1. What is a foreign-invested language center?

A foreign-invested language center is a center established by foreign individuals or business organizations through full investment or capital contribution, which satisfies the operational conditions prescribed by law and is permitted to use its own seal and bank account (Clause 3, Article 2 of the Regulation on organization and operation of foreign language and informatics centers promulgated together with Circular 21/2018/TT-BGDDT of the Minister of Education and Training).

With a broad enrollment scope and no age limit, foreign-invested language centers provide teaching programs from basic to advanced levels, aiming to enhance language proficiency, serving learning needs, career purposes and international assessment standards. Besides the function of imparting knowledge, language centers also play an intermediary role in promoting cultural exchange and international integration, creating conditions for learners to comprehensively develop language skills in the context of globalization.

2. Conditions for establishing a foreign-invested language center

Pursuant to Decree 86/2018/ND-CP, amended and supplemented by Decree 124/2024/ND-CP, the conditions for establishing a foreign-invested language center (classified as a foreign-invested educational institution - short-term training and retraining facility) include:

a. Investment Registration Certificate and Enterprise Registration Certificate:

This is the first step in the process of establishing a foreign-invested language center in Vietnam. Foreign investors must first carry out procedures to apply for an Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) to obtain approval for the investment policy and objectives. After being granted the IRC, the investor continues to carry out enterprise registration procedures to be granted an Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC), officially recognizing the legal status of the center.

b. Regulations on organization and operation of the foreign-invested language center:

The foreign-invested language center must also have  regulations on organization and operation similar to a Vietnamese-invested language center, developed based on the Regulation on organization and operation of foreign language and informatics centers promulgated together with Circular 21/2018/TT-BGDDT of the Minister of Education and Training. Additionally, the foreign-invested language center must meet several other conditions when establishing and operating in Vietnam as presented in the sections below.

c. Capital:

The foreign-invested language center must have a minimum investment capital of 20 million VND per student (excluding land use costs). The total minimum investment capital is calculated based on the projected maximum scale (i.e., the point with the highest number of students).

In case the foreign-invested language center does not build new facilities but only leases or uses existing facilities contributed as capital by the Vietnamese party to carry out operations, the minimum investment must reach at least 70% of the above-regulated levels. By the time of appraisal for the educational operation permit, the implemented investment value must reach at least 50% of the total investment capital and the investor must commit to investing the full amount of capital within 5 years from the date of the decision permitting operation.

d. Facilities and equipment:

The foreign-invested language center must meet the following conditions regarding facilities and equipment:

• Ensuring lighting, tables, chairs, equipment and teaching aids as required by the educational program;

• Having an area used for learning and teaching ensuring at least 2.5 m² per learner on average;

• Having offices for the directorate, leadership, faculty room, library and other functional rooms.

The language center is permitted to lease stable facilities for a minimum period of 05 years and must ensure these facilities meet the regulations mentioned above.

e. Education program:

• The foreign educational program implemented in Vietnam must ensure the following requirements:

• Be recognized or accredited by a competent educational agency or organization of the home country as meeting quality standards according to the home country's standards; has been directly taught for at least 05 years in the home country prior to the date of submission of the operation registration dossier and is approved for use in Vietnam by the foreign educational institution or organization that owns the educational program;

• Contains no content harmful to national defense, security, national interests, or public interests; does not propagate religion or distort history; does not adversely affect Vietnamese culture, ethics and fine customs;

• Ensures articulation between educational levels and training qualifications and ensures transferability when students transfer to public educational institutions as regulated by the Ministry of Education and Training;

• The foreign educational program taught to Vietnamese students must ensure educational objectives compatible with Vietnam's educational objectives and meet the above regulations.

• The foreign-invested language center is permitted to organize the teaching of short-term (foreign language) training and retraining programs from abroad.

f. Teacher members:

The foreign-invested language center must have a team of teachers meeting the following conditions:

• Teachers must hold a college degree or equivalent or higher, with a major appropriate to the specialized subject they are assigned to teach as regulated by the Ministry of Education and Training;

• Foreign teachers teaching foreign language skills must hold a college degree or equivalent or higher and meet the requirements prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training;

• The maximum converted student/teacher ratio is 25 students per teacher.

Furthermore, detailed standards for the teaching staff are also stipulated in the Regulation on organization and operation of foreign language and informatics centers promulgated together with Circular 21/2018/TT-BGDDT of the Minister of Education and Training.

g. Competent licensing authority:

The Director of the Department of Education and Training has the authority to decide on permitting the establishment of a foreign-invested language center.

