Circular No. 04/1999/TT-BCA (C13) guiding certain provisions of Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP dated February 3, 1999 of the Government on identity cards.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for certain provisions of Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP

dated February 3, 1999, of the Government on identity cards

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On February 3, 1999, the Government issued Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP on Identity Cards (abbreviated as ID Card), the Ministry of Public Security guides the implementation of certain provisions of the above Decree as follows:

I. ISSUERS OF ID CARDS

1. Persons eligible to receive ID Cards

Article 3 of Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP stipulates that the persons eligible to receive ID Cards are as follows:

a- Vietnamese citizens aged 14 years or older, with age calculated based on the date, month, and year of birth recorded in the household registration or birth certificate;

b- Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam's territory, understood as those who are living, working, studying... at a specific address within Vietnam's territory;

2. Persons temporarily ineligible to receive ID Cards include:

a- Those serving a temporary detention order at a prison or temporary detention center;

b- Those serving a sentence of imprisonment at a prison or a sub-prison under a temporary detention center;

c- Those serving a decision to be placed in educational institutions, correctional facilities, or medical treatment centers;

d- Persons suffering from mental illness or other diseases that prevent them from controlling their own conduct, including those being treated at psychiatric hospitals or other healthcare facilities. Even if not receiving centralized treatment, but certified by authorized health authorities as having a disease that prevents control over their conduct, they are also temporarily ineligible to receive ID Cards.

After completing the execution of administrative measures, changing preventive measures, being released, or recovering from mental illness, citizens must bring relevant documents to the police station of the district to process the issuance of ID Cards.

3. Rights and responsibilities of citizens:

a- Citizens may use their ID Cards as personal identification documents for travel and transactions. All citizens have the responsibility to carry their ID Cards and present them when requested by authorized authorities for inspection or control.

b- Vietnamese citizens aged 14 years or older have the obligation to go to the police office where they are registered to process the issuance of ID Cards according to Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP dated February 3, 1999.

c- Citizens are responsible for going to the district police to exchange or reissue ID Cards in cases where they need to be exchanged or reissued due to loss. They should report to the police station in the case of confiscation of ID Cards.

d- In cases where lost ID Cards have been replaced with new ones, if the original lost ID Card is found, it must be returned to the authority that issued the replacement. Anyone who finds another person's ID Card must hand it over to the police. It is strictly prohibited for one person to use two or more ID Cards.

4. Number and validity period of ID Cards.

ID Cards are valid for 15 years. Each Vietnamese citizen is only issued one ID Card with a unique number. If there is a change or loss of the ID Card, procedures can be made to exchange or reissue a new ID Card, but the number on the ID Card remains the same as the number on the previously issued ID Card.

II. PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING ID CARDS

1. Issuance of new ID Cards.

a- Eligible recipients include: citizens who have not yet received ID Cards according to Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP of the Government and ID Cards according to Decision No. 143/CP dated August 9, 1976 of the Council of Ministers.

b- Procedures for issuing new ID Cards.

- Present permanent residence registration (Family Household Registration Book or Collective Resident Certificate). In areas where these two types of registration books are not issued, the police office handling the issuance of ID Cards will base on the household registration book or the permanent resident registration certificate issued by the commune, ward, town police office;

- Take a photograph: the photograph taken by the police agency or through a camera to print on the ID Card and application form. The photograph must be color, size 3x4 cm, head bare, frontal view, face clearly visible, both ears clearly visible, without glasses, formal attire;

- Fill out the ID Card application form (according to the model);

- Print fingerprints of all ten fingers onto the fingerprint card and application form (according to the model) or the police agency collects fingerprints of all ten fingers through an automatic fingerprint collection machine to print onto the fingerprint card and ID Card;

- Pay the fee for issuing the ID Card.

2. Exchange or reissue ID Cards:

a- Exchange ID Cards.

Citizens who have already received new ID Cards according to Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP dated February 3, 1999, and ID Cards according to Decision No. 143/CP can exchange them in the following situations:

+ Exceeding the validity period of 15 years from the date of issue;

+ The ID Card is torn, damaged, unclear photograph, or one of the information recorded on the ID Card is unclear;

+ Change of surname, name, middle name, date of birth, month, year. These changes must be approved by the competent authority;

+ Those who have been issued an ID Card but have changed their permanent residence registration outside the province or centrally-administered city. In cases of changing permanent residence registration within the province or centrally-administered city and the citizen requests it, they can exchange the ID Card;

+ Changes in identifying features such as undergoing plastic surgery or other reasons causing changes in appearance or identifying features.

b- Reissue ID Cards.

