As reported by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, from 2 August 2021 the holder’s signature will return to the graphical layer of the identity card, while fingerprints will be placed in the electronic layer.
Ministry officials:
The work currently under way is related to adapting Polish law to Regulation (EU) 2019/1157 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on strengthening the security of identity cards of Union citizens and of residence documents issued to Union citizens and their family members exercising their right of free movement.
“The regulation will enter into force on 2 August 2021. All Member States must be prepared to implement it by then,” said Paweł Szefernaker, Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.
Want to apply for an identity card online? Hurry up
Ministry: – 111 days – that is exactly how much time remains for everyone who would like to submit an identity card application online. This option will disappear on 2 August. New identity cards will be introduced instead – with fingerprints and the owner’s handwritten signature.
Why are new identity cards needed?
The Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administration stressed that, thanks to the introduction of a second biometric feature (i.e. fingerprints), the security of the new documents will increase. However, it will become necessary to have fingerprints taken at a government office. The procedure will be similar to the one followed when applying for and collecting a passport.
What about people who cannot leave their homes?
For people who cannot go to the municipal office to provide their fingerprints, the new regulations provide for the possibility of using a mobile station operated by officials. “There will be such a mobile station in every county. An official with a computer and a fingerprint collection kit will visit people who cannot leave their homes,” Deputy Minister Szefernaker said.
Chancellery of the Prime Minister on the new identity cards
More about the new identity cards
EU regulations also oblige Poland to supplement the graphical layer of the identity card with the holder’s signature. The signature will be located on the front of the document. A two-letter country code on a blue rectangle (the EU symbol) will also be added to the upper-right corner of the front of the card.
In February this year, the government adopted an amendment to the act allowing the requirements of the EU regulation to be introduced. Marek Zagórski, Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, noted that around 5 million Poles already use an identity card with an electronic layer. That is how many documents were issued during the two years since e-identity cards were introduced. This year, 1.5 million Poles should replace their identity cards because their validity period is expiring. Another 360,000 people will turn 18 this year.
Will old identity cards have to be replaced?
Identity cards issued before the act enters into force (before 2 August 2021) will remain valid for the period for which they were issued. “There will therefore be no need to replace the documents currently held,” assured the Deputy Head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.
The Sejm has already amended the Identity Cards Act. The Senate of the Republic of Poland will now consider it. What do you think?
(More about the new identity cards on the Republic of Poland Service website).