Vietnam Issues Draft Rules on Foreigner’s Electronic Identification Registration

March 20, 2024 Posted by Vietnam Briefing Written by Arendse Huld Reading Time: 4 minutes

Vietnam has issued draft rules on electronic identification (e-ID) and authentication, which will apply to both foreign and domestic entities involved in registration procedures. It replaces Decree 59/2022/ND-CP after coming into effect on July 1, 2024, and incorporates many existing regulations.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has released a draft decree regulating procedures for the registration of foreigners’ electronic identification (“e-ID”), which allows foreign individuals and companies to provide verified information on themselves when conducting online tasks and procedures.

The draft decree, officially titled the Decree on Regulations on Electronic Identification and Authentication, applies to both foreign organizations and individuals, as well as Vietnamese agencies and organizations handling the registration procedures.

When passed, the new decree will replace the current Decree 59/2022/ND-CP passed in September 2022. Many of the regulations stipulated in the draft decree feature in Decree 59/2022/ND-CP, and are therefore already in effect.

The draft decree will come into force on July 1, 2024.

What is an e-ID?

E-ID is defined in the draft decree and the current Decree 59/2022/ND-CP as information about an individual or an organization that is stored on a digital system to enable unique identification of the user.

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An e-ID account is used to log into and access features and utilities on the VNeID mobile application, developed by the MPS to digitize administrative tasks and procedures.

There are different types of e-IDs given to users, depending on whether they are a Vietnamese or foreign citizen, and whether they are an individual or an organization.

For foreign individuals and organizations, there are:

Level 1 e-ID accounts for individuals;
Level 2 e-ID accounts for individuals; and
Level 2 e-ID accounts for organizations.

The main difference between the Level 1 and Level 2 e-ID accounts is the amount of information that must be provided, the types of online services they can be used to access, and the registration method. Level 2 e-IDs require all of the same information as Level 1, with the addition of fingerprints.

Information Requirements for E-IDs
	Level 1	Level 2
Foreign resident	ID number Full name Date of birth Gender Nationality Number, symbol, date, month, year, document type, and place of issuance of the passport or international travel document Photo	ID number Full name Date of birth Gender Nationality Number, symbol, date, month, year, document type, and place of issuance of the passport or international travel document Photo Fingerprints
Foreign organization	NA	Electronic identification code of the organization Organization’s Vietnamese name, abbreviated name (if any), and foreign language name (if any) Date of establishment Head office address Tax code (if any) Personal ID number of the foreigner registering an e-ID account for the organization; full name of the legal representative or head of the organization

What are e-IDs used for?

E-IDs are used to verify personal information when carrying out online activities and transactions. Level 1 e-ID accounts are valid for verifying the information required for the account (listed in the table above) when performing activities and transactions requiring the provision of personal information.

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Level 2 e-ID accounts are considered equivalent to passports or valid international travel documents for transactions necessitating such documentation. Additionally, they serve as valid sources of information for foreign documents integrated into the e-ID account, aiding competent authorities and organizations in cross-checking during transactions requiring the presentation of such documents.

For organizations, the e-ID account is handled by a legal representative or delegated to an authorized person for use. An organization’s e-ID account can be used to verify the electronic identity of the organization when conducting transactions requiring the presentation of documents and documents that prove information about the organization.

Similar to individuals, these accounts also furnish information from various organizational documents integrated into the e-ID account, facilitating cross-checking by competent authorities and organizations during transactions requiring document presentation.

How do you register for an e-ID?

Foreigners can register for a Level 1 e-ID account by downloading the VNeID mobile application on their mobile phone and filling in the requisite information. The application will then be submitted to the identity management and electronic verification authority, who will notify the applicant of the result through the app, an SMS message, or an email. This will take no more than one working day.

Registering for a Level 2 e-ID account is a bit more complicated. Foreigners will need to go to the immigration management agency under the MPS or provincial police to register for the account, present their passport or valid international travel document, provide contact information, such as an email address or mobile phone number, and request additional information to be integrated into the e-ID account.

The on-site officer will then receive and input information provided by the applicant, take headshots, collect fingerprints, and confirm consent to register and establish an e-ID account. The immigration management agency will send a request to issue an e-ID account to the identity management and electronic verification authority, which in turn will notify the applicant of the registration result through the app, an SMS message, or email. This will take up to three working days, except in cases where there are no photographs or fingerprints of the applicant in the National Immigration Database, in which case it may take up to seven working days.

To register for a Level 2 e-ID account for an organization, the organization’s legal representative or head (who must already have an e-ID card if they are a Vietnamese citizen or a Level 2 e-ID account if they are a foreign citizen) must log into the VNeID app and provide all of the requisite information to register an e-ID account. This application is then submitted to the identity management and electronic verification authority, who will verify the information by cross-referencing it with the information listed in the national database for business registration, national databases, and other specialized databases. In cases where the information about the organization is not available in these databases, it will verify the information with the organization.

If the organization has multiple legal representatives, the identity management and electronic verification authority will send requests for verification of consent to register e-ID accounts for the organization to each legal representative through the app.

The identity management and electronic verification authority will notify the registration result of the application through the app, an SMS message, or email. If all of the information provided is already in one of the databases, the result will be provided in no more than one working day. However, if some of the information needs to be verified as it is missing from the national databases, then it may take up to 15 days.

When can the e-ID account be used?

The user can activate the e-ID account within seven days from the date of receiving the notification of the account’s issuance. If it has not been activated after seven days, the user must contact the identity management and electronic verification authority through the reception hotline to activate the account.

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