The subjects eligible for reissuing ID Cards are citizens who have been issued ID Cards according to Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP dated February 3, 1999, and ID Cards according to Decision No. 143/CP but have lost them.

c- Procedures for exchanging or reissuing ID Cards.

- Submit a detailed explanation letter stating the reason for exchanging or reissuing the ID Card, with confirmation from the police station of the place of permanent residence, affixing a photograph on the letter and stamping it;

- Present permanent residence registration (Family Household Registration Book or Collective Resident Certificate). In areas where these two types of registration books are not issued, the police office handling the issuance of ID Cards will base on the household registration book or the permanent resident registration certificate issued by the commune, ward, town police office;

- For cases involving changes in surname, name, middle name, date of birth, month, year, the exchange of ID Cards requires presenting the Decision of the competent authority approving the changes mentioned above;

- Take a photograph (as in the case of issuing a new ID Card);

- Fill out the ID Card application form according to the model;

- Print fingerprints of both index fingers onto the application form according to the model or the police agency collects fingerprints of both index fingers through an automatic fingerprint collection machine to print onto the application form and ID Card;

- Pay the fee;

- In cases of exchanging ID Cards, submit the old ID Card according to Decision No. 143/CP dated August 9, 1976 of the Council of Ministers (if available), expired, damaged, or altered ID Cards to the police agency immediately when processing the exchange to keep together with the file.

In cases where files are lost due to misplacement, fire, typhoons, floods, and other force majeure situations, the public security agency must inform citizens when they come to apply for issuance, replacement, or reissuance of ID cards, and shall process new issuance procedures for these individuals.

3. Citizens who have been issued ID cards pursuant to Decision No. 143/CP may continue to use them and must exchange them according to the provisions of Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP as announced by the Ministry of Public Security. The procedure for exchanging previously issued ID cards under Decision No. 143/CP shall be applied as stipulated in point c, Section 2, Part II of this Circular but without the need to submit an application for exchange as required.

4. Procedures for issuing ID cards to the Military and People's Police.

a- For citizens officially assigned to the Military and People's Police who reside in barracks or collective housing units, when applying for new issuance, exchange, or reissuance of ID cards, they must complete all procedures as prescribed generally. However, presenting the permanent residence registration book can be replaced with an introduction letter from the competent authority accompanied by the Military Identification Card or the Certificate of People's Police.

b- The authority to issue introduction letters for citizens who are military personnel and People's Police to apply for ID cards is as follows:

+ The Director or equivalent level (if issuing to personnel within agencies and units under the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security).

+ The Commander of Military Region, Army Corps, Military Branch, Armed Service, and Commandant.

+ The Chief of Provincial Military Command, Central City, Director of Provincial Public Security, Central City.

+ The Director of Academy, President of Universities, Secondary Schools.

+ The Chief of District Military Command, County, Town, City under Province. Head of Public Security District, County, Town, City under Province.

The person issuing the introduction letter for the ID card application must bear responsibility for issuing it only to the specified subjects as mentioned above in point a.

5. Place for processing ID card applications.

a- Citizens eligible for ID cards currently registered with a permanent residence in a locality shall have their ID card applications processed by the district-level public security agency in that locality.

b- Citizens serving in the Military and People's Police (excluding those on compulsory military service) who have not registered their permanent residence with their families and are residing in concentrated military or police barracks shall have their ID card applications processed by the district-level public security agency in the locality where the main headquarters or collective housing unit is located, according to regulations for issuing ID cards to the military and police. If they have registered their permanent residence with their families, they shall be treated like other citizens.

6. Timeframe for completing ID cards.

- The deadline for completing and returning ID cards to citizens is 15 days (in cities and towns) and within 30 days (in other areas), calculated from the date of completing the ID card issuance procedures as stipulated in Part II of this Circular.

III. MANAGEMENT OF ID CARDS

1. Arrangement, storage, utilization, and management of ID card files.

Files for new issuance, exchange, and reissuance of ID cards for each citizen as prescribed in Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP shall be organized and stored at provincial and centrally-administered city public security agencies for management.

2. Recovery and temporary retention of ID cards.

a- Clause 1, Article 10 of Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP stipulates that citizens whose ID cards are to be recovered in cases where there is a written decision by the competent authority to revoke Vietnamese citizenship or allow Vietnamese citizens to settle abroad must notify the police station, commune, town, or township where they are registered with their permanent residence. The police station, commune, town, or township must report to the district-level public security agency to recover ID cards in such cases. When recovering ID cards, a record must be made and transferred to the provincial or centrally-administered city public security agency for joint storage with the ID card issuance file.

b- Citizens whose ID cards are temporarily retained in cases of administrative violations where retaining the ID card is necessary to prevent and ensure compliance with administrative penalty decisions as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 41 of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance: having a decision for temporary detention, a decision to enforce a prison sentence at a detention center, a decision to place in a rehabilitation school, educational facility, or medical facility. The authority responsible for handling administrative violations, the agency enforcing the temporary detention order, enforcing the prison sentence, or enforcing the decision to place in a rehabilitation school, educational facility, or medical facility, or the district or provincial public security agency must retain the ID cards of these individuals. The temporary retention of ID cards must be recorded in a document kept together with the enforcement order or decision file.

