Viet Nam to collect biometric information for identification from July

The request was made as part of the Government's effort to implement the amended Law on Citizen Identification.

The ministry is responsible for working with other relevant ministries and departments to integrate the identification data with the national database. The collection will be implemented in 2024 and following years.

The new ID card will be the same size and shape as the current citizen ID card. It will still have basic information such as the bearer’s full name, age, birth date, an identification number, gender, and more details. However, much of the information shown on the card will change.

Accordingly, the words “citizen identity” will be changed to “identity”; “hometown” to “place of birth registration”; and “place of permanent residence” to “place of residence”.

The card-issuing agency will be the Ministry of Public Security instead of the Police Department for Administrative Management of Social Order.

There will no longer be information about identity characteristics or left-and right-hand fingerprints. Information about “place of birth registration” and “place of residence”, as well as the QR code, will be moved to the back side of the ID card.

Citizens under 14 years old will also have ID cards issued by the Ministry of Public Security, although it will not be compulsory.

The Law on Citizen Identification was ratified by the National Assembly on November 27, 2023 and is set to come into effect on July 1, 2024./.