VietnamForeign founder: first 30 days in Vietnam
In plain termsYour first month is three clocks, not a networking calendar: company (ERC/IRC/DICA), stay (visa and TRC — Temporary Residence Card), and labour if you will work in the company. Miss the sequence and the rest of the year is recovery.
Start here — three checks
- Write the ERC (Enterprise Registration Certificate) issue date, the 90-day charter-capital due date, and the IRC (Investment Registration Certificate) status on one card
- Name your stay symbol this month. Investment intent is not a work permit.
- If you will act as director or expert on the ground, classify the labour path in week one
Decision map
| Signal | Lock now | If skipped |
|---|---|---|
| ERC issued this month | Start DICA (direct investment capital account) and contribution planning immediately. | Day 90 arrives while the bank file is still a conversation. |
| You are in Vietnam directing the company | Separate investor stay from work-permit / exemption logic. Title does not finish that analysis. | You run the company on a stay stamp that never authorised the work. |
| Lease signed for office or home | Keep the contract dates. They feed TRC, tax-residency, and sometimes licensing addresses. | Later filings invent an address that the landlord file does not support. |
| First hire, foreign or Vietnamese | Register labour and tax obligations of the company before the handshake becomes a payroll. | The founder’s immigration mess and the company’s labour mess start together. |
| IRC still pending on an ERC-first route | Freeze project activity that needs IRC. Keep only company-admin steps. | Month-one sales become month-twelve licensing debt. |
Common wrong movesWhere people lose time on this exact question.
- Spending the first 30 days on branding while DICA and charter capital have no owner.
- Working full-time as “the founder” on a tourist or unmatched visa.
- Signing a two-year lease that the company address and licensing path cannot use.
If this fails, do this nextRecovery order — not a generic legal memo.
- Rebuild the 30-day board: capital, stay, labour. Drop tasks that do not serve those clocks.
- If capital is already slipping, open the late-contribution recovery page this week.
- If you already worked without a labour path, stop and classify under NĐ 219 before the next entry stamp.
Evidence to prepareChecklist before you file or walk in.
- Passport bio page and entry stamps / e-visa print for this trip.
- ERC PDF and issue date; charter showing capital amount and members.
- IRC file status (issued / pending) and the activity list actually approved.
- Bank DICA application, written conditions, and currency on the form.
- Contribution calendar: amount, payer, due date versus the 90-day clock.
- Office/home lease in the company’s or your name, with term dates.
- Stay document: visa symbol, expiry, and whether a TRC file has started.
- If you will work: role description vs NĐ 219 (Decree 219/2025) category, not business-card title.
- Tax code / first invoice plan so books start on day one, not at year-end.
Keep reading
Common questions
What should a foreign founder do in the first 30 days in Vietnam?
Lock three files: company capital (ERC clock, DICA, IRC), your stay document, and whether your on-the-ground role needs a work permit or a real exemption. Networking does not move those clocks.
Does opening the company let me work immediately?
No. ERC creates the entity. Your labour category is a separate NĐ 219 question. Director on the charter is not an automatic work-permit exemption.
What date starts the 90-day capital countdown?
The ERC issue date for charter capital, not the day you landed and not the IRC project schedule. Put that date on the 30-day card.