Reissuance of International Tour License in Vietnam

Tourism business is considered a smokeless industry, especially an International Tour Operator, it contributes greatly to the economic development of each country. Enterprises that want to business the international tour must meet the conditions and have an International Tour License. However, in the actual process of using this type of license, many customers are having difficulty applying for a reissue according to the provisions of the law. To answer customers’ questions, Viet An Law would like to present an article on the reissuance of International Tour License in Vietnam.

Legal basis

• Law on Tourism 2017.
• Circular 06/2017/TT-BVHTTDL details several articles of the Law on Tourism.
• Circular 33/2018/TT-BTC regulates the rates, collection, payment, and management of appraisal fees for granting an International Tour License and an Inbound Tour Operator License; Tourist guide card appraisal fee; Fees for licensing the establishment of representative offices in Vietnam of foreign tour operator enterprises, amended and supplemented by Circular No. 44/2023/TT-BTC.

What is an International Tour License?

An International Tour License is one of the documents that tour operator enterprises need to have. According to the Law on Tourism 2017 officially taking effect, there are many new regulations compared to the Law on Tourism 2005. Especially the conditions and procedures related to procedures for granting an operating license.

After reviewing the dossier for granting an International Tour License, the competent state agency will issue an International Tour License if it deems that the enterprise meets the conditions for the International Tour Operator according to the provisions of law.

Conditions for reissuance of International Tour License in Vietnam

In addition to the conditions on the reason for reissuance, first of all, enterprises are required to have an International Tour License in advance to be able to request to reissue this type of license. Accordingly, there are 3 conditions that enterprises must meet to be granted an International Tour License:

• Is an enterprise established according to the provisions of law on enterprises (enterprises must register their profession in travel business services);
• Escrow for the International Tour Operator at the bank according to the provisions of law;
• The person in charge of the travel service business must have graduated from college or higher with a major in travel; If you graduate from college or higher in another major, you must have a professional certificate in an international tourism operation.

Cases of reissuance of International Tour License in Vietnam

During the process of using an International Tour License, many enterprises need to be reissued this License. However, not in all cases, this request for reissuance will be approved which requires enterprises to provide a legitimate reason, under the provisions of law.

International Tour Licenses are regulated in detail in both content and form, this is to ensure that state agencies can manage enterprises in this field. Therefore, cases of reissuance of  International Tour Licenses mostly stem from the information on this License being no longer guaranteed, the form of the License being distorted, not intact, and not following provisions of the law.

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 34 of the Law on Tourism 2017, cases of reissuance of International Tour Licenses include:

Case 1: The Tour Operator License is lost:

• Business license is lost during the process of usage and storage;
• Business license is no longer stored;
• Business license no longer exists: possibly due to natural disasters, fires, or objective incidents, the Tour Operator License is canceled and no longer exists.

Case 2: The Tour Operator License is damaged:

• The business license cannot be used anymore;
• The information on the Business License is no longer visible, which does not guarantee the form and content of the license. Failure to provide information will invalidate the function of the License in general and the International Tour License in particular;
• The business license is torn, crushed, or lost corners and does not comply with the provisions of the law. A business license that is torn, crushed, or lost corners can affect information and also distort the form of documents that serve as an important legal basis.

Charges for reissuance of an International Tour License

Charges are a fixed amount of money that organizations and individuals must pay when a state agency provides public services or serves for state management works as prescribed in the List of Charges enclosed with the Law on fees.

If enterprises need to be reissued an International Tour License in the year 2023, according to Circular No. 44/2023/TT-BTC, the charge for reissuing the International Tour License is equal to 50% of the charge prescribed in Clause 1, Article 4 of Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BTC. However, this Circular has only effected December 31^st, 2023 to encourage the enterprises’s tour operators after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Therefore, from the date of January 1^st, 2024, Charges are applied according to Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BTC. In Clause 1, Article 4 of Circular No. 33/2018/TTBTC stipulates that the appraisal fee for reissuance of an International Tour License is 1.500.000 (One million five hundred thousand) VND/a license.

Application for reissuance of an International Tour License

The application for reissuance of an International Tour License is an important and prerequisite basis for a competent state agency to consider reissuing a business license to an enterprise.

The State regulates the application form for reissuance of a Tour Operator License in form No. 05 in Appendix II enclosed with Circular No. 06/2017/TT-BVHTTDL. The application must ensure information, including information about:

• The competent authority reissues the License;
• Enterprise information: Enterprise’s name, head office address, phone number, website, E-mail;
• Information of the legal representative of the enterprise: Full name, gender, title, ID card, permanent residence, phone number;
• Information of an Enterprise Registration Certificate;
• Information about the issued International Tour License;
• Escrow account information;
• Reason for requesting reissue;
• Commitment to the accuracy of the information recorded in the application.

Procedures for reissuance of an International Tour License

The procedure for reissuing an International Tour License is a way to carry out steps in a certain order for a business institution to be granted an International Tour License.

Procedures for reissuance of an International Tour License are specified in Clause 2, Article 34 of the Law on Tourism, including the following specific steps:

Step 1: Submit an application for reissuance of a Tour Operator License

The enterprise sends an application for reissuance of a Tour Operator License according to the form prescribed by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to the competent state agency to grant the License;

Step 2: Handling the application

Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the enterprise’s application, the competent state agency will reissue a Tour Operator License to the enterprise.

In case of refusal, the competent state agency must notify the business institution in writing and clearly state the reason.

Step 3: Reissuing the International Tour License

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism notifies the specialized tourism agency of the province where the enterprise is headquartered when reissuing the International Tour License.

Clients who need a consult on cases of reissuance of an International Tour License, please contact Viet An Law for the best support.

Disclaimer: This article was last updated in April 2024. Laws may have changed since then. Please contact Viet An Law to confirm the information in this article is current and for any legal assistance.