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Procedures for foreign investors to open a general practice (GP) clinic
As the economy grows, the demand for health care also increases, which leads to many domestic and foreign investors investing in GP clinics to provide outpatient care. In this article, we invite you to join Siglaw to learn about the conditions, documents, and procedures for foreign investors to open GP clinics in Vietnam.
GP Clinics Overview
A GP clinic is a healthcare facility that is primarily intended for outpatient care, or in other words, a GP is a type of hospital that provides diagnosis or treatment to a general population where patients do not usually stay overnight.
Clinics can be privately run and publicly managed, funded, and typically include the primary health care services of the local community, as opposed to large hospitals that provide specialized treatments and provide inpatient care for overnight stays.
Conditions for foreign investors to invest in a GP clinic
According to the WTO, FTAs, AFAS conditions, there are no restrictions, except for the minimum investment capital of 2 million USD. Vietnamese law also does not stipulate conditions for foreign investors to open a GP clinic. However, to operate a clinic, it is necessary to apply for a sub-license for operating a GP clinic with specific conditions:
Scale of the GP clinic:
- Have at least 02 of the 04 specialties of internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics.
- Have a paraclinical department (testing and diagnostic imaging).
Facilities:
There are emergency rooms, patient rooms, specialized examination rooms and minor surgery rooms (if minor surgery is performed).
Examination rooms in the GP clinic must have enough space to perform specialized techniques.
Medical equipment:
- There are anti-shock medicine boxes and enough specialized emergency medicine.
Human resources:
- The number of doctors practicing on a full-time basis must account for at least 50% of the total number of doctors practicing at the GP clinic.
- The person in charge of the specialized examination rooms and the paraclinical department (testing and diagnostic imaging) at the GP clinic must be a person working on a full-time basis at the clinic.
Procedures for foreign investors to open a GP clinic
If foreign investors contribute capital or buy shares of a Vietnamese GP clinic business company
Contribute capital or buy shares according to regulations. If the capital contribution ratio exceeds 51%, it is necessary to register capital contribution before being able to contribute capital or buy shares.
The capital contribution registration dossier includes:
- Application for capital contribution/share purchase/capital contribution of foreign investors
- Copies of legal documents of individuals, organizations contributing capital, purchasing shares, purchasing capital contributions and economic organizations with foreign investors contributing capital, purchasing shares, purchasing capital contributions
- Agreement on capital contribution, purchasing shares, purchasing capital contributions between foreign investors and economic organizations receiving capital contributions, purchasing shares, purchasing capital contributions;
- Copies of land use right certificates of economic organizations receiving capital contributions, shares, and capital contributions of foreign investors.
Submit the application for approval to purchase shares to the investment registration authority under the Department of Planning and Investment of the province where the head office is located.
Within 15 working days from the date of receiving valid documents, the Department of Planning and Investment of the province shall consider and issue a notice of approval to purchase shares or capital contributions; in case of refusal, the notice must be made in writing and clearly state the reasons.
If a foreign investor establishes a foreign-invested GP clinic business company.
Step 1: Apply for an investment registration certificate
Foreign investors submit 01 set of documents to apply for an investment registration certificate to the investment registration authority. The investment registration dossier includes:
- Document requesting to implement an investment project (according to Form A.I.1 issued with Circular 03/2021/TT-BKHĐT);
- Certified copy of personal identification documents (ID card, citizen identification card or passport) for individual investors; copy of Enterprise Registration for institutional investors;
- Certified copy of one of the following documents related to the investor (financial statements of the last 2 years of the investor; Financial support document/commitment of the parent company; Financial support decision/commitment of the financial institution; …);
- The investment project proposal includes the following contents: project investor, investment objectives, investment scale, investment capital and capital mobilization plan, location, duration, investment progress, labor demand, proposal for investment incentives, assessment of the project’s socio-economic impact and efficiency;
- Document explaining the technology used in the project;
- Lease contract or other document confirming the investor’s right to use the site to implement the investment project.
