Vietnamese investment law has no procedure to ‘transfer an Investment Registration Certificate’ from one province to another. Moving a project is in substance two linked legal transactions: terminating or shrinking the project in the old province, and obtaining a new IRC for the project in the new province — plus tax finalisation, land handling and enterprise registration changes if the head office also moves.
Why there is no IRC adjustment shortcut
An IRC attaches to one project implementation location and one specific registration agency. IRC adjustment under the Law on Investment 143/2025/QH15 and Decree 96/2026/ND-CP covers content changes within the same project in the same management territory — schedule, scale, investor. Changing province changes both the licensing authority and the incentive territory, so the project in the new province must be appraised and issued a new IRC as an independent project; meanwhile the old-province project must complete project termination procedures (in whole or for the moved part) and settle obligations arising in the old territory.
Obligations to close in the old province
Before leaving, the project must: finalise and complete tax obligations with the old managing tax authority, including a finalisation inspection on cessation; liquidate or transfer assets, handle the land lease and hand back the site to the infrastructure developer or the State under the lease’s termination clauses; and complete obligations to employees if headcount at the old site is cut (severance allowance under Article 46 or job-loss allowance under Article 47 of the Labour Code 2019, depending on the case). If the enterprise also moves its head office to the new province, that is a major enterprise registration change: notify and finalise tax in the old place before registering in the new place under Decree 168/2025/ND-CP on enterprise registration.
Do old incentives travel with the project
Not automatically. Investment incentives attach to the territory and conditions of the project granted in the old province; the new-province project is assessed for incentives by territory and sector at the time of the new IRC — which may be higher, lower or absent if the new territory is not on the incentive list. Time already enjoyed in the old province is not carried over to the new project unless the incentive instrument provides otherwise. The financial analysis of a province move must therefore rebuild all incentives from scratch in the new territory and add old-territory exit costs, instead of assuming the current package survives.
The lowest-risk province move sequence
Secure the new IRC in the destination province before terminating the old project if production cannot pause; build a closing-obligation list for the old province (tax, land, labour) confirmed by each authority; process head office and tax management changes in the correct order; and hand back the old site only when its financial obligations carry written completion confirmations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Must we apply for a new permit when moving provinces?
A new IRC is required in the destination province: the law has no inter-province IRC transfer. The old project goes through termination (or shrinkage) under the Law on Investment 143/2025/QH15 and Decree 96/2026/ND-CP, and the new project is appraised and licensed as an independent project.
How long does the procedure take?
Total time covers two workstreams that can run in parallel: new IRC appraisal in the destination and closing obligations in the old province, where cessation tax finalisation is the least predictable step. Planning by quarters rather than weeks is more realistic for a complete province move.
Can we keep the old incentives?
Not automatically. Incentives attach to the old project’s territory and conditions; the new project is assessed by territory and sector at issuance, with no carry-over of time enjoyed in the old province unless the incentive instrument says otherwise.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council