In the final reading on Thursday, the 23rd of February, the Saeima passed amendments to the Personal Identification Documents Law. These amendments provide for dropping the mandatory requirement for residents to have a valid eID card starting with the 1st of May.
Now the law states residents will need to receive an eID card only when replacing an expired passport.
This is intended to ensure adoption of eID cards is a gradual process and so that there is no rush.
Previously it was reported that the Public Administration and Local Government Committee this way adoption of eID cards as a mandatory personal identification document will be carried out gradually, without any specific dates.
Until now the law stated that as of the 1st of May 2023 eID cards was to become a personal ID for all Latvian residents who have reached the age of 15 years.
«Gradual adoption of eID cards as a mandatory personal identification documents is generally a very good idea.
It will help reduce the queues of people waiting outside the Office of Citizenship and Migration. It will also make it more convenient if residents received this document when replacing an expired passport,» stresses the head of the office Maira Roze.
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