Passport of Individuals Aged 14 and Over Can Be Embedded with an Electronic Chip

Illustrative photo

To be specific, according to the provisions at Point b Clause 1 Article 5 of this Law:

"b) Individuals who are 14 years of age or older have the right to choose between obtaining a passport with an electronic chip or a passport without an electronic chip;"

According to Clause 4 Article 2 of the Law on Exit, Entry of Vietnamese Citizens:"A passport with an electronic chip is a passport embedded with an electronic device that stores encrypted information of the passport holder and the digital signature of the issuing officer."

Thus, individuals who are 14 years of age or older have the right to choose between obtaining a passport with an electronic chip or a passport without an electronic chip. Individuals applying for a passport with an electronic chip for the first time will have to have their photo taken and fingerprints collected.

The Ministry of Public Security will be the leading agency, cooperating with relevant ministries and agencies, to develop and manage the information system for receiving, storing, and exploiting digital certificates serving the issuance and management of passports with electronic chips, connected with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for authentication and control of passports with electronic chips.

This is a completely new provision under the Law on Exit, Entry of Vietnamese Citizens 2019, as there was no previous regulation on embedding electronic chips in passports. Clause 3 Article 4 of Decree 136/2007/ND-CP on the exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens only generally stipulated: "Passports issued domestically and abroad have the same form and content but bear specific symbols for management convenience."

For more details on the regulations, see the Law on Exit, Entry of Vietnamese Citizens 2019 which takes effect from July 1, 2020.

Toan Trung

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