How much cosmetic surgery do you have to redo your ID card or passport?

LAM ANH(Kinh Mon)

Reply:Regarding re-issuance of CCCD, according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 23 of the 2016 CCCD Law, CCCD cards can be changed in the following cases: when citizens are 25 years old, 40 years old and 60 years old; the card is damaged and cannot be used; changes in information about last name, middle name, first name; identification characteristics; re-identification of gender, hometown; errors in information on the CCCD card; when citizens request.

In the above regulation, changing "identity characteristics" is one of the cases where the CCCD must be changed. Meanwhile, "identity" is understood as a person's unique and stable external characteristics to distinguish one person from another.

Thus, if cosmetic surgery changes the identity characteristics, making it impossible for people around to easily recognize that the face before and after surgery is the same person, in this case, the ID card must be changed and reissued.

Regarding passport reissuance, Article 7 of the 2019 Law on Entry and Exit stipulates the validity of ordinary passports as follows: ordinary passports issued to people aged 14 and over are valid for 10 years and cannot be extended; ordinary passports issued to people under 14 years of age are valid for 5 years and cannot be extended; ordinary passports issued under simplified procedures are valid for no more than 12 months and cannot be extended.

Currently, the law does not have specific regulations on cases of change of identification characteristics to what extent a passport must be reissued. However, in comparison with the above regulations, ordinary passports, if still valid, can still be reissued. When they expire, a new passport must be issued.

Since passports are related to immigration, to ensure you can travel between countries after cosmetic surgery, you should renew your passport.