​Costs for issuing the first five million electronic IDs will be paid from the funds of the RNPR, as a result of which other sources of funding will be found later, including from the budget, so that citizens do not have to pay for the first issuance of such an act, Katelin Julescu said on Tuesday. head of the Department of Population Registration MAI.

At the end of the Cabinet meeting, an MAI official said that the resolution passed on Tuesday will mainly create a legal framework for the state to cover the cost of the electronic identity card for at least 5 million issued electronic cards from the funds allocated through the PNRR.

VIDEO (from 1:06) The latest information on the electronic identity card

The main statements of the director of the MAI: Which documents will disappear from the summer of this year

• The second essential element is the creation of a mechanism for the interaction of IT systems managed by the General Directorate for Registration of Persons – this is the current National Information System for Registration of Persons and the Integrated Information System for Issuing Civil Status Acts, which will enter into force in the fall of this year.
• These compatibility procedures will be continued – we are considering the Cadastral Agency, plus other systems, thus freeing the citizen from the obligation to present certain documents at the cash register.
• From the moment we initiate the expansion of the issuance of electronic identity cards at the national level, in the summer of this year, the citizen will have to present himself physically, he will no longer be required to present civil status certificates, the relevant information is taken from the marital status IT system.
• If he owns a property for which a cadastre exists, the information regarding the address where he intends to establish his residence or place of residence should be computerized by interfacing with the IT system managed by the ANCPI.
  
  

Parents will be able to request an electronic identity card for minors from birth

• Another important element is the fact that we will introduce an optional e-card for minors from birth, aged 0 to 14, and parents will be able to claim this travel document to exercise their right to free movement in EUROPE.

Those who do not want an ID card with a chip can choose a simple ID card

• Citizens will be able to choose between an electronic identity card and a simple identity card (that is, without electronic media), depending on the interests and beliefs of each citizen.
• Thus, a citizen will have the opportunity to choose between an electronic identity card and a simple identity card. This option exists, is regulated and will not change in the future.
• However, our recommendation is to use e-Government services to access e-services remotely, opt for an e-ID card.

The new ID cards will be the size of a driver’s license or a bank card

• When there will be certain technical developments, I believe that after a maximum of 6 months, certain procedures will be simplified. For example, at this moment, the citizen fills out an application for the issuance of an identity card holographically.
• In the future, when we start to expand the issuance of electronic identity cards at the national level, the request will be automatically generated by the IT system, and the information will come from other IT systems with which we interact.
• Thus, the citizen will only have to present himself to receive an image and, if necessary, an image of two fingerprints – we are talking about an electronic identity card here, as we are obliged to comply with some established restrictions under European law.
• Both the Electronic ID and the Simple ID will be issued in ID1 format, which is the format of a current driver’s license or bank card. this is the ICAO standard we adhere to.
• The security elements contained in these two documents correspond to the technological era in which we live in such a way that the current security risks present in the current documents in circulation will be eliminated – this is the identity card we have in circulation today, and which has been published since 1997.

A citizen who appears 30 days before reaching the age of 18 will be able to receive an identity document before reaching the age of 18.

• regarding the simplification of certain procedures, we took into account the appeals received from citizens. For example, a citizen who appears 30 days before his 18th birthday will be able to receive a document certifying his 18th birthday.
• Today the system does not allow us to issue an ID card valid for 7 years if you arrive the day before your 18th birthday.
• Today’s order makes this mechanism more flexible

The address will only be entered on the ID chip

• Another mechanism we are considering is to no longer print the place of residence on a person’s eID or, as the case may be, to no longer apply that place of residence. They will be recorded only on the carrier of the electronic identification card, with the possibility of accessing these services remotely.
• In the future, a change of address or declaration of residence can be done from home using an electronic device, as we will have digital information.
• The application will be submitted in the electronic interface. The official will evaluate this request and approve it in a very short time so that the citizen can register with the reader that he must have. The readers are not very complicated, they are even available, or we will have some mobile counters where the citizen can move and enter his information about his house or place of residence.
• In this way, we will free the citizen from the constant presence at the cash register.
• The differences between a simple ID card and an electronic ID card are at the visual level, and the latter can be used for identity certification and identification at the national level.
• Both document types now have a residence on the back. In the future, the address will no longer be printed on the e-ID.

