HANOI: A raft of significant laws and regulations comes into force this March, including the 2025 Law on Investment and new rules on deletion of permanent residence registration, real estate identification codes, vehicle emission standards and scholarship reimbursement obligations.
The amended Law on Investment takes effect from March 1, introducing changes aimed at reducing conditional business lines, shifting towards post-audit management and enhancing business autonomy.
Foreign investors will be permitted to establish a business before obtaining approval for an investment project, provided they meet market access conditions. The provision removes certain market entry barriers compared with the 2020 law.
The 2025 law also sets out a clearer list of projects subject to approval of investment policy, replacing previously scattered provisions.
It simplifies procedures for adjusting investment projects and abolishes two cases that previously required policy adjustments: projects with changes in total investment capital of 20 per cent or more and projects involving changes in appraised technology.
The law expands the scope of special investment procedures, exempting a range of administrative requirements for projects in industrial parks, high-tech parks, digital technology zones and financial centres.
Projects may now adjust their operating term during implementation, whether extending or shortening it, rather than being limited to extensions near expiry.
The law abolishes procedures for outward investment policy approval and narrows the entities required to obtain an outward investment registration certificate. It also broadens the scope for transferring investment projects, applying to most projects that have obtained approval of investment policy or an investment registration certificate.
The issuance of an electronic identification code for each real estate property is a key provision of Government Decree No. 357/2025/NĐ-CP, effective from March 1.
Each housing unit or specific floor area within a building will be assigned a unique code managed within the national database on housing and the real estate market.
The alphanumeric code is automatically generated based on core information, including the land parcel code, project or construction code, location code and a natural character sequence.
Vehicle inspection centres nationwide will apply stricter inspection procedures and testing methods from March 1, according to the Vietnam Register.
The applicable emissions standard will depend on a vehicle’s year of manufacture.
Inspection centres have been instructed to publicly display the implementation roadmap, emissions levels, procedures and testing methods in waiting areas to ensure transparency for citizens and businesses.
Vehicle owners are advised to service and maintain their vehicles before inspection. Vehicles with valid inspection certificates may continue operating until the end of their current inspection cycle, with the new standards applied at the next inspection.
Within seven days of becoming subject to deletion of permanent residence registration, the individual concerned or a lawful household representative must complete the relevant procedures.
The dossier includes a declaration form for changes in residence information and documents proving eligibility for deletion. Applicants may submit a single online dossier via the National Public Service Portal or the national identification application VNeID to the residence registration authority.
Within five working days of receiving a valid dossier, the authority must complete the deletion and update relevant databases, and notify the individual or household representative in paper or electronic form.
The updated status will be reflected in the national residence and population databases.
Under Government Decree No. 51/2026/NĐ-CP, scholarship reimbursement obligations will be cancelled if the beneficiary dies, is declared deceased by a court or is certified by a competent medical authority as unfit for work.
Effective from March 26, the regulation may also apply to beneficiaries unable to fulfil assigned duties for objective reasons or who have not completed the required service period but are later reassigned, rotated, seconded or transferred to another position.
The decree sets out the competent authorities and procedures for cancellation or exemption. — Vietnam News/ANN
