Minimum Investment Capital for Establishing a Private University in Vietnam

What is the minimum investment capital for establishing a private university in Vietnam?

Based on Clause 4, Article 87 of Decree 46/2017/ND-CP stipulating the conditions for the establishment of private universities:

Conditions for Establishing Public Universities, Allowing the Establishment of Private Universities

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4. For public universities, there must be an investment project for the construction of the university approved by the competent authority, clearly identifying the capital source for implementation according to the plan, and for private universities, the minimum investment capital must be VND 1,000 billion (excluding the value of land for building the university); the investment capital must be determined in cash and assets prepared for investment and confirmed in writing by the competent authority; by the time of appraisal for permitting the establishment of a private university, the investment value must have been implemented to exceed VND 500 billion.

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Thus, the minimum investment capital to establish a private university is VND 1,000 billion. This capital does not include the value of the land for building the university. The investment capital must be determined in cash and assets prepared for investment and confirmed in writing by the competent authority; by the time of appraisal for permitting the establishment of a private university, the investment value must have been implemented to exceed VND 500 billion.

Minimum Investment Capital for Establishing a Private University in Vietnam​ (Image from the Internet)

What are the authority and process for permitting the establishment of private universities?

Based on Article 88 of Decree 46/2017/ND-CP stipulating the authority and process for permitting the establishment of private universities:

* Authority to Permit the Establishment of Private Universities is the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam.

* Process for Establishing Private Universities includes two steps:

Step 1: Approval of the policy for permitting the establishment of a private university;

Step 2: Decision for permitting the establishment of a private university.

What are the procedures for submitting a Proposal for policy approval for establishment private universities in Vietnam? What are procedures for application documentation for the Prime Minister’s decision on approval of establishment of private universities in Vietnam?

Based on Article 88 of Decree 46/2017/ND-CP, procedures for submitting a Proposal for policy approval for establishment private universities and procedures for application documentation for the Prime Minister’s decision on approval of establishment of private universities in Vietnam are stipulated as follows:

* Procedures for submitting a Proposal for policy approval for establishment private universities in Vietnam:

Step 1: The organization or individual proposing the policy approval for establishing or permitting the establishment of a university submits directly or via postal service 01 set of documents specified in Clause 3, Article 88 of Decree 46/2017/ND-CP to the Ministry of Education and Training;

Step 2: The Minister of Education and Training organizes the appraisal of the documents, prepares a report, and submits it to the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam for consideration and approval of the policy for establishing or permitting the establishment of the university;

Step 3: Document processing: Within 45 working days from the date of receipt of the complete set of documents as per the regulations, the Minister of Education and Training must provide a written response on the results of the document processing to the organizations or individuals presiding over the university establishment proposal;

After 3 years from the date of the written approval of the policy for establishing or permitting the establishment of the university by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam, if the proposer does not submit a complete dossier requesting the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam to decide on the establishment or permit the establishment of the university, the Minister of Education and Training must report to the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam for consideration and decision to cancel the policy approval document for establishing or permitting the establishment of the university.

In case the policy approval document for establishing or permitting the establishment of the university expires or is cancelled, the State will repossess the land to continue arranging for use by other educational institutions without changing the land use purpose for education; for assets on the land, they will be dealt with according to the current regulations.

* Procedures for application documentation for the Prime Minister’s decision on approval of establishment of private universities in Vietnam:

Step 1: The proposer submits directly or via postal service 01 set of documents specified in Clause 5, Article 88 of Decree 46/2017/ND-CP to the Ministry of Education and Training;

Step 2: Within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the documents, if the documents are not complete as per the regulations, the Minister of Education and Training must inform the proposer in writing to amend and supplement the documents;

Step 3: For documents that are complete as per the regulations, within 60 working days, the Ministry of Education and Training must preside, cooperate with relevant agencies, and organize the appraisal of the documents and physical inspection to accurately assess the conditions and contents of the proposal, complete the documents and send them to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Home Affairs to request written opinions on the proposals that meet the conditions as per the regulations and inform the proposer on the proposals that do not meet the conditions.

The actual appraisal of the proposal will be carried out by the Appraisal Council comprising representatives from the Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and the Provincial People's Committee where the university's main office is located.

The Appraisal Council is established by decision of the Minister of Education and Training and has the duty to advise the Minister of Education and Training on the feasibility of the proposal to submit to the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam for consideration and decision;

Step 4: Within 30 working days from the date of receipt of the complete opinions in writing from relevant agencies, the Ministry of Education and Training must compile the opinions, complete the proposal documents, and submit them to the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam;

Within 4 years from the date the Decision of the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam on the establishment or permission for establishment of the university takes effect, if the university does not meet the conditions for training activity permission, the Minister of Education and Training must report to the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam to decide to cancel the Decision on the establishment or permission for establishment of the university, and at the same time, the Ministry of Education and Training will issue a written notification to the Provincial People's Committee where the university is located to handle the repossession of the granted land use rights as per the authority.

In case the decision on the establishment or permission for establishment of the university expires, the State will repossess the land as per the prevailing laws on land; for assets on the land, they will be dealt with according to the current regulations.