Việt Nam abandons its controversial “citizen ranking” system, but the government’s push for full digital integration through the VNeID application continues with new administrative and financial incentives.
The Latest: On July 9, the government issued Resolution No. 66.22/2026 on developing digital citizens, drafted under the lead of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
- The resolution takes effect from Aug. 15, 2026, to Feb. 28, 2027.
- This is Việt Nam’s first legal document that explicitly outlines citizens’ rights and responsibilities in the digital environment.
- Compared with the earlier draft, the finalized resolution removes the citizen classification and ranking system, though it retains a separate administrative incentive mechanism for individuals who actively use the MPS’ VNeID application.
The Details: Under Article 5 of the resolution, the state will provide incentive policies for “digital citizens.”
- Citizens who complete the integration of five basic types of information and documents—including birth certificates, bank cards, social security accounts, phone numbers, and electronic health records—and who carry out administrative procedures on VNeID as required will receive corresponding fee and charge exemptions or reductions.
- Elderly people, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, or other eligible groups who meet the above conditions and are also entitled to other legal incentives will receive the highest applicable benefit.
According to the resolution, the state will also publicly and transparently disclose and share data on each person’s level of eligibility for these incentive policies.
- Each citizen’s eligibility level will be displayed on the national identification application, securely linked to their electronic identity account.
- The identification system will share this information, at the individual’s request, with the National Public Service Portal, administrative procedure processing systems, and other information systems to serve as the basis for implementing the incentives.
Furthermore, Article 7 states that the VNeID application will be developed with key functions, including access to citizens’ digital data; electronic identification and authentication; digital signature certification; online public services; and links to payment accounts, e-wallets, bank cards, and mobile money accounts.
- Both the draft and final versions explicitly state that applying incentive policies “does not restrict citizens’ lawful rights and interests in choosing how to access and carry out administrative procedures and public services as prescribed by law.”
“Digital Citizen” Definition: In the draft Resolution on digital citizen development published by the MPS in December 2025, the ministry explained the concept of a digital citizen in Article 1.
- The MPS initially defined a digital citizen as “an individual with an electronic identity account and digital capacity to work, study, and participate in social activities in the digital environment safely, responsibly, and in compliance with the law.”
- However, on Jan. 13, 2026, the Ministry of Justice appraised the December 2025 draft and proposed that the government further clarify the concept of “digital citizen.”
- The new Resolution 66.22/2026 removes the definition of a digital citizen without any explanation from the drafting agency.
Luật Khoa emailed the MPS and the government regarding this specific issue but has not received a response
The Background: The resolution falls under the MPS’s Project 06, which former Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính approved on Jan. 6, 2022.
- The project focuses on “developing the application of population data, identification, and electronic authentication” for digital transformation from 2022 to 2025, with a vision toward 2030.
In December 2025, the MPS published the initial draft Resolution on digital citizen development for public comment from Dec. 12 to Dec. 31, 2025.
- This draft sparked controversy by proposing to score and rank citizens into “Active,” “Basic,” and “Unranked” groups based on “digital citizen scores” through VNeID.
- Under this system, “Active” citizens with 350 points or more would receive 10% to 100% reductions in taxes, fees, and charges.
- “Basic” citizens with 100 to 349 points would receive limited incentives.
- “Unranked” citizens with fewer than 100 points would receive none.
- These scores were based on criteria such as updating personal data, using public services, contributing to the digital community, and submitting petitions to state agencies.
The draft also contained several controversial provisions regarding transaction monitoring through e-wallets, identity verification for social media use, and the issuance of official email addresses to every citizen.
On Jan. 13, 2026, the Ministry of Justice independently appraised the draft and recommended implementation, while urging heavy caution over terms such as “score,” “ranking,” and “classification.”
Why It Matters: These entirely new rules were not issued as a law, which would normally require National Assembly approval, but as a government resolution.
A government resolution is a new type of legal normative document created under the 2025 Law on the Promulgation of Legal Normative Documents.
- Under this law, the government may issue resolutions to address urgent and important issues arising from practice for a fixed period; suspend, adjust, or extend the validity of a decree to meet urgent needs in socio-economic development or to protect human and citizens’ rights; or pilot policies not yet regulated by law.
In its official submission, the MPS cited that exact law to justify issuing digital citizen rules as a government resolution, arguing that the matter was an “urgent and important issue arising from practice.”
- The ministry also cited National Assembly Resolution 206/2025/QH15, which allows the government to issue its own resolutions to “handle difficulties and obstacles caused by legal provisions while awaiting amendments and supplements to laws.”
Lê Sáng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on July 16, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.
