shall comply with the form of the initial contract. For instance, if the initial contract is made in written, notarized, certified, registered, the amendment shall follow such forms. The form of contract shall be the conditions for its effectiveness in cases where it is provided by law. Therefore, the form of amended contract shall be the conditions for its effectiveness in cases where it is provided by law. In invalid contracts, the general rule is restoring everything to its original state and returning to each other what have received. The condition for the contract of non-compliance with form recognized by the Court’s decision is that one party or the parties has fulfill at least two third of the obligation contract. However, not one party or the parties fulfilling at least two third of the obligation contract will naturally make such contract invalid but there must go through the Court. Specifically, according to request of one party, after fully considering conditions mentioned above, the Court shall make a decision on recognizing the validity of such contract. This principle also applies to contracts amendment. It is important that parties to consult with lawyers at early stage to anticipate matters of dispute and clearly have clauses drafted to avoid potential future disputes.

What Are Responsibilities of the Seller for Inadequate Delivery of Goods?

Delivering and receiving goods are basic obligations of the parties when performing the Contract for purchase and sale of goods. Specifically, in accordance with the law, when buying and selling goods, the seller must deliver goods and relevant documents, as agreed in contracts on quantity, quality, packing and preservation modes and other contractual terms.

In cases where there is no specific agreement, the seller is obliged to deliver goods and relevant documents according to the provisions of the Law on Commerce. At the same time, the Buyer is obliged to receive the goods as agreed and perform reasonable actions to help the seller deliver the goods.

If the Seller fails to deliver insufficient goods, they must deliver the goods in accordance with the contract. In case the Seller fails to deliver the goods as agreed, the Buyer has the right to purchase the goods from another person for replacement according to the goods specified in the contract and the Seller must pay the difference and relevant expenses, if any; reserves the right to repair the defect of the goods by itself and the Seller shall pay actual and reasonable expenses for the rectification.

The Buyer has the right to request to apply for penalty if agreed in the contract. The penalty for a breach of a contractual obligation or the aggregate fine level for more than one breach shall be agreed upon in the contract by the parties but must not exceed 8% of the value of the breached contractual obligation portion.

In the contract, where a contract-breaching party delays making payment for goods or payment of service charges and other reasonable fees, the aggrieved party may claim an interest on such delayed payment at the average interest rate applicable to overdue debts in the market at the time of payment for the delayed period, unless otherwise agreed or provided for by law.

Thus, when the Seller fails to comply with the commitments as in the contract, the Buyer has the right to initiate a lawsuit requesting a court to force the Seller to return the received amount of goods equivalent for the goods not yet delivered, interest due to late payment, contract fines, compensation for damage as required. In case the parties do not agree to penalty for violation, the Buyer only has the right to claim damages. In case the parties agree to fine for violation, the Buyer has the right to apply both the sanction of the violation and the forced compensation for damage, unless otherwise provided by law.

For the determination of civil liability when violating the sale and purchase contract, according to law, each juridical person must bear civil liability for the civil rights and obligations established and performed in the name of the juridical person by its representative. Each juridical person must bear civil liability by recourse to its property; shall not bear civil liability for its members with respect to civil obligations established and performed by such members not in the name of the juridical person, unless otherwise prescribed by law. A member of a juridical person shall not bear civil liability of the juridical person for the civil obligations established and performed by such juridical person, unless otherwise prescribed by law. Therefore, if the Seller breaches the contract, the legal entity being the Seller is responsible to pay the Buyer and the legal person is not responsible for that legal entity.

It is important to engage lawyers at an early stage of the dispute for consultation on effective dispute resolution. It is also advised, when entering into the Contract for purchase and sale of goods, the Seller needs to understand the basic legal provisions on its rights and obligations. The Buyer also needs to know clearly about the obligations of the Seller in order to be able to prevent the risk that arises when one of the parties breaches a fundamental contractual obligation.

Regulations on opening individual payment account by electronic method | ANT Lawyers

On December 4, 2020, the State Bank of Vietnam issued Circular No. 16/2020/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 23/2014/TT-NHNN dated August 19, 2014 of The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam guides the opening and use of a payment account at a payment service supplier. Accordingly, the State Bank has supplemented instructions to open individual payment accounts by electronic method.

Banks and/or foreign bank branches that open payment accounts by electronic method must develop, promulgate and publicize the process and procedures for opening payment accounts by electronic method in accordance with regulations of the law, include at least the following steps: collect information about the application for opening a payment account as prescribed; check, compare and verify customer identification information; warn customers about actions not performed in the process of opening and using payment accounts opened electronically; provide the customer with the content of an agreement to open and use a payment account as prescribed and enter into an agreement to open and use a payment account with the customer; notify customers of the number, the name of the current account, the transaction limit through the current account and the date of commencement of operation of the checking account to the customer.

Banks and/or foreign bank branches shall evaluate on technological conditions to assess risks, determine the scope of use and decide to apply transaction limits via customers’ checking payment account by electronic method but must ensure that the total transaction value limit (debit) through that customer’s payment accounts does not exceed VND 100 million/month/customer.

Banks and/or foreign bank branches may decide to apply a transaction limit via an electronic payment account that is higher than the above limit in one of the following cases: banks, foreign bank branches apply video call to collect, check and verify customer identification information in the process of opening payment accounts to ensure efficiency such as identification and verification of customer information through face-to-face methods; banks and/or foreign bank branches apply the technology to check and compare customers’ biometric characteristics with citizen biometric data through the citizen identification database; after the bank, foreign bank branch has implemented the identification and verification of customer information through face-to-face meeting with the account holder; money transfer transactions for electronic savings and term deposits for the account holders at such banks, foreign bank branches; in cases where banks, foreign bank branches are allowed to actively debit the customers’ payment accounts as prescribed.

; a person who is under the age of 15, has restricted capacity for civil acts or is incapable of civil acts Opening payment accounts by electronic method specified in this Article does not apply to joint payment accounts, individual customer who is foreigner; a person who is aged between exactly 15 and nearly 18 years and does not have his/her incapacity or restricted capacity for civil actsas defined by the Law of Vietnam is entitled to open a current account via his/her legal representative; a person who has limited cognition and behavioral control as defined by the Law of Vietnam may open a current account via his/her guardian.

This Circular takes effect on March 5, 2021.