UK to require digital ID cards to work, reviving controversial policy

Britain will require all citizens and permanent residents to hold a digital identification card in order to obtain work, a policy announced by the government on Friday. Officials said the plan would help curb unauthorized immigration by making it harder to work in the underground economy and would also simplify access to health care, welfare, child care and other public services.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, "It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure. And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly — rather than hunting around for an old utility bill." The government said the digital ID would not require people to carry or routinely produce the card, but would be mandatory to obtain a job. It would also work for people who do not own a smartphone, and a public consultation will be held to determine the details.

Civil liberties advocates have long warned that compulsory ID cards threaten privacy and raise data-security concerns. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair pursued biometric ID cards two decades ago as a counterterrorism and fraud measure, but the plan was dropped after strong opposition from the public and Parliament. Starmer's government framed the policy as a practical step to secure borders and speed access to services for ordinary citizens.

Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, said there has always been a sense that Britain is not a "papers, please" society, unlike some continental European countries where ID cards are common. "There’s always been this feeling that Britain is not a so-called 'Papers, please' society, in contrast to continental Europe and other countries where ID cards are very common," Bale said. "But given that people are already required to prove their identity in many government and private-sector interactions, a digital ID card could be useful."

The policy arrives as the government tackles irregular migration across the English Channel. The country has seen record numbers of crossings by flimsy boats; last year about 37,000 people crossed, and more than 30,000 have already this year. Starmer has vowed to cut that tally by targeting criminal smugglers and by reducing the pull factors that draw migrants to the U.K., including the perception that work can be secured easily off the books.

Officials stressed that a public consultation will determine operational details and rollout timing. The plan remains a centerpiece of a broader effort to tighten borders while preserving access to public services, and it will be evaluated alongside other reforms in the next phase of policy development.