Is the cost of an identity card 30 times more expensive than a birth certificate?

On the afternoon of October 28th, the National Assembly continued its plenary session discussion on the Law on Citizen Identity Cards. Whether or not to issue citizen identity cards to children under 14 years old was one of the issues of great concern to many National Assembly deputies.

Many National Assembly deputies suggested that identity cards should not be issued to children under 14 years old, and that birth certificates should be retained instead.

Regarding this matter, the Chairman of the National Defense and Security Committee, Nguyen Kim Khoa, stated that issuing identity cards to children under 14 years old aims to ensure equal rights and eliminate discrimination against citizens based on age. Furthermore, this measure facilitates transactions and reduces administrative procedures.

Agreeing with the verification committee, delegate Tran Thi Dieu Thuy (Ho Chi Minh City) argued that issuing birth cards to children from birth, without requiring birth certificates, would not infringe upon children's right to birth registration.

However, the majority of delegates disagreed with this policy. According to delegate Dang Thi Kim Chi (Phu Yen), the draft law stipulates the issuance of cards to those under 14 years old to reduce administrative procedures, but in reality, the Law on Civil Registration still requires birth certificates. Furthermore, children of that age cannot independently conduct transactions and require a guardian. At this age, children primarily rely on their birth certificates.

Given the considerable cost involved, Representative Chi questioned whether it was truly necessary to spend 650 billion VND to issue identity cards to children. The representative suggested that regulations should stipulate that children should have both a birth certificate and their information registered in the national database, and when they reach the appropriate age, they should be issued an identity card with the assigned identification number.

Sharing this view, delegate Nguyen Thanh Phuong (Can Tho) suggested considering whether it is truly necessary to issue identity cards to children under 14 years old. “Would issuing identity cards instead of birth certificates reduce administrative procedures? Not all children under 14 years old need to go through administrative procedures. Many voters also disagree with issuing identity cards at this age and prefer to continue using birth certificates,” delegate Phuong reflected.

Regarding the costs involved, delegate H'Yim KĐoh (Bắc Kạn) analyzed: The estimated cost of making a citizen identity card is about 30,000 VND, while issuing a birth certificate only costs 1,000 VND for the form.

The figures show that issuing birth certificates is much more cost-effective than issuing identity cards. Furthermore, birth certificates are valid for life, while identity cards need to be reissued at age 14, adding to the expense.

According to delegate Do Ngoc Nien (Binh Thuan), replacing birth certificates with identity cards would be considered a major step forward and reform. However, delegate Nien also expressed concern and unease about the possibility of these identity cards replacing birth certificates when children enter kindergarten.

"With such a significant budget, if it cannot be replaced, who will be responsible? I propose that there should be a clause stipulating that when issuing cards to children under 14, this card must replace the birth certificate to ensure its legal validity," the representative suggested.

According to Infonet