Citizens will have their ID cards returned upon completion of the aforementioned measures: the authority responsible for temporary retention of ID cards must return the ID cards to them for use. When returning ID cards, a specific record must be made.

3. Inspection of ID cards.

- Public Security officers and village police officers are authorized to inspect ID cards of citizens during their duties. Inspections can be organized in batches, regularly, or randomly as directed by leaders at various levels of the Public Security.

4. Allocation and management of ID cards.

a- The Director of the General Police Department assists the Minister in uniformly managing ID cards nationwide, including:

- Proposing the Ministry of Public Security to issue, manage, and guide the use of various forms related to ID cards.

- Directing and guiding specialized business operations, inspections, and audits regarding the issuance and management of ID cards;

- Organizing the management and distribution of blank ID cards;

- Statistics on the issuance and management of ID cards;

- International cooperation on matters related to the issuance and management of ID cards;

- Issuing ID cards to certain categories of individuals as prescribed by the Ministry of Public Security and transferring the files to local public security agencies for management.

b- Provincial and centrally-administered city public security agencies:

- Are responsible for organizing ID card issuance and management work in their respective localities:

- Managing files of citizens who have been issued ID cards in their locality;

- Resolving complaints and reports regarding ID cards;

- Statistics on ID card issuance and management, reporting to the Ministry of Public Security;

- Conducting inspections and audits on ID card issuance and management.

c- District, county, town, and city under province public security agencies:

- Receiving files to process ID card issuance applications for citizens;

- Checking ID card issuance application files and transferring them to provincial and centrally-administered city public security agencies;

- Receiving completed ID cards and delivering them to commune, ward, or township public security agencies.

- Organizing inspections on the use of ID cards by citizens within their jurisdiction.

- Resolving complaints and reports regarding ID cards.

d- Commune, ward, and township public security agencies are responsible for:

- Be responsible for keeping track of the number of people eligible for ID card issuance in the locality;

- Coordinate with the county or town police to process ID card issuance for citizens;

- Receive ID cards from higher-level police authorities, record them in the tracking book, and return them to the public;

- Organize inspections on the management and use of ID cards by citizens within the jurisdiction;

- Propagate and guide citizens and organizations to strictly comply with regulations concerning ID cards;

- Accept and resolve complaints and reports regarding ID cards;

IV. HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

1. In cases where individuals belonging to the category eligible for ID card issuance have been notified but fail to complete the application procedures or travel without carrying their ID cards, violating the provisions of Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP and the guidance provided in this Circular, they will be subject to penalties under Article 10 of Government Decree No. 49/CP dated August 15, 1996, on administrative sanctions in the field of security and public order;

2. Police officers involved in issuing and managing ID cards who commit violations in the process of issuing and managing ID cards shall be disciplined or held criminally liable depending on the nature and severity of the violation, and must compensate for any material losses caused;

V. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Director of the General Police Department shall be responsible for:

a- Developing plans and organizing the implementation and training on Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP and this Circular;

b- Proposing solutions for replacing previously issued ID cards pursuant to Decision No. 143/CP dated August 9, 1976; promptly informing citizens and relevant agencies and organizations about the implementation;

c- Leading and coordinating with other departments and units to research and implement new ID card technology;

d- Monitoring, guiding, and inspecting localities to conduct mid-term evaluations of the nationwide implementation;

2. Departments, Military Commands, and subordinate units of the Ministry of Public Security shall organize the implementation according to Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP and this Circular in accordance with their respective functions;

3. Provincial and municipal police directors directly under the central government shall develop specific plans to direct all levels of police and forces to strictly and timely implement Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP and this Circular;

4. The Ministry of Public Security requests that ministries, ministerial-level agencies, governmental agencies, and provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the central government organize the implementation of Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP and this Circular within their respective jurisdictions and units;

5. This Circular takes effect from May 1, 1999, replacing Circular No. 04/TT dated August 9, 1976, and Circular No. 01 dated March 2, 1985, of the Ministry of Interior (now the Ministry of Public Security). All previous regulations and guidelines of the Ministry of Public Security that conflict with this Circular are hereby abolished;

6. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to the Ministry (through the General Police Department) for prompt guidance.