Even though the residence card will have the same uses of the national ID (digital signature, e-services), the biggest difference between both documents will be that the residence permit will carry fingerprints, so the applicants will have to go to the border guard board service personally.
More than 260.000 people are going to receive the residence permit, counting both people already living in Estonia and new applicants.
Although the validity of the new document will be of 5 years, this period of time might change depending on the permit issued to a specific person.
New Estonian ID Cards from January
The Citizenship and Migration Board also announced that at the beginning of 2011, the national ID will come with a new look and new security features.
Tiit Roosik, investigation advisor of Personal Identification and Documentation Bureau and Helar Laasik, chief expert of Personal Identification and Documentation Bureau, gave to Estonian Free Press more details about the new ID.
Estonian Identity Card has been issued since the beginning of 2002. As of October 1st 2010, there are 1.128.407 valid Identity Cards in Estonia. Identity Card issued by the state authority Police and Border Guard Board provides a means for convenient and safe authentication and digital signing in electronic environments.
Estonian Identity Card is an identity document that is widely used both for travel and access to e-services like internet banking, buying tickets, electronic voting, etc. During local elections in 2009, 15,75% of voters used the opportunity of e-voting, 92,4% of all tax declarations were submitted electronically in 2009.
In January 2011 Estonia shall introduce a thoroughly new design of identity card with enhanced security elements. New card is a result of common practice to regularly enhance the security level of identity documents; it shall support the functions of safe authentication and digital signing in electronic environments. Identity cards issued before 2011 shall remain valid until the expiry date marked in the document.
There are not known issues about forging Estonian ID-cards though unsuccessful attempts by youths have been made mostly to achieve entrance to nightclubs, etc.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Veronica de Castro
Quelle/Source: Estonian Free Press, 05.11.2010
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