Last updated on October 22nd, 2026 at 12:23 pm
How much does it cost to establish a business in Vietnam?
The cost of setting up a business in Vietnam is different for each investor. It depends on your business lines, your city, your office, your documents and the person who signs for the company. This guide lists each cost item, tells you what makes it higher or lower, and shows how to plan your own budget.
After the company opens, plan to have enough money to run for 6 to 12 months, at least, till the company starts making profit. This amount includes the office address, salary, administrative expenses, accounting, tax reports, the yearly audit, and more. The sections below show estimated cost, what it includes, and how to reduce it.
Your charter capital is separate. Charter capital is the money that the owners put into the company. It is not a fee. The company uses it for its own business costs.
Read more: 10 steps to set up and manage a company in Vietnam
What makes up the cost of setting up a business in Vietnam?
The total cost has one-time items for the setup and yearly items after the company opens. The table shows each item and what sets its amount.
| Cost item | When you pay | What sets the amount |
|---|---|---|
| Charter capital | One time, within 90 days after the ERC | Your business plan and the conditions of your business lines |
| Company setup service | One time | The type of business lines, the number of owners, and whether an owner is a person or a company |
| State fees | One time | The law. They are a small part of the total |
| Apostille or legalization, and notarized translation | One time | The country that issued your documents, the number of pages and the language |
| Business address | Each year | The city, the district, the building grade, and a virtual or a physical office |
| Resident legal representative | Each month, if you hire one | Salary of that person |
| Seal, digital signature, e-invoices and signboard, accounting and operating software | One time, then renewals | The provider, the validity period and the number of invoices |
| Accounting and tax reports | Each month or quarter | The number of accounting entries, the number of staff and the number of reports |
| Yearly audit | Each year | The size of the company and its number of transactions |
| Work permits and TRCs | For each foreign employee | The number of foreign staff and their documents |
| Other expenses | Variable | Depending on the actual operations |
What changed in 2026 for company setup costs
Three legal changes in 2026 reduce the cost or the time to open a company in Vietnam:
- The yearly business license fee ended on January 1, 2026.
- A foreign investor can get the Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC) before the Investment Registration Certificate (IRC). The ERC is the license that creates the company. The IRC is the license for the investment project. If you use this route, the company must get the IRC within 12 months. Until then, it cannot start the project or change its business lines.
- Since September 11, 2026, Vietnam accepts apostilles from 125 countries. An apostille is one certificate that replaces embassy legalization. For most investors, the embassy step and its fees are gone.
Government fees for business setup in Vietnam
State fees are the smallest part of the cost of setting up a business in Vietnam. The law sets them, so they are the same for each investor:
- An online ERC application has no state fee.
- The company pays a small fixed fee to publish its details on the National Business Registration Portal.
Most of the cost of the IRC and the ERC is the work to prepare the application. A foreign investor files the IRC application with the provincial Department of Finance, or with the management board of an industrial zone.
Charter capital: the largest cost item
Charter capital is the money that the owners promise to put into the company. The ERC shows this amount. The company uses the capital to pay rent, salaries and other costs until it earns enough money for self-sustaining.
Vietnam has no general minimum capital. Some business lines have a legal minimum, for example banking and insurance. Our list of conditional business lines in Vietnam shows which business lines have extra conditions.
To set the amount, add up your costs until the company earns money: rent, salaries, equipment, accounting and the audit. The licensing office reviews whether the capital fits the business plan. If the capital is too small for the plan, the office can reject the application.
The capital also affects your visa. An investor can get a temporary residence card (TRC). A TRC is a card that lets a foreigner live in Vietnam for one year or more. A larger capital gives a longer TRC. If the capital is small, the immigration office can reject the application.
You must contribute the full capital within 90 days after the ERC is issued. Foreign owners send the money through a foreign investment capital account (FICA). A FICA is a special bank account for money from foreign investors. If you miss the 90-day deadline, the company and the owner can get fines. If you cannot contribute the full amount, file a change to reduce the capital before the deadline. Our guide to the FICA gives the rules.
