December 29, 2017
The government has been in the process of issuing smart cards to replace the old paper booklet that has served until now as an internal ID. The secretary of the Iran High Council of Cyberspace now says every Iranian will have a smart ID card by Now Ruz 2019.
According to the council’s website, Abol-Hassan Firuzabadi said, “Smart ID cards, cyber identification numbers and digital signatures are key to establishing and promoting e-governance. Every real and legal person should have a cyber identification number.”
Issuance of e-IDs is a joint project of the Telecoms Ministry, High Council of Cyberspace, and the National Organization for Civil Registration (NOCR).
Firuzabadi says many national projects cannot be carried out before implementation of the smart ID scheme.
President Rohani has introduced several projects in the field of e-governance including an electronic healthcare system, through which each citizen’s medical history will be stored in an online database, instead of using old school insurance booklets and paper medicine prescriptions.
Firuzabadi is of the opinion that introduction of electronic IDs will pave the way for the efficient implementation of such plans.
Instead of carrying half a dozen documents (ID booklet, drivers license, debit cards, and insurance booklets) people will have a single smart ID card with all the related information stored on it. Making use of the card and their cyber ID, they will be able to withdraw money from banks, use health care services and more.
The government has already started issuance of e-IDs. According to the head of NOCR, Hamid Derakhshan, every month 1.2 million smart ID cards are issued. But, at that rate, it will take almost another four years to cover every Iranian, so the claim of completion by March 2019 appears fanciful.
Each person must pay 310,000 rials ($7.50) for the smart ID card. An estimated 25 million cards had been issued through August, covering almost one-third of the population.
Iranian expats will soon be able to register for the smart ID cards through Iran’s diplomatic missions, it has been announced.