A citizen uses electronic identification account VneID. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

HÀ NỘI — Foreign residents in Việt Nam will be granted electronic identification accounts under the Government’s draft decree on electronic identification and authentication, part of efforts to strengthen digital governance and administrative reform.

The Ministry of Public Security is currently collecting feedback from agencies, organisations and individuals on the draft decree, which comprises three articles and applies to agencies, organisations, Vietnamese citizens and foreign entities and individuals residing or operating in Việt Nam who participate in or are related to electronic identification, authentication and electronic citizenship activities.

One notable addition is the regulation on social welfare benefit accounts within the National Identification Application. A 'social welfare benefit account' is a collection of information from agencies, organisations and individuals, along with bank accounts, electronic wallets, telecom e-wallets and other payment accounts integrated into the National Identification Application. This aims to facilitate the disbursement of support, pensions, insurance and other payments from state agencies to beneficiaries.

To expand coverage and assist foreign residents in Việt Nam, the draft decree revises the regulations on classification and eligibility for electronic identification accounts. According to the draft, foreigners aged six and above who legally reside in Việt Nam for 90 days or more, or who hold valid long-term visas, are eligible to be granted electronic identification accounts of level one or two upon request.

For Vietnamese citizens, the regulation remains unchanged: individuals aged 14 and above are eligible for level one or two electronic identification accounts, while those under 14 or under six may also be granted accounts based on demand.

Furthermore, both Vietnamese and foreigners living and working abroad will be able to continue using their electronic identification accounts and the services on the National Identification Application through  the internationally connected and interoperable platform.

The draft decree also amends regulations to establish a legal framework for updating, sharing and integrating documents of individuals, organisations and businesses into the electronic identification and authentication system.

Information and documents from national databases such as the National Population Database, civil status, citizen identification and business registration databases will be automatically updated into the identification system.

Documents issued to businesses, organisations and individuals by authorised state agencies will be integrated and displayed on the National Identification Application. At the same time, individuals can access their own information and documents, while agencies and organisations may retrieve data in accordance with their functions and duties.

Currently, the system automatically locks identification accounts when citizen identification cards expire, causing inconvenience for users whose other documents remain valid. To address this, the draft decree revises the regulation so that when identification cards or other documents expire, the system will only hide the information and notify the citizen to renew it, rather than locking the entire account as before.

In line with administrative reform policies, the draft decree also shortens the processing time for administrative procedures related to the grant of the Certificate of Eligibility for Providing Electronic Authentication Services to organisations and businesses by 30 per cent.

The full text of the draft decree is available on the Ministry of Public Security’s portal for public feedback over 10 days. — VNS