🔄 Last updated: 11 July 2026
Ask ten foreigners in Vietnam whether VNeID is mandatory and you'll get ten different answers. Half the internet says "mandatory since 1 July 2025". The other half says it isn't. Both are partly right — and that's the problem.
This article settles it with a single question: who are you?
1. What VNeID is, and why it suddenly matters
VNeID is the electronic identification app built by the National Population Data Centre (Ministry of Public Security). An e-ID account carries legal value equivalent to the corresponding physical documents when completing administrative procedures.
Legal basis: Decree 69/2024/NĐ-CP. Since 1 July 2025, foreigners residing in Vietnam have been able to obtain a VNeID account.
What makes 2026 urgent: as reported by KPMG Vietnam, from 1 June 2026 online immigration procedures for organizations must be carried out through the organization's e-ID account — and using a digital certificate/signature to log into the National Public Service Portal as an alternative is no longer accepted.
Procedures affected include:
- Entry approval letters for foreign staff and dependents
- Visa extensions and work visas
- Temporary Residence Cards (TRC)
In other words: if your sponsoring company hasn't set up its organizational VNeID, your visa extension or TRC application can stall — not because you did anything wrong, but because the company hasn't finished a technical step.
2. Who are you? — Look up your group
🟢 Group A — Tourists, E-Visa holders, visa-exempt visitors
Is VNeID mandatory for you? No. Can you even register? Also no.
Here's what few articles state plainly: a temporary residence card (or permanent residence card) is a mandatory prerequisite for verifying a foreigner's identity during e-ID registration. No TRC → not eligible, no matter how much you want it.
What you should do instead: forget VNeID. The thing you need to track is your stay expiry date, not an app.
🟡 Group B — Workers, investors, specialists holding a TRC
Mandatory? In principle, no for individuals. Worth doing? Yes, strongly.
In practice, more and more administrative, banking and tax procedures require or prefer a VNeID. Not having one can slow your paperwork down.
🔴 Group C — Legal representatives / heads of a company in Vietnam
Mandatory? YES — and it must be Level 2.
This is the exception that causes all the confusion. Under Decree 69/2024/NĐ-CP, foreign individuals generally are not required to hold an e-ID account — but a foreigner acting as the legal representative of a Vietnamese enterprise is required to hold a Level 2 account, in order to register the organization's e-ID.
No personal VNeID for the legal representative → no organizational e-ID → the company cannot complete tax filings, e-banking, or immigration procedures for its own foreign staff.
🔵 Group D — Permanent residence card holders
Mandatory? No, but virtually every VNeID benefit is aimed at you. Worth registering.
3. Level 1 vs Level 2
| Level 1 | Level 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Where to register | Can be done via the app | Must appear in person at the authority |
| Verification | Basic | Biometric (facial image + fingerprints) |
| What it unlocks | Basic online transactions | Full: digital signing, banking, company registration |
| Enough for a legal representative? | No | This is the required level |
If you're in Group C, don't waste time on Level 1 — you need Level 2.
4. The registration process (per the National Public Service Portal)
For foreigners, registration goes through the immigration authority, not the ward police as it does for Vietnamese citizens. The steps described on the National Public Service Portal:
- The foreigner attends in person and provides their information.
- An officer enters the details into the e-identification and authentication system.
- Facial image and fingerprints are captured, verified against the National Immigration Database, and consent to create the account is confirmed.
- The immigration authority submits the account request.
- The result is notified via the VNeID app, your registered mobile number, or email.
Cost: e-ID registration is free of charge.
Reception hours: business hours, Monday to Friday.
⚠️ A note on the registered mobile number: results go to a SIM registered in your own name. If you're using a SIM registered under someone else's name — very common for newly-arrived foreigners — sort that out first.
5. ⚠️ Common misconceptions
❌ "VNeID is mandatory for all foreigners from 1 July 2025." → FALSE. That date is when foreigners became eligible to register, and when it became mandatory for enterprises and organizations. Foreign individuals generally are not required to hold one — unless you're a company's legal representative.
❌ "I'm here on holiday, let me register a VNeID just in case." → FALSE. You are not eligible. A valid temporary or permanent residence card is required to verify your identity.
❌ "With VNeID I don't need to carry my passport anymore." → FALSE. A foreigner travelling within Vietnam without a passport or valid international travel document still faces a warning or a fine of VND 300,000 – 500,000 under Decree 282/2025/NĐ-CP. Your passport stays on you.
❌ "VNeID replaces a visa." → FALSE. VNeID is an identification tool, not permission to enter or stay. It grants you no residence rights and adds not a single day to your permitted stay.
❌ "Any app called VNeID will do." → FALSE. App stores carry several lookalikes. The official app is published by the Ministry of Public Security. Check the publisher before entering your personal details and passport number.
6. Your real problem may not be VNeID at all
If you've read this far and realised you're in Group A — no TRC, not eligible for VNeID — then your actual problem lies somewhere else entirely.
For anyone in Vietnam on an E-Visa or a visa exemption, the real question is: what happens when your stay runs out?
- A visa exemption cannot be extended in-country.
- An E-Visa cannot be applied for from inside Vietnam — the system detects it, the application is almost certain to be refused, and the fee is non-refundable.
The usual route is to exit and re-enter on a fresh 90-day E-Visa. ViEntry supports both steps: E-Visa applications (we check your photo and details before submission) and Visa Run trips for a lawful exit and re-entry.
And before anything else: turn on free visa expiry reminders with Visa Tracker — because overstaying even by one day is already a violation.
Not sure which route fits? The free Advisor suggests one based on your nationality and dates.
7. Further reading
- Vietnam's amended immigration law, in force 1 July 2026 — including the new UĐ1/UĐ2 talent visas
- Vietnam entry guide — documents, the digital arrival card, 2026 rules
Sources
- Decree 69/2024/NĐ-CP on electronic identification and authentication
- National Public Service Portal — e-ID account issuance procedure for foreigners
- Vietnam Immigration Department — Ministry of Public Security
- KPMG Vietnam (June 2026) — update on organizational VNeID rollout and its impact on immigration procedures
- Decree 282/2025/NĐ-CP — Article 21, on carrying identity documents
Note: This article is informational and compiled at the time of the last update. E-identification rules are still being rolled out and may change — check official channels before starting any procedure. ViEntry is a technology platform connecting users with independent service operators; ViEntry does not carry out VNeID registration on your behalf, is not an immigration authority, and does not provide legal advice.
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