From procedures to service: the “one national portal” vision

This milestone is guided by Decision No. 1565/QD-TTg, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung in early November 2025. It sets clear goals: enhance the quality of end-to-end digital public services, develop personalized digital services based on citizen data, and achieve 95% satisfaction among users by 2026.

With a single VNeID account, citizens can access services ranging from ID card renewal, household registration, vehicle registration, passport issuance, birth-death-marriage certificates, electricity and tax registration, to health insurance renewals.

The initiative rests on three core principles: “One national portal” that consolidates all procedures into the National Public Service Portal instead of scattering them across local platforms; “One-time data entry – multiple use” where information from national databases (residency, insurance, tax) is auto-filled; and “No paperwork – no contact – no intermediaries,” ensuring that users complete the entire process online and receive legally valid electronic results.

This initiative is a central component of Project 06 on the development of citizen data and digital identity systems. It realizes the vision of a digital government that centers around the people.

Saving time: from five hours to five minutes

By 2026, the average time from login to successful submission is expected to drop below five minutes.

Previously, citizens had to visit government offices multiple times, endure long waits, and sometimes lose workdays just to complete a file. Now, thanks to auto-filled electronic forms, personal information such as name, address, ID number, and tax code is pre-populated from integrated databases.

A pilot survey in Hanoi showed that digital driver’s license renewals saved citizens 1.5 workdays and about 250,000 VND (approx. USD 10) in travel and printing costs.

With over 300 million administrative transactions per year in Vietnam, digitizing just these 25 common procedures could save the country over 300 million hours annually - equivalent to tens of trillions of dong in societal costs.

Businesses also benefit. Processes such as tax registration, land transfers, or electricity contracts can now be completed online - slashing timelines from weeks to days or even hours.

All interactions are recorded digitally: timestamps, responsible officials, file status, and any delays. Citizens can track progress using their file code and submit feedback online.

This transparency discourages arbitrary demands for extra paperwork and curbs unofficial fees. Digital accountability becomes a natural barrier to administrative corruption.

Equitable access: reaching vulnerable groups

These services are designed to be inclusive, accommodating the elderly, people with disabilities, and residents in remote areas.

Digitization removes geographical and temporal barriers. A villager in the mountains can submit documents at midnight; a shift worker doesn’t need time off to complete procedures.

The VNeID app now offers accessibility features, voice guidance, and instructional videos to help less tech-savvy users navigate the system independently.

The platform also proactively suggests linked procedures. For example, after registering a child’s birth, it prompts users to also apply for household registration and health insurance for children under six. It sends renewal reminders for expiring IDs or passports via notifications or text messages.

This marks a shift from “citizens seeking government” to “government proactively serving citizens.”

Since October 2025, Hanoi has stopped accepting paper documents for these 25 services. Administrative service centers are equipped with scanners and staff to assist citizens onsite. In mountainous provinces like Lai Chau, Son La, and Yen Bai, local “Community Digital Tech Groups” work with youth unions and village post offices to provide guidance - ensuring no one is left behind in the digital transition.

Shifting civil servant work culture

Digital services force civil servants to transition from manual processing to digital workflows. Every step leaves a traceable digital footprint, making accountability more transparent and performance measurable through data.

Officials can no longer stash documents in desk drawers. With processing status publicly available, citizens can see who’s handling their file and when results are due. This self-monitoring mechanism creates healthy pressure for a more transparent bureaucracy.

Each online transaction generates real-time data reflecting citizen needs. When aggregated and analyzed, this data helps ministries forecast population shifts, housing demands, energy needs, and social service requirements - allowing more precise policymaking.

The government is not merely digitizing old procedures but leveraging data to improve new ones, embracing the ethos of a data-driven state.

Behind the login screen: unresolved challenges

Despite the clear benefits, rolling out 25 fully online public services faces obstacles. About 30% of citizens - especially the elderly or those in remote areas - struggle to use the VNeID app or the National Public Service Portal. Without direct support, they risk exclusion from the digital process.

Some rural and island communes still suffer from weak internet. Poor connectivity disrupts form submissions, file uploads, and online payments - impacting the user experience.

In practice, many citizens and even some local officials still insist on hard copies or notarized documents. Changing these habits requires consistent communication, clear legal recognition of digital files, and penalties for non-compliance.

With millions of digital transactions daily, data privacy is paramount. Any data breach could erode public trust in the digital system. Thus, systems must comply with security standards, offer end-to-end encryption, enforce strict access control, and feature early warning mechanisms for abnormal activity.

Global lessons and Vietnam’s next steps

The United Nations measures online service performance using four criteria: inclusivity, accessibility, responsiveness, and integration. Top-performing countries like South Korea, Estonia, and Singapore share common traits: unified digital IDs (similar to Vietnam’s VNeID), automated services (e.g., auto-updated documents upon address change), and open data cultures that let users track who’s accessing their information.

Vietnam is on the right path, aiming to join the top 50 nations in digital governance. But to succeed, it must move from digitizing procedures to digitizing the citizen journey - serving each person based on personalized data, not just paperwork.

In the long run, these 25 services are just the start of a paperless administration where every transaction is digital, traceable, and data-reusable.

Economically, this could save the state budget USD 400–600 million annually in paperwork, logistics, and storage costs.

Socially, transparent and equitable public service builds citizen trust and boosts satisfaction indexes like SIPAS and PAPI.

Technologically, the massive data volume fuels AI solutions for civic use, enabling authorities to forecast needs, detect anomalies, and issue early warnings.

Ultimately, the launch of 25 fully digital public services is not just about reducing red tape - it’s a shift in service philosophy: from administrative control to citizen interaction, from “submitting paperwork” to “exchanging data.”

It is a decisive moment for digital trust. When citizens find it “easy, fast, secure, and reliable,” they will naturally embrace the digital environment. At that point, digital transformation will no longer be a slogan - it will be a daily habit for millions of Vietnamese citizens.

A truly digital government is one where people can “do it themselves, do it easily, and enjoy doing it.” These 25 fully online services are the first true test - and the most accurate gauge - of that transformation.

Thai Khang