Vietnam: What are the rights and obligations of educational institutions with foreign investment?

What are the rights and obligations of educational institutions with foreign investment?

According to Article 32 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP of Vietnam's Government, the rights and obligations of educational institutions with foreign investment are as follows:

- To be protected regarding the lawful rights and interests in accordance with Vietnamese law and international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.

- To be subject to administrative management territorial by the provincial People’s Committee; to operate and be subject to state management in accordance with Vietnamese law.

- To publicize commitments on educational quality, conditions for ensuring education quality, and financial revenue and expenditures. To be responsible for compensating learners for fees they have paid in case the educational program provided does not ensure the committed education quality.

- To ensure the lawful rights and interests of learners, staff, lecturers, teachers, and employees in case of termination or compulsory early termination of operations.

- To facilitate the operations of political organizations, socio-political organizations established and operating in accordance with Vietnamese law at educational institutions with foreign investment.

- To report annually before November 30 to the direct state management agency on the comprehensive development status of the institution and provide a full explanation whenever the state management agency requires.

The report includes the following main contents: Implementation of the decision permitting operation, organizational structure, teachers, lecturers, number of admissions, teaching and learning organization, academic results of students, graduate students, Ph.D. students, number of graduates, graduation rate, issued diplomas, financial report, difficulties, advantages during implementation, proposals, recommendations.

Reports are made in both online and written forms.

- Other rights and obligations as prescribed by Vietnamese law.

What are the rights and obligations of educational institutions with foreign investment? (Image from the Internet)

What is the maximum duration of operation for educational institutions with foreign investment in Vietnam?

Based on Article 30 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP, the operating period of educational institutions with foreign investment:

Operating period

The operating period of educational institutions with foreign investment shall not exceed 50 years from the date the investment registration certificate is issued, but no longer than the land lease period.

Thus, the maximum operating period for educational institutions with foreign investment is 50 years. This period is calculated from the date the investment registration certificate is issued but does not exceed the land lease period.

What are the procedures for establishing educational institutions with foreign investment in Vietnam?

According to Article 31 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP, the procedures for establishing educational institutions with foreign investment are as follows:

- The procedure for permitting the establishment of short-term training institutions with foreign investment:

Step 1: Issuing the investment registration certificate;

Step 2: Issuing the decision permitting educational operations and announcing on the licensing agency’s electronic information portal.

- The procedure for permitting foreign diplomatic agencies, intergovernmental international organizations to establish preschools and general education institutions in Vietnam:

Step 1: Issuing the decision permitting establishment;

Step 2: Issuing the decision permitting educational operations and announcing on the licensing agency’s electronic information portal.

- The procedure for permitting the establishment of preschools, general education institutions, and higher education institutions with foreign investment:

Step 1: Issuing the investment registration certificate;

Step 2: Issuing the decision permitting establishment;

Step 3: Issuing the decision permitting educational operations and announcing on the licensing agency’s electronic information portal.

- The procedure for permitting the establishment of branch campuses of higher education institutions with foreign investment:

Step 1: Issuing the investment registration certificate;

Step 2: Issuing the decision permitting the establishment of the branch campus of the higher education institution;

Step 3: Issuing the decision permitting operations and announcing on the licensing agency’s electronic information portal.

What are the regulations on the investment capital of educational institutions with foreign investment in Vietnam?

According to Article 35 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP, the investment capital of educational institutions with foreign investment is regulated as follows:

- The investment project establishing a preschool must have an investment rate of at least VND 30 million/child (excluding land use costs). The minimum total investment is calculated based on the highest projected scale. The investment plan must cater to the projected scale of each phase.

- The investment project establishing a general education institution must have an investment rate of at least VND 50 million/student (excluding land use costs). The minimum total investment is calculated based on the highest projected scale but not less than VND 50 billion.

- The investment project establishing a short-term training institution must have an investment rate of at least VND 20 million/learner (excluding land use costs). The minimum total investment is calculated based on the highest projected scale.

- The investment project establishing a higher education institution must have a minimum total investment of VND 1,000 billion (excluding land use costs). The foreign-invested economic organization that is the project’s investor must demonstrate financial capability as per the Investment Law 2020. At the time of assessment for permitting the establishment of the university, the actual investment must be over VND 500 billion.

- The investment project applying for the establishment of a branch campus of a higher education institution with foreign investment in Vietnam must have a minimum investment of VND 250 billion (excluding land use costs). At the time of assessment for permitting the establishment of the university branch campus, the actual investment must be over VND 150 billion.

- For foreign-invested educational institutions not building new facilities but only leasing or contributed by Vietnamese partners through existing facilities for operation, the minimum investment must reach 70% of the levels stipulated in clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Article 35 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP.