On September 20, 2018, the Vietnamese Government issued Decree No. 126/2018 / ND-CP regulating the establishment and operation of Foreign Cultural Establishments in Vietnam. The major provisions of the decree are explained below.

Operating Principle

Foreign Cultural Establishments in Vietnam are only permitted to operate when granted a Registration Certificate and License. To open branches, they must satisfy the following conditions:

1) Have been operating in Vietnam for at least 2 years; and

2) Comply with current legal regulations in Vietnam.

Branches shall operate after granted the Certification. Foreign Cultural Establishments and their branches’ activities shall comply with the relevant contents described in the Registration Certificate and License.

It is noted that the branches do not have legal entity status and must be under the management and operate under authorization of the Foreign Cultural Establishments.

During the course of operation, Foreign Cultural Establishments shall follow the law of Vietnam, respect the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, customs and habits of Vietnam; shall not allow any individuals or organizations to take advantage of their good names or facilities to adversely affect the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or the legal benefit of other countries.

In the case of operations in other related sectors, Foreign Cultural Establishments shall comply with the law of Vietnam on those sectors.

A breach of law shall be dealt with in accordance with current laws in Vietnam.

The Application for Registration of Foreign Cultural Establishments in Vietnam

The application file includes:

1. An application for a registration certificate, according to Form No. 01 in the Appendix of this Decree;
2. Proposed organizational structure and executive apparatus
3. Draft of operational rules
4. Profile of the proposed legal representative

In case the above documents are in a foreign language, notarized Vietnamese translation for those documents shall be enclosed.

The Sequence, Procedure, Time Limit and Authority

1. The foreign party applying for a registration certificate shall submits one (1)  copy of the application package directly to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism;
2. In case Where the application package is found not to have been completed, , the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall notify the applicant party in writing by post or by email within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the file, for the applicant to complete the application file.
3. Within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the amendments or additions to the file, the minister of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall grant the registration certificate according to Form No. 02 of Appendix issued with this Decree.

The Validity Period of the Registration Certificate

1. If regulated by an international treaty, the validity period for a registration certificate shall be based on the term of such international agreement and shall be extended in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of this Decree.
2. If the international treaty does not stipulate the validity term, the registration certificate will expire after 5 years and be extendable. The extended period is 5 years at most according to Article 07 of this Decree.

The Decree will come into force on November 05, 2018.