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The New Identity Card Rules: 10 Key Changes Effective from July 1, 2024, and What They Mean for You.

From July 1, 2024, the Law on Citizen Identity Cards 2023 will come into force, bringing about several changes to the citizen identity card system. Here's an overview of the top 10 changes you need to know about, expertly crafted to capture attention and optimize search engine visibility.

Administrator

26 July, 2024

From July 1st, 2024, the Law on Citizen Identification will officially take effect, bringing about significant changes in the issuance, management, and use of citizen identification cards compared to previous regulations. In this article, we will go over the 10 key changes that you need to be aware of to proactively complete the necessary procedures and effectively use your citizen identification card.

1Officially Renaming Citizen Identification Cards to Identification Cards

Accordingly, in parallel with changing the name of the Law from the Law on Citizen Identification to the Law on Identification, the National Assembly also agreed to change the name of citizen identification cards to identification cards.

Specifically, Articles 1 and 11 of the Law on Identification define the following:

1. Identification refers to basic information about an individual’s personal background, origin, distinctive features, and biometrics.

11. An identification card is a personal document containing identification information of Vietnamese citizens, issued by the competent identification management agency in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Thus, this is the most important new point of the Law on Identification from July 1st, 2024, compared to the old regulations. Accordingly, identification is a personal document containing basic information about an individual’s personal background, origin, distinctive features, and biometrics, including:

– Facial image

– Personal identification number

– Given name, middle name, and surname at birth

– Date of birth

– Gender

– Place of birth registration

– Nationality

– Place of residence

– Date of card issuance and expiration

Officially Renaming Citizen Identification Cards to Identification Cards

2Do Citizens Need to Replace Their Old Citizen Identification Cards with the New Identification Cards?

With the change in the name of citizen identification cards, do citizens need to replace their old chip-based or regular citizen identification cards with the new identification cards?

To answer this question, Article 46 of the Law on Identification states the following:

Citizen identification cards issued before the effective date of this Law remain valid until the expiration date printed on the card, except for cases specified in Paragraph 3 of this Article. Citizens may request to replace their old cards with the new identification cards.

Accordingly, this Law will take effect from July 1st, 2024, and supersede the Law on Citizen Identification No. 59/2014/QH13. Therefore:

Citizens who currently hold citizen identification cards issued before July 1st, 2024, do not need to replace them and can continue using them until the expiration date printed on the cards.
Citizens who wish to replace their old citizen identification cards with the new identification cards may do so.

Do Citizens Need to Replace Their Old Citizen Identification Cards with the New Identification Cards?

3Discontinuing the Use of Old Identification Cards from January 1st, 2025

In addition to the provisions regarding the validity of citizen identification cards that are still in use, Paragraph 2 of Article 46 of the Law on Identification also provides information on the validity of old identification cards. Specifically:

2. Old identification cards that are still valid after December 31st, 2024, will remain valid until December 31st, 2024. Various legal documents that use information from old identification cards or citizen identification cards will remain valid; state agencies shall not require citizens to change or adjust information related to old identification cards or citizen identification cards that have already been issued.

3. Old identification cards or citizen identification cards that expire between January 15th and June 30th, 2024, will remain valid until June 30th, 2024.

Thus, all old identification cards that are still valid after December 31st, 2024, can only be used until that date. Additionally, identification cards that expire between January 15th and June 30th, 2024, can be used until June 30th, 2024.

This is one of the important changes and new points of the Law on Identification from July 1st, 2024, compared to Paragraph 2 of Article 38 of the 2014 Law on Citizen Identification.

However, according to the new regulations, all old identification cards must be replaced with the new identification cards starting from January 1st, 2025.

Discontinuing the Use of Old Identification Cards from January 1st, 2025

4Removing Information on Place of Origin and Fingerprints from the New Identification Cards

If the old regulations listed the information on citizen identification cards in Paragraph 1 of Article 18 of the 2014 Law on Citizen Identification as follows:

Front side: National emblem, the words “Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Independence – Freedom – Happiness, Citizen Identification Card”, photo, card number, given name, middle name, surname at birth, date of birth, gender, nationality, place of origin, place of residence, and expiration date.

Back side: Stored encrypted information; fingerprints, distinctive features, date of card issuance; given name, middle name, title, and signature of the card issuer.

