NEWS
Português | English
A new Citizen Card featuring touchless technology, available June 10th, 2024
Beginning June10th, 2024, a significant and symbolic date celebrating Camões, Portugal and the Portuguese Communities Day, Portuguese citizens will have a new identification card featuring "contactless" capabilities, which will not require physical contact between the card and another device to authenticate or validate a transaction. Public and private entities will be able to create solutions that use this technology, for example, in the purchase of tickets for events, or to use as public transport tickets.
This project was developed within the scope of the partnership between the Public Services Department, the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN), the National Mint Press, and the Agency for Administrative Modernization.
According to Jornal de Notícias:
At the moment, the possibility of using the citizen card as a public transport ticket is being worked on. That is, the passenger validates their trip with the citizen card, in the same way as they already do, for example, with their mobile phone in the Porto Metropolitan Area through the Anda application, without the need for a ticket or physical pass. Tickets to shows and e-tickets can also be associated with the card. However, there is still no date for the release of these uses.
The software which will allow the development of services that take advantage of these new features is already available, "so that public and private entities can start creating these solutions and use them to enable various services", explains the Secretary of State for Justice, Pedro Tavares, to JN, stressing that the essential concern was to stabilize the software. The Secretary believes that the e-ticket and public transport functions it will be available "in the coming months".
The adoption of these new cards will occur gradually. The new cards will begin issue on June 10, and a widespread replacement of the current documents is not expected, meaning, the validity period of the cards currently in use will remain unchanged, and citizens will be able to continue using them without disrruption.
The new citizen card becomes available June 10, 2024
Is this the end of card readers?
Not necessarily. The "contactless" functionality will allow users to use the card without using a card reader to read the data of the citizen card. To do this, users will simply need to bring the device close to the receiving device to access the data. Users who want to continue using their old reading devices will be able to to do so with this new technology.
Another advantage of this technology includes the ability of citizen card and passport renewal systems to read the personal data on the citizen card, without having to manually enter the user's data into the system.
What changed then?
In addition to security improvements, there are also some aesthetic changes. According to Jornal de Notícias:
The new card is more secure, but it also has some design changes. From the outset, the chip moves to the back and the photograph is larger, as well as the font size.
"Motifs and patterns are visible in the artistic cobblestones of the Portuguese pavement, such as Mar largo (main motif)", as stated by the Ministry of Justice. "The document also ensures compliance with the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) standard, which aims to improve the accuracy and efficiency of border control and security processes, while ensuring that travel documents are secure and tamper-proof." The new citizen card has an anti-copy background and elements which are visible only under ultraviolet lighting.
This is not the first improvement in the use and functionality of these cards. Since 2021 it is possible to automatically renew the card, when the user doesn't need to change any personal data, avoiding unnecessary trips to the consular services. We also recently reported that the first citizen card for babies became free as of June 2023.
The Citizen brand
The Citizen brand was also unveiled at today's event, which is "a unifying approach that reinforces precisely the presence of the citizen at the center of all State actions".
Thus, in "a very practical way", when you want to "deal in person with one or more matters, for example Social Security or Registries and Notaries, the Institute of Mobility and Transport [IMT] or Finance in a physical space such as the Citizen's Shop, there are single and integrated counters available."
In this way, "the citizen will not necessarily need to know which entity is responsible for the matter that led him" to the Store or Citizen Space, "it is the State that has to organize itself to provide a simple and integrated service, using the opportunities that are opened up by the progressive digitalization of Public Administration and by innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence [AI]".
Also launched this day was a new version of the portal and a new Citizen App.
Watch below a promotional video from the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado.
(Sources: Agência LUSA, Jornal de Notícias, SIC Noticias, portugal.gov.pt)
Click here to access our news archive