In the national digital transformation roadmap and the effort to enhance urban competitiveness, modernizing administrative procedures to serve citizens and enterprises is considered a key task. The implementation of new regulations on managing, using, and exploiting the criminal record database in accordance with Circular No. 101/2026/TT-BCA dated June 24, 2026, issued by the Minister of Public Security (effective from July 1, 2026) is not only a technological step forward but also carries profound strategic significance for a city with vibrant foreign affairs and international integration activities like Hai Phong.
Circular No. 101/2026/TT-BCA details everything from subjects, methods of construction, and management to the order and procedures for issuing Criminal Record Certificates and utilizing interactive electronic forms. Accordingly, the criminal record database is built in a centralized and unified manner and is stored permanently as digital data. A breakthrough point of the new regulation is that each criminal record is managed by a unique identification number, which is the personal identification number of Vietnamese citizens or the identification number of foreigners. This data must be digitally signed and authenticated before sharing to ensure absolute legal security and confidentiality.
Data backup tasks are also extremely strictly regulated to prevent risks of natural disasters or technical incidents. The Professional Records Department performs daily backups for newly generated data and full backups on Friday of every week, storing them in a secure backup system. This ensures the continuity of administrative data serving the professional management of the city.
The process of issuing Criminal Record Certificates online through the National Public Service Portal or the National Identification Application (VNeID) has brought about a dramatic shift in terms of time and cost. When citizens log in, the system automatically auto-fills personal identification information from the National Population Database into the interactive electronic declaration form. The information cross-checking process takes place automatically. If the cross-checking result shows no criminal record, the system will automatically generate the Criminal Record Certificate. Once approved and digitally signed, the electronic Criminal Record Certificate will be automatically synchronized to the citizen's VNeID account.
In particular, each Criminal Record Certificate is issued with a unique QR code to serve accuracy and legitimacy checks. Agencies and organizations only need to scan the QR code and enter basic information fields to verify the certificate's authenticity on the Criminal Record Information System, completely eliminating the risk of falsified physical paper documents.
With its position as an international seaport, Hai Phong boasts trade relations with over 130 countries and territories, and is drastically implementing the local program for international market expansion (Local Go Global) for the 2026 - 2030 period to reach an export turnover of 75 billion USD and expand to 150 markets by 2030. In this context, the application of Circular 101 yields immense value:
- Promoting Foreign Economics and Attracting FDI: Simplifying the process of issuing Criminal Record Certificates helps foreign experts, laborers, and representatives of multinational corporations easily complete legal procedures when investing and working in Hai Phong. The online extraction process assists litigation-conducting agencies and state authorities in rapidly exploiting data to effectively support personnel management, civil service, and high-quality labor recruitment.
- Supporting "Go Global" Personnel: The program to reach out to the global stage requires training and sending thousands of turns of cadres and businesses to participate in overseas surveys, studies, and trade connections. The rapid issuance of electronic Criminal Record Certificates, displayed intuitively on VNeID, minimizes administrative barriers for Hai Phong citizens when exiting the country or working with international partners.
- Ensuring Security and Legal Trust: The strict principles of data management, protection of personal secrets, and rigorous control over information edits help Hai Phong build a transparent and safe administrative environment. This fosters solid trust for international investors and organizations when establishing long-term cooperative relations with the port city.
To translate these regulations into reality, the People's Committee of Hai Phong City has directed departments, boards, and sectors to widely disseminate online declaration forms, while reviewing the capacity of information infrastructure serving mandatory data connections. The serious implementation of Circular No. 101/2026/TT-BCA is indeed one of the first and most solid bricks contributing to shaping the portrait of a digitized, transparent, and ready-to-integrate Hai Phong in the new era.