Electronic identification for foreigners: major changes from 28 September 2026.

Foreigners receive an electronic identification account, not electronic identification

Electronic identification is a regime of the Law on Identification 2023, which applies only to Vietnamese citizens and persons of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not been determined. It does not apply to foreigners.

Foreigners receive an electronic identification account under Decree No. 69/2024/ND-CP, a separate regime with its own legal basis. People often confuse the two concepts, but citing the right one directly affects how the application is prepared.

Any foreigner who has entered or resides lawfully can obtain an account

This change matters in practice: a tourist or short-term expert in Vietnam on a visa can now register an account, even without a temporary residence card.

Foreign individuals register voluntarily. Registration is voluntary and is done only "when needed"; no law requires a foreign individual to hold an electronic identification account. However, as the section on enterprises below explains, it becomes mandatory in practice in some cases.

Foreigners must register in person at the immigration authority

Where the dossier is filed

• Immigration Department, Ministry of Public Security (44 to 46 Tran Phu, Ba Dinh, Hanoi)
• Immigration Division of the provincial Police

The Department of Administrative Police for Social Order (C06) of the Ministry of Public Security issues the account.

Registration takes five steps

1. The foreigner attends the immigration authority and presents a passport or an international travel document
2. The foreigner provides information in the request form TK01, including a mobile subscriber number registered in the applicant's own name, an email address (not mandatory) and details of the documents to be integrated
3. The receiving officer enters the information, collects the facial image and fingerprints, and cross-checks against the national immigration database
4. The immigration authority transfers the request to the authority in charge of electronic identification and authentication
5. The foreigner receives the result through the national identification application, by SMS or by email

Biometric data must still be given in person. The foreigner must still attend in person at the immigration authority to give biometric data.

Registration is free of charge

Vietnamese citizens and foreigners pay nothing to register for an electronic identification account.

The account has no fixed term; it follows the passport and the period of residence

The law sets no fixed validity period (such as five years) for a foreigner's account. Instead, it uses account locking.

A foreigner's electronic identification account is locked when:

1. The foreigner requests that his or her own account be locked
2. The foreigner breaches the terms of use of the national identification application
3. the passport or international travel document expires;
4. the permitted period of residence in Vietnam ends;
5. The person dies

The system unlocks the account automatically once the reason for locking no longer applies.

The account's validity therefore follows the validity of the passport and the permitted stay. There is no separate procedure to "extend" the account. The foreigner only needs to renew the passport and the temporary residence card; once the immigration database is updated, the account works again.

The electronic identification account supports many essential transactions

• Foreigners can carry out administrative procedures and online public services.
• Foreigners can use the account to authenticate banking transactions.
• Foreigners can register residence and declare temporary residence through the account.
• The account stores electronic residence documents, including digitised temporary and permanent residence cards.

The sponsor files immigration applications with its own account

The Ministry of Public Security's public service portal accepts online applications for visas, extensions of stay and temporary residence cards. However, the Vietnamese sponsor (a relative, organisation or enterprise) files the application using its own electronic identification account, and enters the foreigner's details in the "Applicant" section.

A foreigner therefore does not need an electronic identification account for an enterprise to file a visa application for them. Processing takes 5 working days, or up to 30 days if the application needs verification.

The scope of use has widened

• The national identification application integrates 206 types of documents (66 types for individuals, 140 types for agencies and organisations).
• Agencies and organisations may not ask for originals or copies of documents already integrated into the application.
• Users are exempt from charges and fees when carrying out administrative procedures and public services through the national identification application.
• Foreigners may use the automated immigration control gates if the data requirements are met

FDI enterprises with a foreign legal representative face an operational risk

From 1 July 2025, agencies and organisations, including enterprises, must log in to the public service portal with the organisation's electronic identification account issued by the Ministry of Public Security. Old accounts on separate portals stopped working on 30 June 2025.

To obtain an organisation account, the legal representative must hold a personal electronic identification account.

These two rules create a chain of conditions:

Lawful entry or residence → legal representative's personal identification account → organisation's identification account → online filing of administrative dossiers

If any link in this chain fails, the enterprise cannot file online. For an FDI enterprise with a foreign legal representative, this is an operational risk: if the legal representative has no electronic identification account, or the account is locked because the passport or permitted stay has expired, all of the enterprise's online filings are affected.

Electronic identification is not a condition for a work permit

The two procedures are not directly linked. A foreign employee does not need an electronic identification account to obtain a work permit. The application may be filed in person, by public postal service, through an authorised representative, or online through the public service portal where available.

There is, however, an indirect link: if the enterprise files online, it still needs an organisation electronic identification account, which in turn depends on the legal representative's personal account (see above).

Keep the two parties apart: the account requirement applies to the enterprise when it files online, not to the foreign employee personally.

A VNeID account is not required to open a bank account

The law does not require it, but an electronic identification account makes the process much easier.

From 1 January 2025, individual customers, including foreigners, who have not completed biometric authentication cannot withdraw cash or make electronic transactions under State Bank of Vietnam rules. There are currently three ways to authenticate:

1. The bank collects the data at the counter, for persons who do not yet hold an electronic identification account.
2. The customer authenticates through an electronic identification account.
3. The bank cross-checks against biometric data collected and verified previously.

To open an account, a foreigner may use either: a passport with a visa or proof of visa exemption; or an electronic identity through an electronic identification account.

The electronic identification account is therefore an alternative, not a requirement. With it, however, the foreigner can open a bank account and authenticate online without visiting a branch, a significant benefit for foreign experts.

What enterprises should do

1. If the legal representative is a foreigner without an electronic identification account, resolve this first, because it affects all of the enterprise's online filings.
2. Treat electronic identification and the work permit as separate procedures: neither depends on the other.
3. Track the account-linking deadlines: 31 December 2026 for many types of digital platform accounts, and 30 June 2027 for bank accounts. Check how these apply to foreigners once detailed guidance is issued.
4. Remind foreign staff that the account depends on the passport: when the passport expires, the account is locked, and transactions that rely on it stop working.