Business address and virtual office cost
Each company in Vietnam must have a business address. A business address is an address that the law permits for commercial use. A residential apartment is not a business address. You show a lease contract for the address in your application.
The cost of the address depends on these points:
- A co-working desk, room, or partial floor space costs less than a full floor.
- A city-center district costs more than an outer district.
- A Grade A building costs more than a lower-grade building.
- A physical office lease usually needs a deposit of some months of rent before you move in.
Resident legal representative cost
Each company must have at least one legal representative who lives in Vietnam. A legal representative is the person who signs for the company. The legal representative can be Vietnamese or a foreigner. If you, the owner, live in Vietnam, you can be the legal representative yourself, so you do not need to hire one. The role can also go to a director or another person who is not an owner.
If no one in your company lives in Vietnam, you have two options:
- Ask a friend or a relative in Vietnam to hold the role.
- Hire a professional director.
If a foreigner is the legal representative, that person needs a work permit or an exemption, and a TRC. Our guide to the legal representative in Vietnam gives the full details.
Service fee for business formation in Vietnam
The service fee is the price that a consulting firm or a law firm charges to consult and support you. The application includes reviewing an investment proposal and a business plan. The text must match your business lines and the law. If the text is wrong, the office asks for changes or rejects the application. Each round of changes adds weeks.
The fee goes up when the application has more work in it:
- Conditional business lines need extra licenses after the IRC and the ERC, for example recruitment, logistics and tourism.
- More owners, or a company as an owner, means more documents to prepare and translate.
- Many business lines in one application means more text to write and more review.
When you compare providers, compare what each package includes, not only the price. Ask each provider these questions:
- Are the state fees and the translation in the price?
- Is the bank account opening in the price?
- What happens if the office asks for changes to the application?
- Who answers your questions after the licenses arrive?
The lowest price is not always the lowest total cost. Some clients come to us after a low-cost provider stopped answering them. Some of them paid fines because they got wrong information.
Document legalization and translation cost
Vietnam needs a Vietnamese translation of each foreign document, and a notary must certify the translation. Typical documents are the passport, a bank statement and, for a corporate owner, its certificate of incorporation.
Before you send foreign documents to Vietnam, get them certified in the country that issued them:
- If the country is one of the 125 apostille countries, get an apostille in that country.
- If the documents come from Germany, Austria or the Czech Republic, get consular legalization at a Vietnamese embassy.
- If the documents come from Thailand, use consular legalization until February 28, 2027.
Each country sets its own apostille fee. You pay it in your home country, separately from the business setup fee in Vietnam. Our guide to the apostille in Vietnam gives the country list.
Translation is priced for each page. The VNBG package includes up to 20 pages from English to Vietnamese. More pages, and languages other than English, cost extra. Passports from Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China have extra steps. Ask us for the current rules before you start.
Company tools after formation
After the ERC, the company buys a few tools to sign documents, issue invoices and file taxes.
| Item | What it does | What sets the cost |
|---|---|---|
| Company seal | A red round stamp for contracts and official documents | Included in the VNBG package |
| Digital signature token | A USB key to file taxes and sign documents online | The provider and the validity period |
| E-invoices | Electronic invoices that you send to customers | The provider and the number of invoices |
| Company signboard | A sign with the company name at the business address | The size and the material |
| Bank account | An account for payments and taxes | The bank. Some banks ask for a minimum balance |
First-year running costs
The setup is complete when you have the licenses, the seal and the bank account. After that, the company has running costs each year.
Taxes
The law sets the tax rates. Your tax amount depends on your revenue, your profit and your payments abroad.
- Business license fee: none. Vietnam abolished it on January 1, 2026. Companies also do not file a declaration for it.
- Corporate income tax (CIT): 20% of the taxable profit. A new small or medium company can get a CIT exemption for 3 years. Read Vietnam SME tax exemption.
- Value added tax (VAT): 10% is the standard rate. Some goods and services have a lower rate.
- Foreign contractor tax (FCT): a tax on some payments to foreign suppliers, for example service fees to a parent company abroad.
