Do I need my passport to buy a SIM card in Vietnam?

Vietnam has run mandatory SIM registration for years, and 2026 tightened it further. The good news is that the process takes ten minutes at an official store and the plans are among the cheapest in Asia.

What the shop needs

1. Your original passport with the current visa or entry stamp. Copies are refused at official Viettel, Vinaphone and MobiFone stores; a street stall that accepts a copy is selling a SIM registered in someone else's name, which the operator can suspend without warning.
2. Your face. Circular 08/2026/TT-BKHCN, in force from 15 April 2026, requires facial biometric verification for every new SIM. The clerk photographs you and matches the image to the passport.
3. The phone you will use. Since the same circular, operators detect a device change within two hours and suspend outgoing calls and SMS until you re-verify your face in the operator's app. You then have 30 days to comply before the SIM is cut both ways, and five more days before it is terminated.

What it costs

1. Vinaphone tourist SIM: VND 199,000 for 15 days with 1 GB per day, 50 minutes of local and international calls and 50 SMS. It deactivates after 15 days and cannot be extended.
2. Viettel tourist plans: 5G60T at VND 60,000 for 7 days, 5G80T at VND 80,000 for 15 days, 5G150T at VND 150,000 for 30 days, each with 5 GB per day. Viettel has the best coverage outside cities.
3. MobiFone HVN30: VND 240,000 for 30 days and 250 GB, the budget pick.
4. Staying longer: a resident plan runs VND 100,000 to 300,000 per month.

Airport kiosks charge 20 to 30 percent more than city stores for the same packs, so buy at an official store in town unless you need data the moment you land.

Why a local number matters beyond data

Vietnamese banks send OTPs only to a local number registered in your name, and banks will not open an account without one. Grab, food delivery and the VNeID app all lean on it. An eSIM bought online (USD 4 to 16 for 7 to 30 days) gives data but no Vietnamese number, so it does not solve banking.

Keep it alive when you travel

A SIM that sits unused for months, or that you put into a new phone abroad, comes back blocked and takes your bank OTPs with it. Top up before long trips and re-verify in the app as soon as it asks. The setting up in Vietnam guide covers the order to do things in: residence declaration, SIM, then bank.