December the 18th, 2020 - Far more modernised new Croatian ID cards are set to be introduced next year, and their features will go several steps beyond what we already have. Parliament has now formally adopted the new ID Card Act.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after the Croatian Parliament officially adopted the new ID Card Act, which will enter into force in August next year, HRT's Dnevnik learned that an application (app) is being prepared that will enable the use of the new Croatian ID card on mobile devices with the highest security standards.
Previously issued ID cards will be valid until their expiration date, and the price of their production remains the same, according to a report from HRT
"We'll be able, as we are now, but from our mobile devices or tablets, to literally sign our documents, we'll practically be able to sell our property or buy it digitally from the comfort of our own homes," Bernard Grsic, Secretary of State of the Central State Office for the Development of the Digital Society, revealed to HRT.
Amendments to Croatia's ID Card Act were adopted to implement the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on strengthening the security of identity cards of Union citizens and residence documents issued to Union citizens and their families exercising the right to free movement, which entered into force on the 1st of August 2019, and is directly applicable across all EU member states as of the 2nd of August, 2021.
As the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) explained to HRT, the novelty brought by the amendment to the ID Card Act is that the new Croatian ID cards will boast another chip which will contain biometric identifiers of the identity card holder, ie a display of the identity card holder's face and two of their fingerprints (the papillary lines of the index finger of the left and right hands) in interoperable digital formats.
The appearance of the new Croatian ID card will be somewhat changed in accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned EU Regulation, meaning that on the front, it will contain a two-letter mark of the Republic of Croatia printed in negative in a blue rectangle surrounded by twelve yellow stars.
Age limit raised
The validity period for which these new Croatian ID cards will be issued to persons up to the age of 70 will be five years.
Amendments to the Act changed the age limit for issuing identity cards that were issued without a validity period in such a way that the age limit (formerly 65) was raised to 70, so persons who are 70 will be issued an identity card with a duration of 40 years. In reality, this means that new Croatian ID cards issued to these individuals will boast an unlimited validity period. This continues to be expressed in years so that the validity period of these identity cards can be more easily read on electronic document readers.
Most of the previously issued identity cards will remain in use until their expiry dates, and some will need to be replaced within a certain period, as provided for in the above Regulation. Here's more:
- Cards issued on the basis of the provisions of the 2015 Identity Card Act with a validity period of five years and identity cards issued on the basis of the provisions of the previous 2002 Identity Card Act with a validity period of ten years will remain valid until their expiry and will not need to be changed.
- Cards issued to persons aged 65 and over without a period of validity pursuant to the provisions of the existing Identity Card Act (2015) shall cease to be valid on the 3rd of August, 2031, and persons will have to replace them with those issued pursuant to the provisions of this Act. Exceptionally, this doesn't apply to persons who will be 70 years of age or older as of the 2nd of August 2021, and those people will continue to be able to use their identity cards issued without an expiration date even after the 3rd of August, 2031.
- Cards issued without a period of validity pursuant to the provisions of the Identity Card Act 2002, will be abl to be used after August the 3rd, 2031 and their holders aren't obliged to replace them with new Croatian ID cards issued pursuant to the provisions of this Act.
- Cards issued without a period of validity pursuant to the provisions of the 1991 Identity Card Act shall cease to be valid on the 3rd August 2026 and their holders will have to replace them with new Croatian ID cards issued pursuant to the provisions of this Act (because they won't contain the minimum security standards).
Logging into the e-Citizens (e-Gradjani) system
In addition to the provisions ensuring the implementation of the above Regulation, the amendments to the ID Card Act also contain provisions that will enable the creation of preconditions for the use of identity cards on mobile devices such as phones and tablets, and not only on computers as was the case before. Digital certificates stored on the current Croatian ID card's chip can now only be used via a smart card reader connected to a computer from which a particular electronic service is accessed, such as services made available by the e-Citizens system.
After activating the electronic part of the new Croatian ID card, the holder will be able to download the appropriate software solution for mobile devices free of charge, ie, the ID mobile app in which they'll be able to log in to the previously created access on the Electronic ID Card Portal.
The appropriate software solution for mobile devices, ie the application ID, will then be ready for use and will enable easy login to the e-Citizens system with the highest level of security, as well as valid electronic signing via mobile phones. This new service/software solution for mobile devices will not come with any extra charges.
The provisions of the existing ID Card Act were also amended, which prescribed the obligation for both parents to participate in the procedure of issuing an identity card to a child. Namely, in the implementation of the ID Card Act, a number of problems arose in obtaining identity cards for children when one of the parents couldn't participate in the procedure due to objective reasons or had difficulty in giving consent to the other parent to conduct the procedure. Amendments to the Act will enable either parent, as the child's legal representative, to submit a request and deal with the issuing of their child's new Croatian ID card.
This law will enter into force on August the 2nd, 2021.
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