Decree 361/2026/NĐ-CP · Establishment and operating conditions
What this means for you
- Establishment, permission to operate and program authorization are separate steps; an MOU or establishment decision alone does not permit teaching.
- A foreign branch needs qualifying parent-university ranking and quality evidence as well as the applicable premises, investment and staffing conditions.
- Digital teaching must remain within the institution's licensed scope and permitted modes; this is not a general licence for offshore online degrees.
- Use the current rules for new applications and check the specific transition for existing projects or files.
Questions about how this applies to your institution? Talk it through with a USVN senior advisor.
The detail
1. The rule and its status
Higher-education providers, foreign university branches and accreditation organizations must meet the new establishment, operating and continuing-quality conditions. In force: issued/effective September 17, 2026. Article 41 removes specified earlier rules, including foreign-HEI/branch provisions of Decree 86 as amended by 124. Official signed decree.
2. Who it affects and what it means for a US school
This is immediately relevant to a US university considering its own Vietnamese branch, investment in a Vietnamese provider, a new teaching location or use of a foreign accreditor in Vietnam. Establishment, permission to operate and program authorization are separate questions. A joint program hosted by a Vietnamese institution is not automatically a foreign branch.
Article 4(3) assigns foreign university-branch establishment and relevant operating decisions to the Minister of Education and Training. Article 19(3) requires the foreign parent to be lawfully established/operating, top 500 in a reputable global institutional ranking in one of the previous three years, and to maintain internal quality assurance and qualifying recognition/accreditation. It imports the corresponding conditions for foreign-invested private HEIs in Article 19(1).
3. What to do, by partnership model
- Recruitment: confirm the provider's actual licensed locations and scope; establishment permission alone is insufficient proof that teaching may start.
- 2+2/3+1: confirm that every Vietnamese delivery location and activity fits the provider's lawful scope; an agreement does not license a new site.
- Dual degree/joint program: separate institutional operation/site checks from the foreign-linked program approval and issuer requirements.
- Online/blended: Article 23(2) treats digital-space activity within authorized fields/levels and legally permitted modes; it does not create a new unregulated delivery category. A digital-operation application needs learner management, assessment, records/authentication, technology and information/data-security arrangements.
- Branch campus: prepare Article 19 conditions and Article 20 dossier, including ranking and current quality evidence; then satisfy Articles 23–24 for operation. Article 19(1) sets a five-hectare headquarters condition and audited/valued completed tangible investment of at least VND 300 billion at appraisal. The specified foreign-invested leased/existing-premises route has a VND 200 billion completed-investment condition plus payroll and remaining-capital commitments. Foreign-invested private providers may lease facilities in stable continuous cycles of at least five years. These are scoped conditions, not a complete project-cost estimate.
Article 20(6) provides a 30-working-day establishment appraisal/decision stage after a complete proper foreign-branch file, with separate completeness and consultation steps. Article 24 provides operating review stages, including seven working days for an incomplete-information notice and ten working days after information is established complete/proper. Do not market these stages as an end-to-end launch promise. Article 27 allows establishment revocation if operating conditions are not met within four years. Articles 39–40 set requirements and disclosure/data processes for foreign accreditation organizations; their presence on an official list is not a state guarantee of quality.
4. Change history
Article 41 ends Chapters VI–VII of 125/2024, 143/2016 as amended, specified 95/2026 and 15/2019 provisions, and precisely listed foreign-HEI/branch parts of 86/124. It does not repeal every joint-program provision of 86. Article 42 preserves qualifying prior files and permits, with some pending July-to-September files allowed to elect the new regime; do not erase filing dates. Existing HEI operations have the stated 36-month review, existing branches a 48-month review, and specified other teaching sites separate data/quality transition periods. Article 42(10) preserves the remaining 124/2024 transition for specified existing foreign providers; those without investment registration at the decree's effective date cannot recruit new students in Vietnam. Articles 41–42, pages 63 onward.
5. Sources and verification
Official signed Vietnamese PDF · Official register
Last verified: 2026-10-21. English explanation; the official Vietnamese text controls.
6. Related pages
Branch-campus rules · Program standards · Recognition · University Atlas · Why partnerships stall.
7. Briefing and legal note
Not legal advice. Prepare a briefing with a USVN senior advisor with the proposed entity, site, intake, filing history and capital structure to identify the applicable establishment and operating route with Vietnamese counsel.
For general information only, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with qualified counsel and the relevant Vietnamese authorities before acting.