Vietnam: Arbitrarily seizing ID cards is illegal

According to Article 10 of Decree No. 05/1999/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, withdrawal and temporary seizure of people’s identity cards are stipulated as follows:

1. The people’s identity card shall be withdrawn in the following cases where:

a/ The Vietnamese nationality is deprived of or relinquished;

b/ The card holder leaves the country for residence overseas.

2. The people’s identity card shall be temporarily seized in the following cases where:

a/ The card holder commits administrative violations for which, as prescribed by law, his/her people’s identity card must be temporarily seized;

b/ The card holder is held in custody, imprisoned or being sent to reformatory, educational institution or medical establishment.

A citizen shall take back his/her people’s identity card after serving the decision on handling of administrative violations, the custody duration expires, completing the prison term or after serving the decision on his/her confinement to reformatory, educational institution or medical establishment.

Only the following agencies have the authority to revoke and temporarily seize citizens' ID cards:

- The police office of the locality where the procedures for granting, changing, re-granting people’s identity cards are carried out shall have competence to withdraw people’s identity cards with regard to cases where the Vietnamese nationality is deprived of or relinquished; the card holder leaves the country for residence overseas.

- The persons who have competence to handle administrative violations under the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations shall have the right to temporarily hold the people’s identity cards with regard to cases where the card holder commits administrative violations;

- The police offices of the urban districts, rural districts, provincial capitals and towns where citizens register their permanent residence, the agencies enforcing the custody orders, the agencies enforcing the imprisonment sentences and the agencies enforcing the decisions to send citizens to reformatories, educational institutions and medical establishments shall have the competence to hold the people’s identity cards of citizens.

Thus, other than the cases mentioned above, all acts of arbitrarily revoking or temporarily seizing citizens' ID cards as well as acts of revoking or temporarily seizing without authority are considered illegal acts and violate the law. Citizens have the right to complain and denounce individuals and organizations that commit such violations.

It should be noted that citizens are obliged to present their ID card when requested for inspection by a competent authority. To be specific:

- Officials, employees and people of agencies and organizations, who are entrusted to protect and settle matters related to citizens, shall be entitled to request citizens to produce the people’s identity cards before settling things.

- Officers and men of the people’s police and commune para-policemen, while on duty, shall be entitled to examine and inspect the people’s identity cards of citizens. Inspections can be organized in batches, regularly or unexpectedly according to the direction of police leaders at all levels.

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