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Own a business in Vietnam — enterprise, not hộ

In plain termsForeigners who actually open cafés, restaurants, shops, and service companies incorporate. Household-business registration is closed to non-citizens (yes). Capital then decides stay symbols and work-permit limbs.

What people are really doing

On the ground you see foreign-owned coffee shops, milk-tea and F&B brands, restaurants, small trading companies, and consulting LLCs. Market access for many F&B services is open to foreign ownership in practice — but open market access is not a tourist stamp and not a hộ registration. You still need an investment / enterprise stack, then sector licenses (food safety, fire safety, and similar) that sit outside this immigration briefing.

A visa alone does not grant work (no). Purpose, symbol, temporary residence card, and work rights stay four separate decisions (yes).

The hộ kinh doanh dead end

Vietnamese friends register hộ. Foreigners often ask for the same form. Statute answer: NĐ 168/2025 Điều 82 limits establishment to Vietnamese citizens with full civil capacity. That gate is filed as yes.

NĐ 68 revenue thresholds are a tax door for residents with production or business activity — not a registration product for foreigners. At or below 500000000 VND annual revenue, PIT relief under that decree requires tax residence (yes). Do not borrow the figure as “permission to open a café.”

Enterprise path — café, F&B, shop, company

Practical path: incorporate a Vietnamese enterprise under investment and enterprise law, then operate under the company’s licenses. Capital contribution feeds ĐT symbols. The same 3,000,000,000 VND line appears in work-permit exemptions for certain owners and board members.

ĐT3 can reach the TRC-eligible list when capital clears the filed band. ĐT4 is the trap: an investment stamp that often fails temporary residence. Below the capital line, board/owner work can still be permit-required form l (yes).

Deep: invest purpose · ĐT3 · ĐT4 trap · ĐT table.

Franchise and brand entry

Foreign brands entering via franchise still need a Vietnam entity and investment paper — plus franchise registration practice under trade rules. That is commercial procedure, not a fifth immigration door. Stay and labour still map to invest / employer limbs above.

Founder exemption vs long-run owner

Person responsible for establishing a commercial presence (yes). Useful while you set up. After the company runs, you are usually an owner/board on the capital line — or an employee of your own entity on the ordinary permit stack.

Tax after you open

Company tax and personal tax are different machines. Your own salary or director pay can still feed Vietnam residence tests. Resident worldwide income (yes). Non-resident Vietnam-source only (yes). Run days on the calculator, then your passport overlay.

What we will not invent

Open the next door

Earn hubAll five doorsInvest purposeCapital → ĐT → TRCĐT4 trapStamp without TRCWork permitOwner / board limbs

Common questions

Can a foreigner open a café in Vietnam?
Yes through an enterprise (foreign-invested company) on the invest door — not by registering a household business. NĐ 168/2025 Điều 82 limits hộ kinh doanh establishment to Vietnamese citizens.
Can I register a hộ kinh doanh as a foreigner?
No. Household-business registration requires Vietnamese citizenship under NĐ 168/2025 Điều 82. Do not treat NĐ 68 revenue thresholds as a registration right.
Is investing the same as working in my own shop?
No. Capital opens investment symbols and sometimes work-permit exemptions. Day-to-day labour and tax residence are separate doors. A ĐT stamp is not a work permit.
What is the 3 billion VND line?
It appears in investment symbols and again in work-permit exemptions for certain owners and board members. Below the line, board/owner work can still be a permit-required form.