Cyprus is set to introduce digital identity cards.
According to Deputy Minister of Innovation Nicodemos Damianou, this could happen as early as 2025.
He noted that the new digital ID card can be compared to the Covid ID scan.
It will work in a similar way, providing digital access to an ID card, driving licence and MOT as a first step," Damianou said.
Later, other documents, such as football fan cards, can be linked to this data.
We are working with the Greek government's digitisation services to become, together with Greece, the first two countries in the EU to have reciprocity in the digital ID system,' Damianou said.
It should be noted that the ultimate goal of the project is the EU-wide introduction of the 'digital wallet', a digital identity card that allows the user to confirm their identity and other personal information. It will be used both online and offline to access public and private services across the EU.
Although the government is ready to implement this project, there is still the question of whether citizens will have to pay for the production of these digital documents. In fact, digital IDs and signatures will be required for some 600,000 residents of the Republic of Cyprus.
The Ministry of Innovation is proposing to make the process free for residents. However, the government is not in favour of this proposal and is studying the experience of other EU countries.