How will the citizen identification card change from July 1?

The Ministry of Public Security has just issued a circular regulating the form of identity cards and identity certificates, effective from July 1.

Accordingly, the new ID card will change a series of information fields. On the front, the name "citizen identification card" will change to "ID card". "Number" will change to "personal identification number". "Full name" will change to "last name, middle name and given name". "Date of birth" will change to "day, month, year of birth".

The remaining information on the front of the new ID card remains the same as it is now, which is a blue-yellow background with a map of Vietnam and a bronze drum pattern. The words "Socialist Republic of Vietnam/ Independence - Freedom - Happiness" are printed in the top center. The national emblem is placed in the upper left corner. The citizen's photo is printed in color, below.

The back of the new card will have a QR code printed on it instead of on the front as is currently the case. The information "Place of permanent residence" will be changed to "place of residence", "place of origin" will be changed to "place of birth registration" and will all be moved to the back.

With the new card, the identification features and fingerprints of the left and right index fingers on the current card model are removed. The words "Director of the Department of Administrative Police for Social Order" are replaced with "Ministry of Public Security".

The words "valid until" on the front will move to the back and change to "expiry date". The back of the new card will still have a chip and print a lotus pattern, traditional motifs as well as interwoven diagonal lines.

Currently, the Ministry of Public Security only issues one form of citizen identification card for people aged 14 and over. However, from July 1, there will be two forms of identification cards for citizens aged 0-6 and those aged 6 and over. The difference is that the form of identification card for children aged 0-6 will not have a photo printed on it.

Since 2016, the Ministry of Public Security has started issuing citizen identification cards with barcodes printed on hard plastic cards, in parallel with issuing 9- and 12-digit identity cards. After many years of continuous improvement, from January 1, 2021, citizen identification cards with chips have been issued nationwide to people aged 14 and over.

By the end of 2023, the Ministry of Public Security had issued more than 87 million chip-embedded citizen identification cards. Once the chip-embedded cards have stabilized, the Ministry of Public Security continues to aim for further goals, as shown in the proposed changes to the identification cards and the information fields within them.

A representative of the Department of Administrative Police for Social Order (C06, Ministry of Public Security) once explained that the change of information on the card surface is to comply with international standards and increase the security of personal information; to limit the need for multiple issuances. Citizens will have to reissue their cards at the ages of 14, 25, 40 and 60. Therefore, people who have been issued a chip-embedded ID card "can still use it normally, without having to reissue it".

Along with issuing the new ID card model, the Ministry of Public Security will issue the first ID Certificate from July 1. This regulation is to implement the 2023 ID Law. Accordingly, the certificate is issued to people of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not been determined but who have been living continuously for 6 months or more in a commune or district-level administrative unit where there is no commune-level administrative unit.

A valid document proving identity for people of Vietnamese origin, to conduct transactions in their own country.

Paper ID card, rectangular, 7.4 cm wide, 10.5 cm long. Printed on both sides on a traditional patterned background. Front side has a map of Vietnam and a bronze drum. Back side has a bronze drum pattern.

The front of the identity card has the national emblem; photo of the person being issued the card; QR code; personal identification number; last name, middle name and first name; date of birth; gender; place of birth; hometown; ethnicity; religion; marital status; current residence; and expiration date.

The back has the fingerprints of the left and right index fingers; father's surname, middle name and first name, nationality; mother's surname, middle name and first name, nationality; husband's surname, middle name and first name, nationality; legal representative's surname, middle name and first name, guardian, ward's surname, first name, nationality; date, month, year.