What is a national ID card and what is it for?

A national ID is the state’s primary identity document for an adult citizen. It carries a unique number, your name, your parents’ names, date of birth, address and photograph — and that set of details is what most services treat as your identity.

It is needed alongside a birth certificate because the two answer different questions. Birth registration records an event: when and where you were born. A national ID states who you are now, where you live and that you are a registered adult citizen.

In practice it is required to open a bank account, register a mobile SIM, apply for a passport, apply for jobs, handle property matters and to vote. Because it is used in so many places, an error in its details does not cause one problem — it causes the same problem everywhere at once.

Registration, correction and download are all handled through the government portal. If a third-party website or shop opens the account on your behalf, your password and details stay with them too — opening it yourself is the safer course.

Sources:

• National ID services portal