Vietnam Requires Face Re-verification When SIM Users Swap Phones

Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology has brought Circular 08/2026/TT-BKHCN into force, requiring mobile subscribers who change devices to complete facial biometric re-authentication, with carriers obligated to suspend outbound calls and SMS within two hours when the verification is not completed.

Under the circular, carriers must detect device swaps tied to existing SIM subscriptions and trigger a re-verification flow. If the subscriber does not complete facial biometric authentication within the required window, outbound calls and SMS are suspended within two hours of the trigger event. The subscriber then has 30 days to complete re-authentication before a full two-way service suspension takes effect, followed by contract termination after an additional five days.

Re-verification can be completed through Vietnam’s VNeID national digital identity app, through carrier applications, or in person at telecom service points. The in-person option replaces the existing video-call verification requirement for SIM re-registration. Subscribers with a Level-2 VNeID account or those who originally registered using chip-based ID cards are exempt from re-authentication unless they swap devices again after June 15, 2026.

All new mobile subscriptions registered on or after April 15 must complete facial biometric verification cross-checked against Vietnam’s National Resident Database at the point of activation. The circular does not name individual carriers; it applies to all telecom operators in Vietnam, including Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone.

The circular represents the latest in a series of identity-to-telecom linkage rules in Vietnam. The country previously mandated biometric verification for new SIM registrations and has been tightening the link between telecom accounts and national identity as part of its 2026 digital identity push.

The Ministry of Science and Technology now holds the regulatory authority over telecom subscriber authentication, having absorbed functions from the former Ministry of Information and Communications during Vietnam’s 2025 government restructuring. The circular’s enforcement responsibility sits with MoST, while carriers are accountable for implementing the detection, suspension, and re-verification flows in their own systems.

The rule is aimed at reducing unregistered or stolen-SIM reuse, which has been a persistent source of fraud and financial crime in Vietnam. Tying service continuity to a verifiable facial biometric match against the national identity database is intended to break the common fraud pattern in which an active SIM is moved to a new device outside the registered owner’s control.

Sources: Vietnam News Agency, Saigon Giai Phong

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team