The beer brand, which has a global adspend of about £70m, has appointed Agency Insight to lead the search.
The pitch does not affect Clemmow Hornby Inge's grip on the £6m UK business. Although no plans are in place, insiders are speculating that the successful agency's work could be adapted to run in the UK.
In recent months Heineken, which is based in Amsterdam, has been striving for greater global consistency across its campaigns.
The successful agency is likely to have a knowledge of Asia, which Heineken has targeted as its biggest growth market.
In March, Wieden & Kennedy created an ad starring Hollywood actor John Travolta. The campaign, which ran in more than 20 countries, offered consumers the chance to "Live the life of cool". However, just days after it broke, the star revealed he is teetotal.
Last month Wieden & Kennedy lost a pitch against Amsterdam-based agency StrawberryFrog to create advertising to back Heineken's sponsorship of the Champions League.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .