In Vietnam, electronic identity registration and authentication plays an increasingly important role in the context where digitalization are strongly promoted by the Government, and the demand for digital services are rising by the day. This demand not only originate from Vietnamese citizen, but also foreigners who work, study, invest or engage in business activities in Vietnam. Therefore, the establishment of an efficient, convenient, and safe electronic identity registration and authentication system is necessary to adapt to the inceasingly diverse needs of individuals and organizations.
Realizing the importance of this issue, the laws of Vietnam has been gradually establihsing and finalizing the legal framework for electronic identity registration and authentication. Currently, Decree No. 69/2024/ND-CP dated 25/06/2024 (“Hereafter referred to as “Decree 69”) and Decree No. 320/2026/ND-CP are the applicable governing legal documents for this field.
Through this article, CNC shall provide readers with a comprehensive view on the procedures for eletronic identity account registration applicable to foreign individuals and organizations under the current regulations.
1. Registration of Electronic Identity for Foreigner
1.1. Procedures for registration of electronic identity for foreigner
Under the new regulations introduced by Decree 320, amending and supplementing Decree 69, the registration of electronic identity for foreigner is no longer subject to the classification of electronic identification levels. This allows foreigners to have more ease in their access to public services in Vietnam since the procedures for doing so have been streamlined.
Overall, the procedures for registration of electronic identity account for foreigners under Decree 320 share many similarities with the previously applied procedures for registration of electronic identity account level 2 applicable to foreigners under Decree 69, as both of them require the foreigner to work directly with the competent authorities to proceed with the registration procedures.
| Eligibility Conditions | Foreigner who legally enter Vietnam or legally reside in Vietnam[1] |
| Place of application[2] | Immigration Department Provincial Public Security |
| Procedures | Step 1: Direct Information Provision
Step 2: Receipt and Authentication
Step 3: Transfer of the application The immigration department sends the application for account registration to the authority responsible for the management and operation of the electronic identification and authentication system. Step 4: Result Announcement The authority responsible for the management and operation of the electronic identification and authentication system announces the application result through VNeID or the registered phone number or email address. |
| Processing Time[3] | From the date of receipt of the valid application from the immigration department, the authority responsible for the management and operation of the electronic identification and authentication system:
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| Note[4] | For cases where the applicants are below 14 years old, their representative or the guardian shall be the person undertaking the procedures. The registration shall be made through the registered phone number of the representative/ guardian |
1.2. Benefits offered by electronic identity account to foreigners
Electronic identity account is especially valuable for foreigners in facilitating ease of access to public services and administrative procedures in the digital environment. Instead of having to work with the authorities in person and present various type of documents corresponding to the occasions, foreigners could use their electronic identity to perform or assist in the performance of the procedures in the digital environment.
To be specific, in accordance with Decree No. 69 and Decree No. 320, the electronic identity account of the foreigner could be used to access, retrieve, and use identity information and other information shared, integrated and updated from national databases and specialized databases, as well as all features, utilities and applications of the electronic identification and authentication system and information systems connected to and sharing data with such system in accordance with the law.
Notably, under the regulations introduced by Decree No. 320, foreigners who have electronic identity accounts shall be able to utilize the automated border control gates for their entry to and exit from Vietnam[5]. This is a significant change as it greatly facilitate foreigners’ entry to and exit from Vietnam.
As such, from the practical perspective, electronic identity accounts could considerably reduce the time and administrative required for foreigners, especially for those who have to regularly perform procedures in relation to residency, employment, investment, business, transportation, and other public services.
2. Registration of electronic identity accounts for foreign organizations
2.1. Overview of electronic identity account registration for foreign organizations
Similar to registration of electronic identity accounts for foreigner, the electronic identification of foreign organizations ais also not subject to classification of electronic identification level[6]. However, there is no separate electronic identification procedure specifically applicable to “foreign organizations.” Instead, the electronic identification procedure for organizations generally applies to all types of organizations, including “foreign organizations.”
Pursuant to Decree 69 and other relevant legal documents, the electronic identification for foreign organizations shall be performed through an account of an individual who meets the following conditions:
With regard to the requirement on the competent authority of the person undertaking the electronic identification for organizations, Decree 69 specifies the individuals with appropriate authority include[7]:
- The legal representative
- The person in charge of the organizations
- The authorized representative
Note: For organizations that have multiple legal representatives, the procedures for electronic identity registration for organizations shall only be carried out subsequent to the agreement of all other legal representatives in such organizations.
2.2. The authorization procedures in cases the undertaking individual is an authorized representative
For cases where the registration of electronic identification is undertaken by an authorized representative, the authorization process shall be as follows:
Step 1: On the display screen of VNeID, when selecting the feature of “Electronic Identification for organizations”, select the option “The applicant is authorized by the legal representative or the person in charge of the organizations to undertake the electronic identification for organizations”
Step 2: Send requests for authorization confirmation by inputting information on: The full name of the authorizing party, the identity number of the authorizing party, type of organizations, enterprise code of the organizations, electronic identification code of the organization pursuant to Article 4.1 of Decision No. 20/2020/QD-TTg, the founding date of the organization, and the logo of the organization.
Step 3: Contact with the authorizing party for confirmation of the authorization.
Note: The authorizing legal representative or the person in charge of the organization must have available a functioning electronic identity account level 2.
2.3. Procedures for registration of electronic identification for foreign organizations
Regarding the registration procedures, due to the restructuring of administrative units and the removal of the district-level administration, [8], as well as the streamlining and simplification of administrative procedures in accordance with Resolution No. 22/2026/ND-CP[9], the registration of electronic identification for foreign organizations is now only handled by the commune-level administration.
Accordingly, the registration of electronic identification for foreign organizations shall follow the below sequence[10]:
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- Legal Retainer Services per the clients’ requests.
Please contact Mr. Chris Luong – Partner through the email address of chris.luong@cnccounsel.com or Ms. Ngan Nguyen – Partner through the email address of ngan.nguyen@cnccousel.com for prompt and timely support.
Managed by
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Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan I Partner
Phone: (84) 919 639 093 Email: ngan.nguyen@cnccounsel.com |
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Luong Van Chuong I Partner
Phone: (84) 938 04 7969 Email: chris.luong@cnccounsel.com |
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Lam Kim Long | Legal Assistant
Phone: (84) 28 6276-9900 Email: long.lam@cnccounsel.com |
Contact Us
For further information, please contact:
CNC Vietnam Law Firm
Address: The Rise Building, 2A1 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Sai Gon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Phone: (84) 28-6276 9900 – 081 235 3839
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[1] Clause 1 Article 7, Decree 69, amended and supplemented by Article 4, Decree 320
[2] Clause 1 Article 11 Decree 69, amended and supplemented by Article 6 Decree 320
[3] Clause 3 Article 13, Decree 69, amended and supplemented by Article 7 Decree 320
[4] Clause 6 Article 11 Decree 69, amended and supplemented by Article 6 Decree 320
[5] Point b Clause 2 Article 10 Decree No. 77/2020/ND-CP, amended and supplemented by Article 20, Decree 320
[6] Clause 3 Article 7 Decree 69
[7] Clause 1 Article 12 Decree 69
[8] Number 22, Section II.2, Part II, the List enclosed with Guidance No. 08/HD-BCA-V03 dated 17/02/2025
[9] Section IV, Appendix I.3, Resolution No. 22/2026/NQ-CP
[10] Clause 1, Article 1, Subsection I, Section A, Part II, Decision No. 5709/QD-BCA-C06
