1.       A foreign trader shall have its representative office or branch establishment permit extended when fully satisfying the following conditions:

a)       Wishing to continue operating in Vietnam in the form of representative office or branch;

b)       Having been operating under law of the country where it has been established or made business registration;

c)       Having not committed acts of serious violation of Vietnamese law regarding operation of representative offices or branches.

2.       A dossier of application for extension of a representative office or branch establishment permit comprises:

a)       An application for extension of the representative office or branch establishment permit, made according to a form set by the Trade Ministry and signed by the foreign trader’s competent representative;

b)       An audited financial statement or other documents of equivalent value proving the actual existence and operation of the foreign trader in the latest fiscal year. The papers specified at this Point must be translated into Vietnamese and certified and consolably legalized by Vietnam’s foreign-based diplomatic missions or consular offices according to the provisions of Vietnamese law.

c)       A report on operation of the representative office or the branch up to the date of application for extension of the representative office or branch establishment permit.

d)       The original of the granted representative office or branch establishment permit.

3.       At least 30 days before the expiration of the representative office or branch establishment permit, the foreign trader must carry out procedures for extension thereof.

4.       Upon the expiration of the time limit specified in this Article, if the competent agencies refuse to extend representative office or branch establishment permits, they shall have to notify in writing the concerned traders of the reasons therefore.