Our guide to Vietnam corporate taxation gives the details.
Accounting and tax reports
A company must file reports to the government each month or each quarter. This rule applies also when the company has no revenue. The reports are in Vietnamese and follow Vietnamese accounting standards (VAS). Before the first report, the company applies its digital signature, its e-invoices and its accounting software. A company with employees also applies a social insurance account.
Yearly audit
Each foreign-owned company must have an independent audit of its yearly financial statements. A licensed Vietnamese audit firm does the audit and charges its fee directly. The fee depends on the size of the company and its number of transactions.
Staff, work permits and visas
If you hire Vietnamese staff, the employer pays about 21.5% of each gross salary for social, health and unemployment insurance. The employer also pays a trade union fee of 2% of the payroll.
Each foreign employee needs a work permit and a TRC. The process takes 2 to 3 months. The cost goes up with the number of foreign employees.
How to plan your budget
Answer these questions before you ask for quotes. Each “yes” adds a cost item to your budget.
| Question | If yes, add this item |
|---|---|
| Is one of your business lines conditional? | Sub-licenses and a longer timeline |
| Is an owner a company, not a person? | More documents to apostille and translate |
| Do your documents come from a country outside the apostille list? | Consular legalization at a Vietnamese embassy |
| Does your business need a large physical place? | Office rent and a deposit |
| Does no one in your company live in Vietnam? | A resident director |
| Will you hire staff in the first year? | Insurance, payroll and more tax reports |
| Will you hire foreign staff? | Work permits and TRCs |
| Will you pay a parent company or a supplier abroad? | Foreign contractor tax |
Then add the charter capital. The capital is not a cost. The company uses it for its business.
These are general questions that VNBG clients often ask. The real amount for your company depends on its own situation and context. Talk to a consultant and research carefully before you decide to open a company in Vietnam.
How to reduce the cost of setting up a business in Vietnam
Use these steps to keep the cost low without risk of fines:
- Choose simple business lines first, then adding more later. Each conditional business line adds licenses, time and fees.
- Use a small office if your business line permits it.
- Let yourself or ask a friend or a relative in Vietnam to be the legal representative, if the person meets the conditions.
- Prepare your documents before you start. An apostille in your home country takes less time and money than embassy legalization.
- Set a capital that fits your plan. A very small capital can block your TRC. A very large capital must still arrive within 90 days.
- Plan the accounting before the licenses arrive. Late reports cause fines, and the tax office can block the tax code of the company.
Read more: Company setup in Vietnam: how to minimize setup costs
Get a free cost estimate for your company
VNBG helped more than 500 foreign-invested companies with business setup, accounting, work permits and TRCs. Tell us your business lines, your city and your plan for staff. We send you a written cost estimate for your case, with all fees listed, before you pay anything.
Contact VNBG for more advice on how to plan your business incorporation now.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to set up a business in Vietnam as a foreigner?
The cost depends on your business lines, your city, your office, your documents and your legal representative. A simple service company with a virtual office costs much less than a company with conditional business lines or a factory. The charter capital is extra and stays in the company.
Is there a minimum capital to open a company in Vietnam?
No, Vietnam has no general minimum capital. Some business lines, such as banking and insurance, have a legal minimum. The capital must fit your business plan and cover your costs until the company earns money.
Do companies still pay the business license tax in 2026?
No. The business license fee ended on January 1, 2026. Companies do not pay it and do not file a declaration for it. Unpaid fees for 2025 and earlier years are still due.
How long does it take to set up a company in Vietnam?
For a standard business, VNBG gets the IRC and the ERC in 4 to 6 weeks. Add the time to get an apostille or legalization for your documents in your home country. Conditional business lines take longer.
Do I need a Vietnamese partner or a Vietnamese director?
No. In most business lines, a foreign investor can own 100% of the company. You need one legal representative who lives in Vietnam. This person can be a foreigner with a work permit and a TRC.
Can I use the charter capital after I put it into the company?
Yes. The capital belongs to the company. After the money arrives in the capital account, the company can move it to its operating account and pay rent, salaries and other business costs.
