Investors often ask “how long does it take to get an investment licence in Vietnam” and expect a number. The honest answer is that Vietnam has no single timeline for every project: timing depends on whether the project needs investment policy approval or only registration for an Investment Registration Certificate, whether it falls in a conditional market-access sector, and the quality of the filed dossier. This article compares the procedural frameworks of three countries — Vietnam under the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15, Indonesia with its Online Single Submission (OSS) system, and the Philippines with registration at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plus investment promotion agencies such as PEZA and the BOI — at the level of mechanism, and identifies the variables that actually decide speed.
Short answer
No country is fast in absolute terms. Indonesia’s OSS system issues the Business Identification Number (NIB) quickly for projects in low-risk categories. The Philippines moves fast when a project locates in a PEZA economic zone, but slower at the local government permitting stage. Vietnam applies a two-layer process under the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15 effective from 1 March 2026: large or sensitive projects require investment policy approval, while ordinary projects proceed by investment registration. For Vietnam, this article does not fix a specific number of processing days, because the time-limit framework is being guided by the Government’s new decree and actual handling practice varies materially between provinces; investors should plan on a prudent range and confirm directly with the investment registration authority of the intended province.
Three procedural models side by side
| Criterion | Vietnam | Indonesia | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core legal framework | Investment Law 143/2025/QH15 and guiding decrees | Omnibus job creation law and risk-based OSS system | Revised Corporation Code; investment laws; PEZA and BOI regimes |
| Licensing structure | Policy approval for covered projects; Investment Registration Certificate; then enterprise registration | Business Identification Number (NIB) via OSS as the basic registration; supplementary licences by sector risk level | Company registration with the SEC; local government business permits; incentive registration with an investment promotion agency |
| Typical slowing factors | Policy appraisal, land, conditional sectors | Sector licences, capital and foreign-manpower requirements | Local procedures, construction permits, environmental clearance |
| Practical fast lane | Projects in industrial parks with one-stop management boards; well-prepared dossiers | Low-risk sectors processed automatically through OSS | One-stop shops inside PEZA economic zones |
Read the table correctly: in all three countries the “investment licence” is only one leg of the journey. Time to operation accumulates land, environmental impact assessment, construction permits, fire safety and labour registration. A fair comparison compares the whole journey, not a single licence.
Why timelines differ several-fold within the same country
First, a project outside the policy-approval category and outside conditional sectors moves far faster than one requiring policy approval at provincial or higher level. Second, conditional market-access sectors for foreign investors under the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15 require condition checks with the line ministry, and time at that stage is not controlled by the investment registration authority. Third, land is the largest variable: a project outside an industrial park must handle site selection and land clearance itself, while a park project uses land with ready infrastructure. Fourth — and entirely within the investor’s control — dossiers returned for amendment and supplementation are the most common cause of delay: each amendment round restarts the handling clock at several stages.
Risks and practical notes
The first risk is signing a land lease or committing a schedule to customers based on the most optimistic timeline ever heard, while your own project’s dossier has not been pre-screened. The second risk is using services that promise speed through relationships rather than dossier quality; when authorities rotate staff or audit procedures, such promises do not protect the investor. The third risk is that Vietnam’s legal framework is in transition to the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15 and its new guiding decree, so forms and handling points must be confirmed at the time of filing instead of relying on experience from a project done several years ago. The fourth risk mirrors this in the other two countries: a fast central-level licence in Indonesia or the Philippines does not mean local, environmental and construction permits are equally fast.
Action checklist
- Determine at the outset whether the project needs investment policy approval or ordinary investment registration.
- Screen the intended business lines against the conditional market-access list and sector-law conditions.
- Pre-screen the dossier with the investment registration authority or the industrial park management board before formal filing.
- Prefer sites inside industrial parks or economic zones for one-stop mechanisms and ready-infrastructure land.
- Build the schedule on a prudent range, with buffer for at least one amendment round.
- Confirm actual handling times directly in the intended province before committing to partners and customers.
- Prepare enterprise, land, environmental and construction dossiers in parallel instead of sequentially.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an investment licence take in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines?
For Vietnam this article does not fix a number of days, because the time-limit framework for the Investment Registration Certificate is being guided by the new decree under the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15 and practice differs materially by province and project type; projects needing policy approval always take longer than ordinary registrations. Indonesia issues the Business Identification Number through OSS very quickly for low-risk sectors, but sector and local licences add their own time. The Philippines registers companies with the SEC relatively quickly and offers one-stop processing inside PEZA zones, with the rest depending on local government. The right conclusion: compare total time to operation, not one licence.
Which country is fastest and which is most cumbersome?
At the basic registration step, Indonesia’s OSS for low-risk projects and the Philippines inside PEZA zones usually give the fastest experience. The most cumbersome stages in all three countries sit outside the investment licence: land, environment, construction and conditional sectors. Vietnam sits in the middle — ordinary investment registration is not the biggest bottleneck of the journey; land and sector conditions are.
Is there any way to shorten the licensing time?
Yes, and most of it is in the investor’s hands: file a complete dossier the first time, pre-screen conditional sectors, choose a site inside an industrial park or economic zone with a one-stop mechanism, and run the enterprise, land and environmental dossiers in parallel. The remaining factor is choosing advisers who know the actual handling practice of the exact province where the project will locate, because the same rules are processed at different speeds in different localities.
FLAT Law Firm accompanies investors
FLAT Law Firm helps investors identify the correct procedural route under the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15, pre-screen dossiers before filing and build realistic schedules province by province in Vietnam. If you are comparing implementation timelines between Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines for a specific project, contact FLAT for a procedural roadmap matched to your sector and site.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council
