Vietnam rolls out new ID card law and reforms social insurance and local governance

Effective 1 July 2026, Vietnam has enacted major amendments to the National ID Card and Residence Law. The revised law bans requests for physical documents when an electronic ID card or the national identity app (VNeID) contains the required data, allowing citizens to complete most procedures online, including card renewal and replacement. It also expands residency rights for children under six and eases registration for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled.

A draft amendment to the Social Insurance Law proposes a range of changes. It would extend state‑paid contributions to several mandatory‑insurance groups (overseas Vietnamese workers, spouses of diplomats, registered business owners, and certain enterprise managers), introduce electronic insurance books, refine how partial‑month contributions are counted, and lower the retirement‑age threshold for social‑pension eligibility from 75 to 70, subject to economic conditions.

In a parallel reform of public administration, the government has transferred 1 461 tasks from provincial and district authorities to local provinces and communes, effectively ending the district‑level tier. Of the former 1 164 district duties, 859 have moved to communes, which now handle at least 938 distinct responsibilities, ranging from state‑level service delivery to routine administrative procedures. Ongoing legislative work aims to revise over 500 related statutes to support the new three‑level governance model.