The Bundestag on Thursday passed the legal basis for the digital wallet “d-you”. As ZDF reported on 15 October, the wallet is due to go into operation on 2 January 2027. Germany is thereby implementing an EU regulation that obliges every member state to provide an application for digital identity cards on smartphones.
According to Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU), the wallet is to launch on 2 January 2027, as t-online.de reported on Thursday. Step by step, further documents such as the driving licence are to be added. In perspective, the ID on the phone should also suffice in the analogue world, so that the plastic card can stay at home. Use of the app is voluntary.
What changes for older people?
The law also provides for measures intended to relieve citizens of bureaucracy. Anyone who was 70 years or older when applying for their last identity card should be allowed to continue using it indefinitely – the usual obligation to reapply after the ten-year validity period expires is dropped. According to the draft law, this applies to everyone who was 70 years old or older at the time of applying for their current identity card. As ZDF explains, for example an 80-year-old today whose ID expires next year no longer has to renew it.
The draft law states: “The background is that with increasing age the situations in which it is used decline and, if applicable, reapplying at the same time means a great individual effort.” Roughly, it is expected that around 285,000 new application cases per year could be eliminated.
However, there are restrictions: anyone who wants to continue using the expired ID can only use it without the online function. Document security with the chip built into the identity card and other technical security features as well as usability abroad in the EU could not be guaranteed indefinitely, it says. When travelling within the EU, it is nevertheless advisable to carry a valid ID. The option of continuing to use the old one is intended above all for everyday use – for example during police checks or when going to the polling station.
What changes for the passport?
There is also a change for the passport: if the place of residence noted in the document has changed, it no longer has to be updated. After a move, the old place of residence can remain in the passport. Previously this meant either a visit to the citizens’ office or, where offered regionally, an online application for the change. According to the draft law, around 1.2 million re-registrations at offices could thus be eliminated.
Both rules are part of a law introducing the digital wallet. This concerns the so-called EUDI wallet. With the identity card on a smartphone, people should be able to identify themselves more easily to authorities, service providers or contractual partners online. Submitting applications to authorities online, opening bank accounts, concluding contracts, shopping and using certain platforms online where age must be proven – such things should become easier as a result.
The law must first still pass through the Bundesrat. Exactly when the new rules will enter into force is still open.
