The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has publicized the documents of the meeting on examining the draft of the amended Law on Identity Cards. 

The draft law is being compiled by MPS and is expected to take effect on July 1, 2024 after it gets approval.

MPS has proposed new articles in comparison with the current law.

According to MPS, the current Law on Vietnamese Nationality doesn’t have a concept about people "whose nationality is yet to be determined". 

Currently, in Vietnam, there are 31,117 people of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not been determined.

Of these, 775 are individuals born to a Vietnamese citizen and foreigner with no clear nationality. They mostly live in Gia Lai, Bac Lieu and Vinh Long. 

There are also 10,650 individuals whose nationalities cannot be determined and they have not been registered for residence in HCM City, Lam Dong, Dong Thap, Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

There are also 16,161 individuals who don’t have identity papers, mostly in HCMC, Lam Dong, Dong Thap, Dong Nai and Binh Duong. 

MPS has suggested adding a provision to the draft of the amended law on identity cards on managing Vietnam- born people.

Under the draft, people with Vietnamese origin living in Vietnam but with undetermined nationality are those who once had Vietnamese nationality (when they were born, their nationality was based on the principle of blood relationship, or children, or grandchildren of these people); 

Vietnam-born people who are granted an identifier number reserved for Vietnamese origin people and identity certificates for people of Vietnamese origin, which prove the person’s identity to make transactions in the Vietnamese territory.

Competent agencies, organizations and individuals may request people of Vietnamese origin to present their identity certificates for verification; and use the identifier number of Vietnamese origin people on identity certificates to check their information in the national and specialized databases as prescribed by law.

The State guarantees the legitimate rights and interests of people granted identity certificates in accordance with laws.

MOJ has suggested that the compilation agency considers the adjustment for e-ID accounts. In case individuals with no nationality living in Vietnam are included as people with Vietnamese origin, it will be necessary to change the name of the law.

In reply, MPS says the Law on Citizen Identity Card just focuses on the citizen management via citizen identification database, the national population database, via the citizen identification card, while there is no regulation about electronic identifiers (e-ID).

T. Nhung