AIBU to think that Digital ID will not stop illegal immigration, and nor is it a good idea?

Stupid. Who's paying? Either us or the Government. I'd rather my money go on cancer services.

If they really felt ID was needed they could mandate passports (which serve a purpose and most people voluntarily hold) or a citizen ID card.

Someone with ID can already prove who they are. If they wanted to crack down on illegal working, just raid the millions of mini supermarkets, barbers, bvape shops, nail bars. If they cared, they would be putting more funding into that.

But no. My real question is which private company is going to make millions out of this scheme?

What on earth will the millions of legal citizens gain from ID cards?

Sheltered and out of touch over ID cards? What a weird idea.

I find ID cards are just another pointless and annoying way of costing people money and increasing bureaucracy. That's my experience in Spain which I find very backwards compared to the UK and not at all worldly. The amount of things you can't do online and that you have to actually visit the council or an office for is just ridiculous.

The most stupid thing was that my OH couldn't use a card that 'only' had 5 months left on it. Had to get another card just to do something stupid like change the bins into his name. What a fucking palaver.

My line of work requires me to prove my right to work fairly frequently (not just one years-long employment), and it's quite a faff with the passport etc., so if digital ID makes things easier I'm all for that.

I don't see how it's going to stop unscrupulous employers from taking on illegal immigrants: as it stands, you can't get out of the check just by saying you've lost your foreign passport as some people seem to think!

A requirement to carry ID at all times, as is the case in many countries, would be an unreasonable imposition. If I go for a jog or a walk on the beach I don't want to be bogged down by carrying an ID card, or even necessarily a phone. (I know it's a small thing but not all clothes have good pockets!)

I can't even get my car serviced or a spare house key cut without showing it.

Is this supposed to reassure people??

Mind blowing.

Totally agree... and obviously someone is going to make loads of money out of this with zero outcomes in terms of the difference it will make to people..

It’s clearly a joke. Not understanding that makes you look a bit silly.

Aside from the obvious problems, I have zero faith in the government to successfully implement large scale projects. I say this as someone who works in large scale government projects… HS2 is the obvious shit show, but just generally the organisation, communication and leadership of these things is beyond the capabilities of current government resource, in my opinion. The things would take years to scope, cost, re- scope and implement. The budget would spiral to stratospheric proportions. And we would all be paying for it.

Given he doesn’t work, who cares. Whataboutisms make everyone look silly

We already have birth certificates, driving licences and passports, why could we possibly need more ID? It's a fucking pain in the arse in Spain I can tell you. I would be voting against it if there was to be a vote.

The government already has digital info from passports, why do they need more digital info?

Exactly. I find brisih people.sound so sheltered and out of touch sometimes. I had one as a kid in all the countries we lived in and im old.now. its not a big deal. Its quite sweet really how unworldly people are. Yeah...they are tied to our bank accounts because people are really bothered how much I spend in bath and body 🙂

Actually, I don’t ever shop online, don’t use Amazon, have my location on my phone permanently off and never sign up for anything other than with a burner email address. And if I DID do most of the things above, that would be my CHOICE.

I'm British and currently live in a country where ID cards are mandatory. It took a little getting used to but I don't mind it now. It is the absolute gatekeeper to everything- health care, employment, education etc. I can't even get my car serviced or a spare house key cut without showing it.

It is 1984 -look at the nurseries that have been hacked, stop pretending we have any privacy.

If it’s physical it’s always digitised.

I'm groaning at myself for typing this but I think you'll find it's actually 1984.

Good God -it’s 2025 not 1960. What a lot of pearl clutchers. Of course have id.

Your information is everywhere. Don’t you sign up for stuff online, buy stuff from Amazon, Use Google maps. They know all an out you. IDs would make life better.

What baffles me about this is that migrants to the UK already have an ID card and penalties for illegal working are already absolutely eyewatering - there is a very stringent process for employers to follow to ensure that everyone they employ has the right to be in the UK.

Asylum seekers they have an "ARC" card - an ID card showing that they have claimed asylum with their name, nationality and DOB on. It will also say "work not permitted" or (if they've been waiting for a decision over a year, and have applied for permission) "work permitted - shortage occupations only"

Students or workers etc used to have a BRP - a biometric residence permit. As with the ARC card, a BRP is linked to fingerprints. However, this was migrated to eVisas which is essentially a digital ID card.

Was this a nice, easy swap, boding well for the prospects of expanding it to the entire population? Reader, it was not.

It was in fact such a disaster that there is a dedicated website for sorting out the problems. A report of the types of difficulty encountered is available here - the numbers are relatively small but when placed in the context of the small cohort this is being used for, still quite alarming - in six months there were nearly 500 reports. This Reddit chat is typical of the difficulties - now imagine that's your elderly mum trying to sort out an issue with her e-ID, without which she can't access her bank account, her pension, her bus pass, or even the library. Computer Weekly has noted concerns about the technical ability of the scheme and also serious issues with data protection.

I can't believe that any government would seriously now try to introduce this clusterfuck to the general population. Particularly since the impact it's had on actually preventing illegal working has been zero.

A nail bar near me was fined tens of thousands of pounds for employing illegal workers a few months ago. It presumably had the money to pay the fine as it is still up and running with its usual almost complete lack of customers. One suspects the dodgy will remain bafflingly untroubled by these new ID cards whereas the law-abiding will find them a right pain in the arse.

Wherever the data is held, it’ll be cyber attacked in a week. You can almost hear the cyber farms in Russia whirring up. And any kid with GCSE computer science.

It baffles me when people are surprised that different cultures might have different views on things.

Many of the people who arrive here and make asylum claims destroy their ID and then make up an identity (e.g. saying they are from Syria when they are actually from Kazakhstan, etc. or claiming to be a minor when they are fully-grown adults). If their claim is successful these people will be given a legitimate digital ID with their bogus identity on it. How will that help anything? We need to know who these people are, not who they say they are. Even dental checks to assess true age are deemed too invasive. It feels like the wrong proof of identity issue is being addressed and is just going to land UK citizens with a whole new raft of problems.

My FIL doesn’t have a computer or a smartphone, and at 90+, there is no way he is going to be able to manage to obtain or use a digital ID. How are people like him supposed to get their ID? And what about homeless people?

I really hope the government thinks about everyone, when setting this up.

I also wonder how we are supposed to register the biometric markers on our ID. If we can’t do it with our own devices, presumably we’d need to go to somewhere official, to get them taken - quite an undertaking, for the adult population of the UK - expensive, too.

Having lived and worked in several countries with mandatory ID cards, some of which many Brits will consider less ‘advanced’ than the U.K., it’s always baffled me that politically and practically the U.K. just finds this impossible.

Could help identify the thousands who have overstayed their visas for one. How would this work?

Ive lived in countries with ID cards and it was really useful. If this is digitised there will be much less opportunity for fraud- you cant change your fingerprints/ face that easily. I know it helped the police. And if it held health number, NI number, driving licence etc Im all for it. Could help identify the thousands who have overstayed their visas for one.