How I registered for VNeID in Vietnam as a foreigner

July has seen media channels light up with new regulations across a number of sectors in Vietnam. For expats, the news arrived that there was now going to be a new platform, named VNeID, available to foreigners living in Vietnam.

With this news came much confusion so I decided to test the water by being one of the first to register in Ho Chi Minh City.

To summarize the experience, it was a drawn-out set of frustrations that I should have been better prepared for. In that, the raw process isn't overly complicated but the delivery seemed to get so many foreigners hot under the collar, mostly because of a lack of understanding.

VNeID is not a new system. It has been in place for Vietnamese citizens since September 2021 with the early iterations focused on assisting the Vietnamese during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has since progressed to a bit of a cover-all for the community with the essential information being held to assist with functions including health insurance, taxes, travel and government services.

Now that my registration is complete and I am awaiting my access information to arrive via email in around one week, here is the detailed process and what you need in order to easily register for the VNeID system as an expat in Vietnam.

3 essential items

The first point to note, this may not be a one-visit function. In my case, the procedure took two full days to complete, while a friend in Da Lat was able to finish it within a day. 

In Ho Chi Minh City, you will need to allow two days to attend the Immigration Office on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in Xuan Hoa Ward to correctly complete the application.

Further, there are only three essential items you need to supply in order to obtain the access registration. Logically, your home country passport and current TRC (Temporary Resident Card) are essential.

The other essential item is a phone number. This can catch a few people unaware. Last year, the government imposed strict regulations on the registering of phone numbers in a prescribed manner. If any part of the phone number is not registered correctly, they will not allow you to proceed with the registration.

At the Immigration Office - Day 1

With the right phone information, passport and TRC, it is time to attend the Immigration Office. On the first visit, you speak to the person at the desk inside the front door. He will give you a slip of paper with a number on it and direct you to the desk inside the first internal doors about 15 meters inside the building.

This is the payment desk. Here you pay VND30,000 (US$1.15) to the lady and she will hand you a receipt to show you have paid. She then tells you to go back to the front waiting room to get your photo taken.

At the back of the main waiting room, there are two cameras set up for taking ID photos. Only the right side is for foreigners. Simply take your TRC, passport and the receipt to this man. He will quickly look at it and open a file for you. Then he will ask you to sit and take a photo.

This process only takes a minute and your requirements for Day 1 are all complete. He will tell you to come back tomorrow to finish the application. Please remember to keep the receipt of payment and the slip of paper with the number on it.

Preparation for Day 2

At home you need to locate form TK01 online and download it. This part was challenging for me because the form I got was all in Vietnamese so the assistance of a Vietnamese speaker or a suitable translation app was needed to understand and complete the form. I later found out that they have it in both Vietnamese and English. This form needs to be printed and taken with you on day 2.

You also need to write your details on the small slip of paper with the number on it that was given to you at the entry on your first visit.

Day 2: Final Registration

Arriving on Day 2 of the registration is a little more challenging. There is a limit on the number of people for each session in the morning or afternoon. As I did, for the morning session, I arrived at 7:30 am and received ticket #63. With a limit of 100 or 150, I noted that people were being turned away from the office by 9:00 am.

The afternoon session begins at 1:00 pm and follows a similar format with a limited number of customers and people coming after the limit is reached are turned away and asked to come the next day. The secret is to get there early.

On Day 2, go a little further past the payment desk to a stand-alone window on your left. Show your TRC and slip of paper from Day 1 and you will receive a ticket with a number.

Go to the rear of the office where there is a waiting area and wait until your number is called. For me, it was about 2.5 hours. Then it is a matter of following the direction of the officer to record your information and take your fingerprints.

The wait for the final email

Whilst all this sounds rather easy, it is filled with confusion and a bit of frustration for many foreigners. It is a good idea to employ a Vietnamese friend or loved one to help navigate the process. It just makes it a little easier and problems are solved much quicker, as was my phone registration issue.

So, after two days, around eight hours of my time, a visit to the phone shop, and about VND50,000 in travel and parking costs, I am now eagerly awaiting the email with my login details. Then, I will be able to look at the app in detail and work out what benefits there are for us expats living in Vietnam.