We structure our services around the stage your business is in — rather than asking you to navigate a long list of disconnected legal services.
Understand whether and how your business can enter Vietnam.
Turn your investment plan into an operational Vietnam company.
Keep your Vietnam business compliant as it grows.
Senior legal support without the cost of building a full in-house legal department. We support foreign-owned businesses with day-to-day legal decisions, contracts, employment matters, governance, regulatory issues and strategic corporate matters.
Explore Vietnam general counsel →Foreign investors should not have to coordinate a lawyer, accountant, licensing consultant and immigration provider on their own. At Inventive Legal, we coordinate the legal work around your business objective and keep the process moving.
Your primary point of contact coordinates:
Legal advice is only as strong as the people responsible for it. Our matters are handled by lawyers and specialists who understand the legal requirements — and the commercial realities — of operating in Vietnam.
Vietnam FDI · Investment · Corporate · Cross-border transactions. Suki advises international businesses on Vietnam market entry, foreign investment, corporate structuring, commercial agreements and ongoing legal matters. Her experience includes working with multinational and cross-border businesses and coordinating legal matters across multiple jurisdictions.
Meet Suki →Vietnam-qualified legal professionals and specialists. Meet the team →
Market entry Can foreigners own 100% of a company in Vietnam?Foreign investment What is the difference between investment capital and charter capital? Company formation How long does it take to establish a foreign-owned company in Vietnam? Licensing What licenses does a foreign-owned trading company need?Corporate Can a foreigner be the legal representative of a Vietnamese company? Employment When does a foreign employee need a work permit?Legal updates What has changed for foreign investors under Vietnam's latest investment regulations? Visit the FDI knowledge hub →
Requirements, legal forms, and the setup process for a wholly foreign-owned company (WFOE) in Vietnam, sector by sector.
For most Vietnam plans with one to a few founders, concentrated ownership, and no near-term equity fundraising, a limited liability company (LLC) is usually the better starting structure.
Learn how foreign companies can establish a branch office in Vietnam, including eligibility, permitted activities, licensing requirements, documents, procedures, validity and compliance.
The answer depends on the proposed business activities and applicable market-access conditions. We assess foreign ownership before recommending an incorporation structure.
Read more →Strategic legal counsel for foreign investors and international businesses entering and operating in Vietnam. From foreign ownership and market access to company formation, licensing and ongoing corporate compliance, we help you understand what needs to happen — and then make it happen.
For a foreign investor, incorporating a company is only one part of entering Vietnam. Before you file anything, you may need to determine:
A registration agent can help you complete the paperwork. We help you understand the decisions behind the paperwork.
Know your route before you commit. Before you establish a company, we assess how your proposed business can enter and operate in Vietnam. Our assessment looks at your business model, ownership, activities and investment plans and translates them into a practical legal and regulatory roadmap.
Whether your proposed ownership structure is permitted.
Whether your proposed activities are subject to foreign-investment conditions or restrictions.
How your proposed activities should be classified and what additional licensing may apply.
The structure that best fits your proposed Vietnam operation.
Key considerations for investment and charter capital.
The registrations and licenses potentially required before and after incorporation.
The expected sequence of steps and key dependencies.
The issues that should be resolved before implementation.
The assessment fee is credited 100% toward implementation if you sign within 30 days of receiving your report. See the full Vietnam Company Launch packages.
Your Vietnam journey does not end when your company receives its registration certificate.
We understand your business model and identify the legal and regulatory issues that matter.
We help determine the appropriate ownership, investment and corporate structure.
We manage the incorporation, licensing and required registrations.
We help establish the legal, tax, employment and compliance framework your business needs.
As your business grows, we support restructuring, new investments, M&A and other strategic matters.
One legal relationship from entry to expansion.
Your legal strategy should not disappear into a processing queue. We focus on understanding the business behind the matter.
We work with international businesses navigating Vietnam's investment, corporate and regulatory environment.
We look at the commercial objective before recommending the legal route.
Clear scope, practical advice and a clear understanding of what is included, what is not and what comes next.
Our relationship can begin with market entry and continue through incorporation, operations, compliance and expansion.
Our work spans foreign investment, company establishment, corporate governance, regulatory matters, employment and cross-border commercial issues.
The investor needed to structure a cross-border retail operation — importing materials, manufacturing through a Vietnam factory, and exporting finished goods to Russia amid extensive sanctions and trade restrictions — while resolving an unexpected company-name conflict with its own unregistered trademark.
Market-access assessment · Cross-border trade & sanctions-related assessment · 100% FDI structure · Regulatory coordination · Company-name resolution
100% foreign-owned entity established in 12 weeks, with IRC and ERC obtained, the cross-border structure clarified, and all proposed business activities approved.
The client's existing IRC and ERC didn't reflect how its logistics operation actually worked — and the business-activity changes needed triggered a foreign-ownership review of its investment structure.
Business-model review · Business activity & market-access analysis · Investment restructuring · IRC/ERC amendment · Authority coordination
Ownership restructured to 99% Indian / 1% Vietnamese, IRC and ERC amended, and all revised business activities approved within 12 weeks.
The manufacturer needed a Vietnam presence for sourcing, supplier management and quality control — without crossing the line from permitted representative activities into commercial trading that would require a different structure.
Market-entry structure assessment · RO scope & regulatory boundary review · Application & licensing · Authority coordination
Representative Office Establishment Licence obtained in 8 weeks, with clear operational boundaries for supply-chain development.
Inventive Legal works with founders, international companies and foreign-invested businesses navigating the Vietnamese market.
Selected client names and representative matters are presented subject to client confidentiality and permission.
You do not need to know which certificate, license or legal structure you need before contacting us. Tell us:
We will help you understand what needs to happen next.
We aim to respond to new enquiries within one business day.