On the other hand, according to the new regulations in Article 18 of the Law on Identification, the information on the identification cards includes encrypted information and printed information. Specifically:

Printed information: National emblem; the words “Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Independence – Freedom – Happiness”; the word “Identification”, facial image, personal identification number, given name, middle name, surname at birth, date of birth, gender, place of birth registration, nationality, place of residence, date of card issuance and expiration, and place of issuance (Ministry of Public Security).

Thus, compared to the old citizen identification cards, the new identification cards have removed the information on the place of origin and replaced it with the place of birth registration or place of birth; and place of residence; fingerprints and distinctive features have also been removed.

Removing Information on Place of Origin and Fingerprints from the New Identification Cards

5Issuing Identification Cards to Individuals Under 14 Years Old from July 1st, 2024

Currently, identification cards are only issued to Vietnamese citizens aged 14 and above. However, from July 1st, 2024, when the Law on Identification takes effect, according to Article 19 of this Law, the eligible individuals for identification cards are as follows:

Vietnamese citizens.
Age: Individuals aged 14 and above are required to obtain identification cards; individuals under 14 years old may request to obtain identification cards.

Thus, according to the new regulations, individuals under 14 years old can be issued identification cards if they wish to do so, starting from July 1st, 2024.

Issuing Identification Cards to Individuals Under 14 Years Old from July 1st, 2024

6Introducing a New Document: The Certificate of Identification

This is a completely new point compared to the old regulations in the 2014 Law on Citizen Identification. Accordingly, the certificate of identification is defined in Paragraph 10 of Article 3 of the Law on Identification as follows:

10. The certificate of identification is a personal document containing identification information of individuals of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not been determined, issued by the competent identification management agency in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Thus, the provisions related to this type of document in Article 30 of the Law on Identification are as follows:

Eligible individuals: Individuals of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not been determined and are currently residing in a commune or district (if there is no commune-level administrative unit) for at least six months.
Information included: National emblem; the words “Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Independence – Freedom – Happiness; Certificate of Identification”; given name, middle name, surname; personal identification number; facial image, fingerprints; date of birth; gender; place of birth; place of origin; ethnicity; religion; marital status; current place of residence; date of issuance, issuing agency, and validity period; given name, middle name, nationality of father, mother, spouse, legal representative, guardian, or ward (if any).
Issuing authority: The competent identification management agency under the district-level or provincial-level Public Security agency where the individual of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not been determined is residing.
Validity: Used as proof of identification for conducting transactions in Vietnam. When individuals of Vietnamese origin present their certificate of identification, they are not required to provide other documents or information that has already been certified in the certificate, except in cases where the information has been changed or is inconsistent with the information in the National Database on Population.

Introducing a New Document: The Certificate of Identification

7From July 1st, 2024, Citizens Will Have Electronic Identification Cards

Another noteworthy point of the new Law on Identification is the introduction of electronic identification cards. Accordingly, Article 31 of the Law on Identification states that each citizen will have only one electronic identification card. This card is represented through an electronic identification account. Additionally, the following are the provisions related to electronic identification cards:

Information included in the electronic identification card: Information of citizens in the National Database on Population (given name, middle name, surname at birth; personal identification number; gender; place of birth; place of origin; ethnicity; religion…); distinctive features; biometric information (facial image, fingerprints, iris patterns, DNA, voice…)
Integrated information: Health insurance card, social insurance book, driver’s license, birth certificate, marriage certificate, or other documents, except for information on documents issued by the Ministry of National Defense. Information is verified from the National Database and specialized databases upon the request of citizens.
Purpose: Used for completing administrative procedures, accessing public administrative services, conducting transactions, and other activities according to the needs of citizens.
Cases where the electronic identification card is locked: Upon the request of the cardholder; when the cardholder violates the agreement on the use of the National Electronic Identification application; when the physical identification card is revoked or confiscated…
Cases where the electronic identification card is unlocked: Upon request; after addressing violations of the terms of use of the National Electronic Identification application; upon being issued a new physical identification card; upon request of a prosecuting agency/other competent agency…

From July 1st, 2024, Citizens Will Have Electronic Identification Cards

8Procedure for Obtaining an Identification Card: Providing Iris Patterns Is Mandatory

The procedure for obtaining an identification card is stipulated in Article 23 of the Law on Identification as follows:

Individuals under 14 years old

Children under 6 years old

The procedure for obtaining an identification card for children under 6 years old is conducted through the public service portal or the National Electronic Identification application.

For children under 6 years old who have not yet registered their birth, the procedure can be conducted through the ab