The most common legal mistake when investing in aesthetics in Vietnam is using one label, aesthetic clinic, for two models regulated in completely different ways. On one side is the beauty service facility doing non-invasive services, which only notifies the Department of Health but is absolutely barred from invasive techniques and injectable anaesthetics. On the other side is the hospital or specialist cosmetic surgery clinic, a medical facility that needs an operating licence and doctors licensed in the right specialty. Confusing the two sides explains most suspensions in this industry.
Model one: the non-invasive beauty service facility, notification instead of a licence
A beauty service facility providing services such as skincare, cosmetic tattooing and other beauty services outside the scope of medical examination and treatment does not apply for a medical operating licence; instead it must send a written notification of eligibility to the Department of Health before operating, under Decree 96/2023/ND-CP. The notification is tied to commitments on premises, equipment and personnel, and the facility may operate only within the scope it has notified.
The hard boundary of this model is the prohibited list: a beauty service facility may not perform invasive services within the scope of medical care, may not use injectable anaesthetics, and may not carry out procedures such as cutting, suturing, filler injections or aesthetic infusions. In practice many invested spas cross this line when clients request premium services, and that conduct amounts to providing unlicensed medical services, not a minor notification irregularity.
Model two: cosmetic plastic surgery is licensed medical practice
Every cosmetic plastic surgery technique, from rhinoplasty and surgical eyelid procedures to liposuction and implants, is medical examination and treatment. Only a hospital with a cosmetic plastic surgery department or a specialist cosmetic plastic surgery clinic holding an operating licence may perform them, within a technical list approved for the facility’s capability. Operating doctors must hold a practice licence in cosmetic plastic surgery, and the facility must register its practitioner list like any other medical facility.
For a foreign investor, this model means the full condition chain of a foreign-invested medical facility: an operating licence from the competent authority under the allocation in Decree 96/2023/ND-CP, a qualified professional lead, and anaesthesia and resuscitation capacity matching the registered techniques. Compliance cost and licensing time are therefore far higher than for the beauty service model, and the business plan should reflect that gap honestly instead of assuming one licence covers the whole building.
Staffing, advertising and running both models under one brand
In the beauty service model, service staff are not medical practitioners, yet the facility must still ensure staff are trained suitably for the services offered and answers when staff exceed the permitted scope. In the medical model, the question of what certificate an aesthetic doctor needs is answered by a practice licence in cosmetic plastic surgery; a licence in another specialty, even dermatology, does not by itself authorise cosmetic plastic surgery beyond the registered scope.
Advertising is a shared risk point: advertising of medical services belongs to the category whose content must be confirmed by the competent authority before advertising under advertising and health law, and a beauty service facility may not advertise services it is forbidden to perform. Many brands run a spa and a surgical clinic on the same premises: the lawful strategy is to keep the legal entity, functional space, service catalogue and advertising content of each model clearly separate, so that the non-medical model’s activity is not recharacterised as unlicensed medical practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What licences does a foreign-invested aesthetic business need?
It depends on the model: a non-invasive beauty service facility only notifies the Department of Health of its eligibility before operating under Decree 96/2023/ND-CP, while cosmetic plastic surgery requires a hospital or specialist clinic with a medical facility operating licence.
Do cosmetic surgery and skincare face different requirements?
Fundamentally yes. Skincare and non-invasive beauty services follow the notification-based beauty service model and are barred from invasive techniques and injectable anaesthetics. Cosmetic surgery is medical practice, open only to facilities holding an operating licence and an approved technical list.
What certificate must an aesthetic doctor hold?
Under the current framework, a practice licence with a professional scope in cosmetic plastic surgery. A practice licence in another specialty does not authorise cosmetic plastic surgery beyond the scope registered for the practitioner and the facility.
Is advertising of aesthetic services restricted?
Yes. Advertising of medical examination and treatment services requires content confirmation before advertising as prescribed, and a beauty service facility may not advertise invasive services it is prohibited from performing. Advertising beyond the permitted scope is a ground for penalties and content removal.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council