How long and at what cost will the cost of issuing an electronic identity card be covered

• The order creates a mechanism to cover the cost of an electronic identity card. For the first period, we will have this distribution through PNRR.
• According to our estimates, this will be enough at the current rate of emission in the next 3 years.
• The mechanism that we have thought out and will propose to the Government for adoption through the Government’s decision allows us to foresee new solutions for financing the cost of the e-book in the future. Currently, we are counting on PNRR funds until 2026.
• We do not exclude funds from the budget, considering that this electronic tool will make it cheaper for the citizen.
• The electronic identity card will have a digital certificate for authentication, so that citizens can authenticate in the IT systems of the state administration and not only, and a digital certificate for signature, both issued by the Ministry of Interior.
• In addition, the citizen will also have the opportunity to register a digital certificate of a qualified electronic signature.

What happens to those who have already paid 67 lei without taking advantage of the extradition fee borne by the government?

• At the moment, the fee for issuing an electronic identity card issued in Cluj is 67 lei. The digital certificate issued by MAI is registered and allows us to authenticate.

What will happen to those who have already paid 67 lei?

• The mechanism that we are proposing and that the ordinance contains today is that every citizen should at least once, that is, in the first place, have the benefit of bearing these costs.
• depending on the outcome of the public procurement procedure currently carried out by the National Printing Office, the result of which we expect within the next week, the result of the procurement of data carriers for the next 9 million electronic identity cards will be published, this is a procedure that started last June and based on this media, we will prepare a new prototype.

Citizens who participated in the pilot project in Cluj will be able to change their electronic identity card free of charge

The MAI official also explained what will happen to Cluj citizens who paid for the electronic cards issued in the pilot project, documents that will soon undergo changes, such as the lack of address registration on the back of the future ID card with a chip.

• With the Government’s resolution, which we will propose to the executive power, we will establish rules for this situation as well.
• At the Cluj county level, we have so far issued approximately 7,100 electronic identity cards based on this prototype, certainly at GD we will also offer a solution for this situation. If you look very carefully at today’s decree, you will notice that the letter “k” has been changed, so that a citizen has the opportunity to change the valid identity document at any time.
• We tried to make the transition from one format to another more flexible, regardless of the validity period of the current identity document, and precisely to allow the citizens of Cluj County who voluntarily participated in the pilot project, as well as in the future, when we have a new prototype, to benefit from this reward.

Why hundreds of thousands of Romanians still have ID cards with tabs

HotNews.ro asked the MAI director for an explanation regarding the more than 700,000 Romanians who still have ID cards with tabs issued before 1977.

How is this possible, despite technological development and the transition to new ID card formats?

• “Yes, it is possible, since we are talking about citizens who have an identity card, that is, an identity document issued by the Romanian state, issued before 1977.
• This means that at the time of 1977 these people were at least 55 years old. At this point, it is reasonably assumed that these people are over 80 years old and have slip-ups.
• It was not a legal obligation. Since there will also be no obligation to switch to an electronic ID in the future, it will only be an option, so these ID holders were not required to switch to this format. These citizens still use ID cards with tabs.”

When electronic identity cards will be issued at the national level

• Minister Bode announced that the expansion of the issuance of electronic identity cards will take place in Bucharest, most likely in the summer of this year. I told you about the result of the public procurement procedure. After we receive a new data carrier, we need about 5-6 months to develop a new prototype.
• When the new prototype is ready, we will start the expansion at the level of the city of Bucharest.
• In a very short time, we will start expanding at the level of major cities. We expect to complete the expansion of county municipalities and focus on other public community registration services in the fall – and by the end of the fall – there are currently approximately 634 active services and 17 more to be operationalized.

Read more also: Hundreds of thousands of Romanians still have identity cards: the state will cover the costs of a new ID card with a chip – draft order