A new kind of ID cards will be issued to residents in Hanoi next month before they are granted nationwide two years later, a police official told Tuoi Tre on Wednesday.

>> Vietnam to replace household registers with identity cards>> ID numbers to replace personal papers>> Citizens to be granted lifelong ID number

The new ID card has a rectangular shape, 85.6 mm long and 53.98 mm wide, and is made of highly durable material, said Major General Tran Van Ve, deputy director of a police general department under the Ministry of Public Security.

The new templates will be granted to citizens when they are 14 years old, instead of 15 as previously announced by the same ministry, Ve noted, adding that current ID cards are still valid as long as they remain unexpired.

Holders of existing IDs will have their cards nullified when they apply for a new template, he said.

The new card will contain 18 items of personal information, including name, age, sex, blood group, and address.

It will have 12 digits, instead of only nine in current cards, and a 2D bar code that stores personal identification details, including fingerprints to be taken by a laser device rather than printed in black ink as at present, the official elaborated.

The 12-digit personal identification number will be issued to an individual for lifetime use when his or her birth registration is completed, he said.

With such characteristics, the new cards cannot be counterfeited, he remarked.

The new ID cards will have a use term of 15 years, but for people 55 years old or above, the term is indefinite, the Major General said. 

The new cards will later be phased in across other localities, including Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, Vinh Phuc, Thanh Hoa, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho under a ministry plan.

They cannot be granted to all citizens nationwide at a time, for such issuance will be very costly, at thousands of billions of dong (VND1 billion = US$47,170), the ministry explained.  

The cards will be used throughout the country in the 2016-2017 period, the ministry said.