UK's digital ID cards: Immigration crackdown or privacy threat?

LONDON - Britain says all workers will need digital identity cards by 2029 in an attempted crackdown on illegal migration that rights groups fear will endanger the marginalised and invade people's privacy.

Digital IDs would live on people's mobile phones and become a mandatory part of checks that employers make on hiring staff. 

The government says the IDs would also become a tool to access services such as childcare, welfare and tax records.

London abolished ID cards after World War Two, and Britons typically use passports or driving permits in their place.

Here's what you need to know about the pros and cons:     

What are digital IDs and why do countries use them?

Much like a passport, digital IDs record a person's name, date of birth, nationality, residency status and a photo.

They are typically hosted on a mobile phone or other digital device in an app-based system.

About 375 million people live in countries where ID records are predominantly paper-based, which makes them hard to verify or replace, and open to damage or fraud, says the World Bank. 

Supporters say digital documents let citizens and residents vote, access work, banking, welfare, education and healthcare in a more secure and efficient way, all while minimising fraud.

About 3.3 billion people, mostly from poorer countries, do not have access to a government-recognised digital identity to securely transact online, the World Bank says.

Why is Britain introducing digital IDs?

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under intense pressure to clamp down on migrants and asylum seekers arriving on small boats from France as populist Nigel Farage's anti-immigrant Reform UK party surges ahead in opinion polls.

Digital IDs are Starmer's latest attempt to slow migration, with more than 111,000 people claiming asylum in the year ending June 2025, a 14% rise on the previous 12 months.

Starmer says the IDs will deter people from making dangerous boat journeys if the option to work in Britain legally is gone.

Where else are digital IDs used?

More than 80 nations operate government-recognised digital ID systems, using remote authentication to let people access online services and transactions, according to the World Bank.

Estonia, Denmark, Australia, India, Mexico and Ethiopia are among those using digital IDs, though not all are mandatory.    

What do critics of digital IDs say?

Privacy rights groups say digital IDs threaten civil liberties as they collect reams of private data, and believe they will anyway not deter illegal migration.

Critics have also questioned the point of digital IDs since official records - be it birth certificates, residency permits, drivers' licences or passports - are already in use.

Migrants in Britain already need to have a digital residency permit to apply for jobs and housing.

Charities say mandating digital documents can also exclude marginalised people: the homeless, refugees and people who lack digital literacy or internet connectivity.

Similar concerns have been raised in other countries.

When Mexico approved changes in June that paved the way for a mandatory biometric ID card, opponents said the changes could enable a mass surveillance system with little accountability.

Last year, when Australia sought to expand its digital ID system, there were concerns that Indigenous groups, who have long struggled to obtain documents such as birth certificates and drivers' licences, could be excluded from jobs and services. 

When the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, tens of thousands of Afghans - including former government officials, judges, police and human rights activists - were exposed through the country's digital ID system.

In Ethiopia, rights groups said the rollout of digital IDs, which began in 2023, could entrench discrimination against minorities, putting lives at risk in conflict-prone regions.

(Reporting by Lin Taylor, Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths)