Environmental license for FDI projects in Vietnam: who must apply, the new 2026 licensing authority (provincial People's Committee chair), term and dossier.

Foreign investors building factories in Vietnam often ask: “Does our FDI project need an environmental license, and where do we apply?” The short answer: Vietnam’s environmental law does not distinguish between domestic and foreign capital — the only criteria are the project group (I/II/III) and waste generation. This guide explains who must apply, the new licensing authority in force from 2026, the license term and the dossier.

What is an environmental license?

Under Clause 8, Article 3 of the Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14, an environmental license (Giấy phép môi trường) is a document issued by a competent state authority to organisations and individuals with production, business or service activities, permitting them to discharge waste into the environment, manage waste, or import scrap as production materials — subject to environmental protection requirements and conditions throughout operation.

Who must hold an environmental license — Article 39

Under Article 39 of Law 72/2020/QH14, the following must hold an environmental license:

Group I, Group II and Group III investment projects generating wastewater, dust or exhaust gas discharged into the environment that must be treated, or generating hazardous waste that must be managed under waste-management regulations — upon entering official operation;
Projects, establishments, concentrated production/business/service zones and industrial clusters already operating before 1 January 2022 meeting the same environmental criteria.

Exemptions (Article 39, Clause 3): urgent public investment projects; group IV mineral exploitation projects/plans serving national key projects, urgent public investment projects, national target programmes or natural-disaster response (added by Clause 1, Article 109 of the Law on Geology and Minerals No. 54/2024/QH15).

Project grouping (I/II/III) is based on Appendices III/IV/V of Decree 08/2022/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 05/2025/ND-CP).

How the criteria apply to FDI projects

The key point for foreign investors: there is no separate test for FDI capital. An FDI factory in an industrial park typically falls into:

Group II (projects with adverse environmental impact risk) — the common case for ordinary manufacturing plants;
Group I — for large-scale or high environmental-risk projects.

In both cases, if the project generates waste that must be treated or managed upon official operation, an environmental license is mandatory before official operation. A frequently encountered threshold: regularly generated hazardous waste of 100 kg/month or more, or 1,200 kg/year or more — Article 71 of Decree 08/2022/ND-CP (as amended by Point a, Clause 30, Article 1 of Decree 05/2025/ND-CP). Other quantitative thresholds (wastewater, emissions) vary by project type — check Appendices III/IV/V directly (as amended by Decree 05/2025) to determine the correct project group.

Licensing authority from 2026: a major change

The National Assembly passed Law No. 146/2025/QH15 (amending 15 laws in agriculture and environment), effective 1 January 2026, revising the environmental-licensing authority (Article 41 of Law 72/2020, reflected in Article 43 of the amended text):

Ministry of Agriculture and Environment — projects subject to ministry-level EIA approval, establishments importing scrap as production materials, hazardous-waste treatment service establishments;
Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of Public Security — projects/establishments involving state secrets on defence and security;
Chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee — all remaining cases under Article 39.

⚠️ District-level People’s Committees no longer grant environmental licenses. This is a major break from past practice — do not file at district level. (Previously, from 1 July 2025, Decree 131/2025/ND-CP had already shifted authority to the provincial chairperson; Law 146/2025 confirms this at statutory level.)

Technical note: Law 146/2025 restructured the articles on licensing authority; the exact article numbers in the consolidated text (Consolidated Document 98/VBHN-VPQH dated 10 April 2026) are being cross-checked. When researching, always use the latest consolidated version of the Law on Environmental Protection.

On the ministry’s name: the former Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment — use the current name in all dossiers and correspondence.

License term

Under Clause 4, Article 42 of Law 72/2020/QH14: 07 years for group I investment projects (and operating establishments with group-I-equivalent environmental criteria); 10 years for all other cases. Before expiry, the project owner must apply for re-grant — filing 06 months before expiry (Article 30 of Decree 08/2022, as amended by Decree 05/2025); other changes require filing before the change is implemented.

Statutory processing time

Processing time: no more than 45 days for ministry-level authority, no more than 30 days for the provincial People’s Committee chairperson — counted from receipt of a complete and valid dossier. Note: the article numbers governing processing time are being re-verified against the post-Law-146/2025 consolidated text; the timeframes stated are the currently applied framework.

Dossier and grounds for granting

Dossier (Article 43 of Law 72/2020): written request for an environmental license; proposal report for environmental licensing (per Article 28 of Decree 08/2022); legal and technical documents of the project/establishment (per Article 29 of Decree 08/2022).

Grounds for granting (Article 42, Clause 1): the approved environmental impact assessment report; the environmental protection plan; environmental technical regulations; laws on environmental protection and water resources.

Filing timing (Clause 11, Article 1 of Decree 05/2025 amending Article 29 of Decree 08/2022):

Projects subject to EIA — file after completing the entire project or investment phase;
Projects not subject to EIA — file before entering operation;
Operating establishments — file no later than 45 days (ministry authority) or 30 days (provincial authority) in advance.

Risks of operating without a license

Operating a project that requires an environmental license without one is an administrative violation in environmental protection, sanctioned under Decree 45/2022/ND-CP — with possible operation suspension and remediation orders. Specific fine levels must be checked against the current text; do not estimate financial exposure from unofficial sources.

Recommendations for FDI investors

Determine the project group at the investment-preparation stage — check Appendices III/IV/V of Decree 08/2022 (as amended by Decree 05/2025); don’t wait until the factory is built.
File with the new 2026 authority: the provincial People’s Committee chairperson (most FDI projects) or the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment — never the district level.
Align the license timeline with the EIA timeline: the approved EIA report is a ground for granting the license — a late EIA delays the license too.
Build lead time into the operation plan: late filing can push the official operation date back by 30–45 days.

Frequently asked questions

Are 100% foreign-owned companies subject to stricter license requirements?

No. Environmental law applies a single test — project group and waste generation — with no distinction between domestic and foreign capital.

Where does an FDI factory in an industrial park apply?

Under the new authority (Law 146/2025, effective 1 January 2026): in most cases the Chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee; large-scale or high-risk projects fall under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

How long is the license valid?

07 years for group I projects; 10 years for the rest (Article 42, Clause 4 of Law 72/2020). Re-grant is required before expiry.

Does a project generating no waste need a license?

No — projects that do not generate wastewater/dust/exhaust gas requiring treatment and do not generate hazardous waste requiring management are not subject to environmental licensing (though environmental registration under Article 49 may apply).

Legal references

Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14 (effective 1 January 2022) — Articles 3, 39, 41, 42, 43, 49; Consolidated Document 98/VBHN-VPQH (10 April 2026); amended by Law 54/2024/QH15 and Law 146/2025/QH15 (effective 1 January 2026).
Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP (10 January 2022) — amended by Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP (6 January 2025).
Decrees No. 131/2025/ND-CP and No. 136/2025/ND-CP (effective 1 July 2025) — authority delineation under the two-tier government.
Consolidated Document 55/VBHN-BNNMT — consolidated guidance on the Law on Environmental Protection; Circular 09/2026/TT-BNNMT (dossier, licensing timeline).
Decree No. 45/2022/ND-CP — administrative sanctions in environmental protection (fine levels to be checked against the current text).