Conditions, sequence, and procedures for applying for Certificate of satisfaction of security and order conditions

Legal situation: Hello FDVN, I have established a company for hotel business, and now the government requires me to apply for a security certificate. I want to know if it is mandatory for my case to apply for a certificate of satisfaction of security and order conditions. If yes, what are the procedures for obtaining it?

 Answer:

Thank you for sending your question to FDVN Law Firm (“FDVN”). Regarding your consultation requests, after researching relevant legal regulations, FDVN has the following exchanges to share:

1. Is it mandatory to have a security certificate for hotel business?

According to Clause 1,  Article 48, of the Law on Tourism 2017, hotels are one of the types of tourist accommodation.

Clause 22, Article 3 of Decree No. 96/2016/ND-CP dated July 1, 2016, issued by the Government, regulates business investment activities subject to security and order conditions and management scope as follows:

“22. Accommodation services, consisting of: Accommodation establishments as referred to by regulations of the Law on Tourism and other types of accommodation renting services (on an hour or overnight basis) provided on the land or on cruise ships. Leasing of houses by organizations or individuals to Vietnamese people or foreigners (with house lease agreements) for the purpose of residence, study or working is not governed by this Decree.”

Continue, point m, Clause 1,  Article 8 Decree 96/2016 ND/CP stipulates that:

“Article 8. Business sectors requiring security and order guarantee plan”

m) Accommodation service (if the business establishment is an enterprise)”

Therefore, for the case of operating accommodation services like yours, it is mandatory to have a certificate certifying compliance with security and order requirements.

2. Security and order requirements for accommodation service businesses

 Based on Article 7 of Decree No. 96/2016/ND-CP dated July 1, 2016, issued by the Government, accommodation service businesses must meet the following security and order requirements:

“1. A business establishment must be registered, licensed or established under the law of Vietnam.

2. The person in charge of security and order of a business establishment must not be one of the following subjects:

a) Vietnamese citizens:

A person has been criminally prosecuted and being under the investigation, prosecution or adjudication by a Vietnamese or foreign procedural body.

A person has a criminal record on infringing upon the national security or deliberate commission of a crime liable to a prison term of 03 years or more which has not yet been expunged; or is suspended from serving a prison sentence; or is serving a non-custodial rehabilitation; or is under the mandatory supervision, or the prohibition from residence or holding certain position or running a business sector subject to security and order conditions upon the court’s decision.

A person is liable to the compulsory educational measures at the community; is waiting for a decision on imposition of an administrative penalty granted; is addicted to drug; is suspended from the compliance with a decision on serving a sentence in correctional institution or rehabilitation center; or has faced an administrative penalty but the period for being considered as not yet facing an administrative penalty is not satisfactory as regulated;

b) Vietnamese people who hold foreign passport and reside abroad, and foreigners:

A person is not permitted by a competent authority of Vietnam to stay in Vietnam.

3. Conditions on fire prevention and fighting have been satisfied as referred to by the law on fire prevention and fighting.”

3. Documentation for issuing a certificate of compliance with security and order requirements

Based on Article 19 of Decree No. 96/2016/ND-CP, the documentation required for issuing a new certificate of compliance with security and order requirements for accommodation establishments includes the following:

• The application form for issuance of Certificate of satisfaction of security and order conditions made by the business establishment (Form No. 03 in the Appendix issued with Decree 96/2016/ND-CP).
• Legitimate copy of Business registration certificate; Certificate of enterprise registration.
• Legitimate copies of documents proving the satisfaction of fire safety conditions.
• The curriculum vitae (Form No. 02 stated in the Appendix issued with Decree 96/2016/ND-CP), enclosed with the Criminal record statement or Individual declaration (Form No. 02b stated in the Appendix issued with Decree 96/2016/ND-CP), of the person in charge of security and order of the business establishment.

4. Order and procedures for implementation

Based on Article 23 of Decree No. 96/2016/ND-CP, the sequence of procedures for issuing a certificate of compliance with security and order requirements is as follows:

Sequence and procedures for submitting documentation:

Submit a set of documents to the competent Police authority: For accommodation service businesses rated from 5 stars and above, submit to the Department of Administrative Management of Social Order under the Ministry of Public Security; For other accommodation service businesses, submit to the Division of Administrative Management of Social Order under the Provincial Police Department; Non-enterprise accommodation establishments should submit to the District Police Department.

Methods of submitting documentation:

• Submit directly to the competent Police authority.
• Send via postal services through the business establishment.
• Submit through the electronic information portal for the management of investment and business activities subject to security and order conditions, under the Ministry of Public Security.

For the method of submitting documentation through the electronic information portal for the management of investment and business activities subject to security and order conditions under the Ministry of Public Security, upon receiving the certificate of compliance with security and order requirements, the business establishment must transfer the entire documentation requesting the issuance of the certificate to the competent Police authority.

Timeframe for implementation:

The deadline for issuing the certificate of compliance with security and order requirements shall not exceed 05 working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid documentation.

 In case the certificate of compliance with security and order requirements is not issued, the Police authority must provide a written response to the business establishment within 04 working days from the date of receiving the documentation, stating the reasons.

The above is the advisory opinion of FDVN based on research of relevant legal regulations. We hope that the advice from FDVN will be helpful to you.

 By Tran Van Huong – FDVN Law Firm