Why it is Likely That the Green (Residence) Registration Documents Will be Phased Out

August 2.2021. The commencement of the issuance of the new format DNI.

Regulation on strengthening the security of identity cards of Union citizens and of residence documents issued to Union citizens and their family members exercising their right of free movement.

This Regulation applies to:

(a) identity cards issued by Member States to their own nationals as referred to in Article 4(3) of Directive 2004/38/EC;
This Regulation shall not apply to identification documents issued on a provisional basis with a period of validity of less than six months.

(b) registration certificates issued in accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2004/38/EC to Union citizens residing for more than three months in a host Member State and documents certifying permanent residence issued in accordance with Article 19 of Directive 2004/38/EC to Union citizens upon application;

(c) residence cards issued in accordance with Article 10 of Directive 2004/38/EC to family members of Union citizens who are not nationals of a Member State and permanent residence cards issued in accordance with Article 20 of Directive 2004/38/EC to family members of Union citizens who are not nationals of a Member State.

Reason for the regulation: “Considerable differences exist between the security levels of national identity cards issued by Member States and residence permits for Union nationals residing in another Member State and their family members. Those differences increase the risk of falsification and document fraud and also give rise to practical difficulties for citizens when they wish to exercise their right of free movement. Statistics from the European Document Fraud Risk Analysis Network show that incidents of fraudulent identity cards have increased over time”.

This Regulation does not require Member States to introduce identity cards or residence documents where they are not provided for under national law, nor does it affect the competence of the Member States to issue, under national law, other residence documents which fall outside the scope of Union law, for example residence cards issued to all residents on the territory regardless of their nationality.

This Regulation does not affect the use of identity cards and residence documents with eID function by Member States for other purposes, nor does it affect the rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), which provides for Union-wide mutual recognition of electronic identifications in access to public services and which helps citizens who are moving to another Member State, by requiring mutual recognition of electronic identification means subject to certain conditions. Improved identity cards should ensure easier identification and contribute to better access to services.

Security features are necessary to verify if a document is authentic and to establish the identity of a person. The establishment of minimum security standards and the integration of biometric data in identity cards and in residence cards of family members who are not nationals of a Member State are important steps in rendering their use in the Union more secure. The inclusion of such biometric identifiers should allow Union citizens to fully benefit from their rights of free movement.

Residence documents issued to citizens of the Union should include specific information to ensure that they are identified as such in all Member States. This should facilitate the recognition of the Union citizen’s use of the right of free movement and of the rights inherent to this use, but harmonisation should not go beyond what is appropriate to address the weaknesses of current documents. Member States are free to select the format in which these documents are issued and could issue them in a format complying with the specifications of ICAO Document 9303 (machine readable documents).

Taking into account both the security risk and the costs incurred by Member States, identity cards as well as residence cards of a family member of a Union citizen with insufficient security standards should be phased out. In general, a phasing-out period of ten years for identity cards and five years for residence cards should be sufficient to strike a balance between the frequency with which documents are usually replaced and the need to fill the existing security gap within the Union. However, for cards which do not have important security features, or are not machine readable, a shorter phasing-out period is necessary on security grounds.

CChildren under the age of 12 years may be exempt from the requirement to give fingerprints. Children under the age of 6 years shall be exempt from the requirement to give fingerprints.
Persons in respect of whom fingerprinting is physically impossible shall be exempt from the requirement to give fingerprints.

Period of validity
Identity cards shall have a minimum period of validity of five years and a maximum period of validity of ten years.
By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may provide for a period of validity of: less than five years, for identity cards issued to minors;
in exceptional cases, less than five years, for identity cards issued to persons in special and limited circumstances and where their period of validity is limited in compliance with Union and national law;
more than 10 years, for identity cards issued to persons aged 70 and above.

Phasing out
1. Identity cards which do not meet the requirements set out in Article 3 shall cease to be valid at their expiry or by 3 August 2031, whichever is earlier.

By way of derogation from paragraph 1:
identity cards which do not meet the minimum security standards set out in part 2 of ICAO document 9303 or which do not include a functional MRZ, as defined in paragraph 3, shall cease to be valid at their expiry or by 3 August 2026, whichever is earlier;
identity cards of persons aged 70 and above at 2 August 2021, which meet the minimum security standards set out in part 2 of ICAO document 9303 and which have a functional MRZ, as defined in paragraph 3, shall cease to be valid at their expiry.
For the purpose of paragraph 2, a functional MRZ shall mean:
a machine-readable zone compliant with part 3 of ICAO document 9303; or
any other machine-readable zone for which the issuing Member State notifies the rules required for reading and displaying the information contained therein, unless a Member State notifies the Commission, by 2 August 2021, of its lack of capacity to read and display this information.

Residence documents for EU citizens.

Minimum information to be indicated

Residence documents when issued by Member States to Union citizens, shall indicate at a minimum the following:
(a) the title of the document in the official language or languages of the Member State concerned and in at least one other official language of the institutions of the Union;
(b) a clear reference that the document is issued to a Union citizen in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC;
(c) the document number;
(d) the name (surname and forename(s)) of the holder;
(e) the date of birth of the holder;
(f) the information to be included on registration certificates and documents certifying permanent residence, issued in accordance with Articles 8 and 19 of Directive 2004/38/EC, respectively;
(g) the issuing authority;
(h) on the front-side, the two-letter country code of the Member State issuing the document, printed in negative in a blue rectangle and encircled by twelve yellow stars.
If a Member State decides to take fingerprints, Article 3(7) shall apply accordingly.
Persons in respect of whom fingerprinting is physically impossible shall be exempt from the requirement to give fingerprints.

Phasing out of existing residence cards

1. Residence cards of family members of Union citizens who are not nationals of a Member State, which do not meet the requirements of Article 7 shall cease to be valid at their expiry or by 3 August 2026, whichever is earlier.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, residence cards of family members of Union citizens who are not nationals of a Member State, which do not meet the minimum security standards set out in part 2 of ICAO document 9303 or which do not include a functional MRZ compliant with part 3 of ICAO document 9303, shall cease to be valid at their expiry or by 3 August 2023, whichever is earlier.

Member States should apply this Regulation at the latest 24 months after the date of its entry into force. As from the date of application of this Regulation, Member States should only issue documents which respect the requirements set out in this Regulation.

This regulation comes into force on August 2. 2021.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 20 June 2019.

Information on the issuing of the new DNI from August 2 from the policía nacional website.

Please note: The information provided is based upon our understanding of current legislation. It is not legal advice but is provided freely to enable you to be properly informed. We recommend that if you are considering taking action, you should seek professional advice.