Submit application for investment registration certificate to investment registration authority:
- Industrial park management board if the head office is located in an industrial park.
- Foreign economic affairs office – Department of planning and investment of province/city directly under the central government if the head office is located outside an industrial park.
Within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the Investment Registration Office – Department of Planning and Investment/Management Board of Industrial and Export Processing Zones of the province/city directly under the central government shall consider and issue the investment registration certificate; in case of refusal to issue, the notice must be made in writing and clearly state the reasons.
Step 2: Register to establish a company to operate a GP clinic.
The investor submits 01 set of company registration documents to the Business Registration Office of the Department of Planning and Investment where the enterprise is headquartered. The dossier include:
- Application for enterprise registration (According to the form in Circular 02/2019/TT-BKHĐT);
- Company charter;
- List of members (for LLCs) or list of shareholders (for joint stock companies);
- Valid copy of one of the following documents: Personal identification documents: Citizen identification card, Identity card, Passport or other legal personal identification of founding shareholders and individual shareholders who are foreign investors; Decision on establishment of foreign legal entities, Certificate of enterprise registration or other equivalent documents of organizations and authorization documents; Personal identification documents of authorized representatives of founding shareholders and shareholders who are foreign investors who are organizations;
- Investment registration certificate has been issued.
Place to submit application for enterprise registration certificate:
- Business Registration Office – Department of Planning and Investment.
- Submit the application online at the national business registration portal (dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn).
After receiving the application, the Business Registration Office shall issue a receipt of the application to the applicant. Within 03 working days from the date of receipt of the application, the Business Registration Office – Department of Planning and Investment shall issue a business registration certificate. In case of refusal to issue, a written notice stating the reasons must be given.
Step 3: Apply for a business registration license for a GP clinic
The dossier includes:
- Application for a business license according to Form 01 in Appendix XI, which form is issued together with Decree 109/2016/ND-CP.
- Certificate of enterprise registration for private establishments or investment certificate for establishments with foreign investment capital.
- A copy of the valid practice certificate of the person in charge of technical expertise; the person in charge of the professional department of the medical examination and treatment facility.
- List of registered practitioners and medical professionals working at the facility but not required to be granted a practice certificate of that clinic.
- List of facilities, medical equipment, etc. of the GP clinic.
- Basis and documents proving that the facility has met the requirements regarding facilities, medical equipment, etc. appropriate to the field of professional activities of one of the organizational forms specified in detail and clearly in Section 1, Chapter III of Decree 109/2016/ND-CP.
- The clinic’s technical expertise list is based on the proposal of the technical expertise list issued by the Minister of Health.
Place of submission:
- Submit application to the Department of Health for application for a license to operate medical examination and treatment in the province/city directly under the central government.
- Submit application to the Ministry of Health for application for a license to operate medical examination and treatment facilities under the Ministry of Health, private hospitals or hospitals under other ministries.
Address: 138A Giang Vo Ward, Kim Ma Ward, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.
Phone number: 02462732273
Within 45 days from the date of receiving the complete application, the competent authority shall review and appraise the application and conduct an appraisal at the facility to grant a license to operate a GP clinic:
- In case the application is invalid, a written notice must be sent to the facility requesting the license to complete the application;
- In case the application is complete and valid, the competent authority shall establish an appraisal team and conduct an appraisal at the medical examination and treatment facility to grant a license to operate a GP clinic;
- In case the license to operate a GP clinic is not granted, the competent authority shall issue a written reply stating the reasons.
Phone: (+84) 961 366 238
Email:
Headquarters: No.44/A32-NV13, Gleximco A, Le Trong Tan street, An Khanh, Hoai Duc, Ha Noi, Vietnam.
Southern branch: A9.05 BLOCK A, SkyCenter Building, 5B Pho Quang Street, Ward 2, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
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