When Does a Vietnam Investment Project Require Investment Policy Approval?

Vietnam requires investment policy approval for 20 groups of projects under the 2025 Law on Investment, effective from 1 March 2026. The requirement depends on the characteristics of the investment project rather than foreign ownership itself.

Investment policy approval is a government decision on whether a specified investment project may proceed and on the core terms of that project.

Which investment projects require investment policy approval?

Projects subject to approval include those involving significant land-use changes or resettlement. This includes projects converting 500 hectares or more of two-crop wet rice land, as well as projects requiring the resettlement of 10,000 people or more in mountainous areas or 20,000 people or more elsewhere. Forest projects are also covered where land-use conversion reaches specified thresholds, including 50 hectares of special-use, headwater protection, or border protection forest; 500 hectares of wind- or sand-shielding protection forest; or 10,000 hectares of production forest.

Other categories include projects involving national defense and security or allocation of sea areas, as well as specified projects involving nuclear power, casinos, air transport, telecommunications with network infrastructure, and oil and gas processing. Projects in certain national monument and World Heritage areas, housing and urban developments, golf courses, development and operation of industrial-zone infrastructure, large seaports, airports, and important aviation infrastructure can also fall within the regime.

Operating within an industrial park does not itself trigger investment policy approval. Establishing a factory within an industrial park, for example, is different from developing and operating the industrial park’s infrastructure.

Which authority approves the investment?

Under the 2025 Law on Investment, the National Assembly considers projects requiring special mechanisms, while eight groups of projects fall under the Prime Minister’s authority. Another 13 groups fall within provincial-level approval authority, generally exercised by the Chairman of the relevant provincial People’s Committee.

There is an important exception for projects within designated investment zones. Where a project falling within provincial authority is implemented in an industrial park, export-processing zone, high-tech park, concentrated digital technology zone, or economic zone and is consistent with the approved master plan, the relevant zone management board approves the investment guidelines.

What must be approved before the project can proceed?

Investment policy approval can establish the project’s objectives, scale, investment capital, location, duration, and implementation schedule. The financial requirements attached to those terms depend on the project; Vietnam does not impose a single minimum investment amount for every project requiring investment policy approval.

Specific capital requirements can apply to types of investment. For a real estate enterprise implementing a real estate project, owner’s equity must be at least 20 percent of total investment where the project uses less than 20 hectares of land, or 15 percent where it uses 20 hectares or more. The enterprise must also be capable of raising the remaining capital required to implement the project. These thresholds are specific to real estate projects rather than a general minimum capital requirement for investment policy approval.

The project’s location can also affect how long the investment is permitted to operate. Under Vietnam’s investment framework, projects within economic zones generally have a maximum operating period of 70 years, while projects outside economic zones generally have a maximum of 50 years.

The assessment may also cover technology, infrastructure, environmental requirements, and the investor’s ability to implement the project where these are relevant to the proposed investment.

Once these terms have been approved, certain subsequent changes can require the investment policy approval to be adjusted. Under the 2025 Law on Investment, this includes certain changes to approved project objectives, land area or location, an extension of the implementation schedule by more than 24 months, the project’s operating period, or the investor. A change in total investment capital does not, by itself, automatically require an adjustment.

Where does investment policy approval fit into the market entry process?

Investment policy approval is separate from the Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) and Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC).

Under the investment framework effective from March 2026, foreign investors can establish a Vietnamese company before completing procedures for the issuance or amendment of an IRC, provided the relevant foreign investment market-access requirements are met. This changes the previous general sequence under which the investor first needed an investment project before establishing the company.

Investment policy approval does not replace any sector-specific licenses or other authorizations required to operate the project.

How investment policy approval affects project execution in Vietnam

For projects involving state land, investment policy approval can come before investor selection through an auction of land-use rights or a bidding process. In specified cases, the competent authority can approve the investment policy and the investor together without an auction or bidding process, including where the investor already holds the relevant land-use rights or where the project is implemented in an industrial park, high-tech zone, or concentrated digital technology zone.

For projects involving construction, investment policy approval may be followed by separate Vietnamese planning, construction, environmental, and land procedures before the project can become operational.

The 2026 framework also provides a streamlined special investment procedure for qualifying projects in industrial parks, export-processing zones, high-tech zones, concentrated digital technology zones, free-trade zones, international financial centers, and functional zones within economic zones. Under this route, qualifying projects can be exempt from procedures including investment policy approval, technology appraisal, environmental impact assessment reporting, detailed planning, construction permits, and certain other construction and fire-safety approvals, with investors instead making commitments to comply with the applicable standards and technical regulations.

Projects requiring investment policy approval cannot use this special procedure.

Dezan Shira & Associates can support your Vietnam investment

Dezan Shira & Associates can assess whether a proposed Vietnam investment requires investment policy approval and support the investor through the required approval and establishment procedures. Contact Dezan Shira & Associates to discuss your Vietnam investment project.