National Identity Card & Passport Authority
Create a secure, accessible national identity and passport service, coordinated with the Immigration and Citizenship Agency and the civil registration system. The system must prove identity without becoming a tool for mass surveillance or excluding people from essential services.
Issue a secure identity card to citizens and, where law provides, lawful residents. Give each person a unique civil identity number, with clear rules for children, renewals, replacements and changes of name or personal details.
Provide internationally compliant electronic passports for citizens, with secure document features, reliable identity checks and travel-document standards aligned with ICAO requirements.
Establish application and collection offices in all regions, mobile services for remote communities, online appointment and status checks, and consular services for citizens abroad.
Encrypt identity records, limit staff access by role, log every sensitive lookup, independently audit systems and prohibit unauthorised data sharing, political profiling or commercial sale of personal data.
Let people inspect and correct inaccurate records, replace lost or stolen documents, receive written reasons for refusals and appeal decisions to an independent authority. Provide accessible procedures and interpretation where needed.
Provide a fair route to register births and late registrations, resolve missing documents and support people displaced or without a permanent home. Lack of an ID card must not block emergency healthcare, education for children, due process or protection from violence.
How the identity system works
- ▸Civil registration: register births, deaths and legally recognised changes through authorised civil registrars, with a documented process for late or disputed records.
- ▸Identity enrolment: verify documents and supporting evidence proportionately. Any biometric collection must be legally authorised, necessary, securely stored and subject to strict retention and oversight rules, with alternative procedures for people who cannot provide it.
- ▸Card issuance: issue physical cards with secure verification features and an optional digital credential. Provide a non-digital verification route for people without smartphones or internet access.
- ▸Passport applications: verify citizenship and identity, capture the required photograph and document data, conduct lawful checks and provide clear processing times and fees.
- ▸Independent oversight: publish service standards, audit procurement and access logs, investigate misuse, and report security incidents while protecting personal information.
Core safeguards
A national ID is proof of identity, not proof of a person's loyalty or political views. No secret watchlists, blanket biometric tracking, arbitrary document confiscation or denial of legal rights. Any restriction must have a clear legal basis, be necessary and proportionate, be explained in writing and be open to independent review.
Implementation should be phased: first establish civil registration law, privacy legislation and an independent regulator; then pilot secure enrolment and passport services; finally expand nationally after security testing, public consultation and independent audits. Budgets, fees, retention periods and technical standards must be set transparently by law.