Vietnam Implements Wide‑Scale ID, Residency and Traffic Reforms from July 1

From 1 July 2026 Vietnam’s amendment of ten security‑related laws takes effect, overhauling the identity‑card system, residency registration and road‑traffic rules.

The revised identity‑card law makes physical documents unnecessary when the data are already stored in the electronic national ID (VNeID). Citizens can renew or replace cards entirely online, with biometric data (face, fingerprint, iris) reused from the previous issuance. The law also defines circumstances for revoking cards, chiefly linked to changes in citizenship status.

The new residency law eases permanent‑registration for children under six and for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, disabled or those without a household head’s consent, allowing them to register at a family home without the owner’s approval.

Traffic‑safety amendments ban children from front seats of private cars, require appropriate child‑safety seats, and obligate vehicles with eight or more passenger seats to install interior‑cab cameras. The previous hard limit of 10 driving hours per day and 48 per week is removed; drivers may now work flexibly under general labor‑law rules but may not drive continuously for more than four hours except in force‑majeure cases. The reforms also expand eligibility to upgrade licences to the CE class for holders of D, D1 and D2 categories.

A related decree standardises a national traffic‑safety database managed by the traffic police, covering vehicle registration, violations, accidents, driver monitoring, licence issuance and points, and data on foreign‑registered vehicles and transport‑business identifiers. Another decree transfers management of many national highways to provincial governments, outlining their investment, maintenance and supervision duties.