United Kingdom creates digital identity card to stop illegal immigration

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Friday the creation, for the first time in the United Kingdom, of a digital identity card that will be mandatory todisplay to work or rent housing in order to prevent illegal immigration.

At present, the country does not have a national identity documentand citizens are identified with a passport, driving licence or other certificates.

The new measure will lead to a centralised database, and some politiciansand human rights organisations have opposed it for fear of excessive intervention.

The British Prime Minister has explained in a statement that the credentials will be included in the government's future digital portfolio and can be stored on the user's phone with "high-security encryption". The document must be displayed only "in the required cases".

The digital identity card, which is expected to enter into force in the current legislature following the adoption of a law,will containthe name, date of birth, nationality, residence status and photograph of the individual . In the event of loss of the mobile phone, the data may be cancelled and reissued, as explained by the United Kingdom.

The Labour Government has stressed that the document will make it possible to speed up processing, such as obtaining a driving licence, access to tax records and the application for social assistance, thereby 'reducing processing time'.

At present, in bureaucratic proceedings in the United Kingdom, identity must be demonstrated in conjunction with a number of means, which may involve, for example, the submission of invoices to prove residence.