3. Dossier for establishing a foreign-invested language center

The dossier includes:

1. Application for registration of educational operation according to Form No. 16 in the Appendix promulgated together with Decree No. 86/2018/ND-CP.

2. Certified copy or copy accompanied by the original for comparison of the Investment Registration Certificate and Enterprise Registration Certificate. If the competent authority can obtain this information from the specialized database or from a state agency, organizations and individuals are not required to provide this document.

3. Charter on organization and operation of the foreign-invested language center.

4. Report on the progress of project implementation, capital contribution status, loan capital and total implemented investment capital.

5. Explanatory report demonstrating that the foreign-invested language center has met the contents stipulated in Articles 35, 36, 37 and 38 of Decree No. 86/2018/ND-CP, accompanied by:

• List of the Rector (Director), Vice-Rectors (Deputy Directors), Heads of departments, divisions and the Chief Accountant;

• List and personal resumes of staff, teachers, lecturers (full-time, part-time);

• Description of educational levels, training qualifications and fields of training;

• Teaching programs, plans, learning materials, list of main textbooks and reference materials;

• Enrollment targets, regulations and enrollment schedule;

• Training regulations;

• Training scale (students, trainees);

• Regulations on tuition and related fees;

• Regulations on examinations, assessment, recognition of completion of subjects, modules and training levels;

• Samples of degrees and certificates to be used.

4. What is the order and procedure for establishing a foreign-invested language center?

The order and procedure for permitting the operation of a foreign-invested language center are as follows:

Step 1: Prepare the dossier

The investor prepares the dossier requesting permission for the operation of the foreign-invested language center as presented above.

Step 2: Submit the dossier

The investor submits 01 set of the dossier directly or via the online public service portal or by post to the Department of Education and Training.

Step 3: Receive and appraise the dossier

• The Department of Education and Training receives the dossier and assumes the prime responsibility, coordinating with relevant agencies and units to appraise the conditions as prescribed for submission to the competent authority for consideration.

• If the dossier is invalid, within 05 working days from the date of receipt, the receiving agency shall notify the investor in writing, sent directly, by post or via email.

• If the educational institution does not meet the operational conditions, within 05 working days from the date of receiving the opinion of the competent authority, the receiving agency shall respond in writing to the investor, clearly stating the reasons.

Step 4: Issue the decision permitting operation

If the dossier is complete and valid, the competent authority shall issue the decision permitting the operation of the foreign-invested language center according to Form No. 17 in the Appendix promulgated together with Decree 86/2018/ND-CP.

5. FAQs

a. What percentage of charter capital can a foreign investor own in a foreign-invested language center?

Pursuant to the Law on Investment, documents guiding the implementation of the Law on Investment and Vietnam's WTO Commitment Schedule 318/WTO/CK regarding services, foreign investors are permitted to own up to 100% of the charter capital in a language center in Vietnam.

b. What is the operational term of a foreign-invested language center?

Pursuant to Article 30 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP, the operational term of a foreign-invested educational institution shall not exceed 50 years, calculated from the date of issuance of the Investment Registration Certificate but shall not exceed the land lease term.

c. How is the minimum investment capital condition for a foreign-invested language center calculated?

The minimum investment capital condition is calculated as follows:

• Minimum investment per student is 20 million VND (excluding land use costs).

• Calculation method:

Example: If the center's projected maximum capacity is 100 students, the total minimum investment capital must be 20 million x 100 students = 2 billion VND. Note, investment capital excludes land use costs.

In case of leasing facilities: The minimum investment must reach at least 70% (i.e., 14 million VND per student). However, by the time of applying for the operation permit, over 50% of the total capital must have been implemented, with a commitment to invest fully within 5 years.

d. When is a foreign-invested educational institution suspended from operation?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 50 of Decree 86/2018/ND-CP, a foreign-invested educational institution shall have its educational activities suspended if it commits one of the following violations:

• Fraudulent acts to be established or permitted to be established, permitted to operate educationally;

• Failure to ensure one of the conditions for being permitted to operate educationally as prescribed in Decree 86/2018/ND-CP;

• The authority permitting educational operation acts beyond its competence;

• Violation of laws on education resulting in administrative penalties at a level requiring suspension of operation;

• Other cases as prescribed by law.