Viet Nam to issue e-passports in March

An e-passport will be embedded with a microchip that stores the holder’s personal information, fingerprint scans, identification photo, and a digital signature.

The electronic chip is attached to the back cover of the passport. Languages used in the passport include Vietnamese and English.

Citizens who are at least 14 years old are eligible to apply for a passport with or without the electronic chip. The passports are valid for 10 years.

E-passport holders will be given priority by the foreign sides when considering and granting entry visas.  

Vietnamese citizens who had been granted physical passports are allowed to use them until expiration dates without any requirement to shift to e-passports.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, more than 100 countries have already rolled out e-passports./.