VietnamHộ kinh doanh is not a foreigner freelance licence
In plain termsA hộ kinh doanh is a household business. Registration requires Vietnamese citizenship. Tax-resident relief thresholds do not open that register.
Start here — three checks
- Who may register? yes
- PIT relief limb is for tax residents. yes
- Threshold if that limb applies. 500000000 VND
Registration vs tax math
| What you want | Filed door | If you force hộ anyway |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice Vietnam clients as a foreigner | Labour + company/FDI paths — not hộ registration. | A nominee holds the hộ in their name. |
| Stay under the household-business PIT threshold | Relief limb is for tax residents who can actually register. | You quote 500 million VND as if it were a visa. |
| Open an LLC / investment company | Own-business earn map and charter-capital clocks. | You pick hộ because it sounded cheaper. |
| Freelance only for offshore clients | Remote purpose + contractor page. Still no hộ. | You register a vehicle you cannot own “just in case.” |
Common wrong movesCheap is not lawful.
- Using a Vietnamese friend’s identity as a silent owner.
- Treating tax residence as citizenship.
- Copying a local café’s hộ onto a foreign consultant.
If a fixer already sold you a hộDo not operate it. Pick a vehicle you can own.
- Open the own-business earn map for company doors.
- If the work is local labour, the employer files a permit — hộ does not replace that.
Evidence and sources3 dated facts for Household business (hộ kinh doanh) requires Vietnamese citizenship
The readable briefing above uses these cells. Open a source only when you need to verify a number, date, or legal gate.
- Registering a household business (hộ kinh doanh) requires Vietnamese citizenshipNĐ 168/2025/NĐ-CP Điều 82 — cá nhân/thành viên hộ gia đình là công dân Việt Nam có năng lực hành vi dân sự đầy đủ được quyền thành lập hộ kinh doanh (nguon/ND_168_2025_HKD_REG.md; secondary confirm via LuatVietnam policy note)yeschecked Aug 2026
- NĐ 68 household/individual business PIT relief limb applies to tax residentsNĐ 68/2026/NĐ-CP Điều 4 khoản 1 — opens with cá nhân cư trúyeschecked Aug 2026
- Annual business revenue at or below which household/individual business has no PIT under the filed thresholdNĐ 68/2026/NĐ-CP Điều 4 khoản 1; Luật 109/2025 Điều 7 khoản 1 (threshold delegated)500000000 VNDchecked Aug 2026
Own-business mapCompany and investment doors that actually exist.Freelance / contractor1099 is not a hộ, and not a work permit.Charter capital clockIf the real vehicle is an enterprise.
Common questions
Can a foreigner register a hộ kinh doanh in Vietnam?
No. The registration cell requires the individual or household members to be Vietnamese citizens with full civil-act capacity.
If I am a tax resident, does the household-business PIT threshold save me?
The NĐ 68 PIT relief limb opens with tax residents. Registration is still a citizenship gate. Residence tax status does not rewrite who may found a hộ.
Is this the same as opening an LLC?
No. Company and investment doors live on the own-business earn map. Hộ kinh doanh is a different legal person — and this page is the closed foreigner registration door.