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Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

(www.reuters.com)
525 points alex77456 | 5 comments | 26 Sep 25 02:09 UTC | HN request time: 0.013s | source
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remarkEon ◴[26 Sep 25 03:45 UTC] No.45382398[source]▶
>The proposals are the government's latest bid to tackle illegal immigration, with the new ID being a form of proof of a citizen's right to live and work in the UK.

How does a digital ID solve an illegal immigration problem? I watched the video and the suggestion is that this makes it easier for employers to verify that someone is authorized to work. Is that actually true? I don't live in the UK and have not visited in several years. If the idea is that a digital ID authorizes employment ... well I hope people can see the problem, here.

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wsc981 ◴[26 Sep 25 04:53 UTC] No.45382795[source]▶
Of course a digital id doesn’t prevent illegal immigration.

Proper border checks prevent illegal immigration.

The digital ids are introduced for other reasons - this is something Tony Blair has been pushing for a long time.

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1. scott_w ◴[26 Sep 25 07:29 UTC] No.45383797[source]▶
My understanding is that it makes checking job eligibility easier, so enforcement of non compliance is easier.

A big source of illegal immigration is visa overstay (https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/un...), which ID can solve by tracking the visa status.

There are benefits to UK citizens, such as being easier to open a bank account and to comply with Voter ID laws.

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2. amenhotep ◴[26 Sep 25 16:41 UTC] No.45388454[source]▶
What a lovely framing that is. Since time immemorial our right to vote without having to present papers was prized and protected and caused no appreciable problems whatsoever. Then, finally, in one of these inevitable spasms of authoritarianism, they do away with it and we're now turned away from the polling station unless we can show our permission slip.

Then they come up with even more papers for us, and the argument for it is that it's now a benefit that we can more easily comply with Voter ID laws.

Bugger off with that. Don't talk to me about any "benefit" in relation to voter ID that isn't abolishing it.

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3. scott_w ◴[26 Sep 25 17:51 UTC] No.45389180[source]▶
> Since time immemorial our right to vote without having to present papers was prized and protected and caused no appreciable problems whatsoever.

I don’t disagree at all, however we are where we are. The laws were introduced by a different government in a failed bid to maintain power by disenfranchising voters less likely to have ID.

That being said, we are where we are and having government-provided ID is a benefit in that context.

4. vixen99 ◴[26 Sep 25 18:42 UTC] No.45389708[source]▶
Only a day or two since this was announced and a petition against ID Cards has already reached 1 million - way beyond the 100,000 required for a Parliamentary Debate. I wonder what the petition's growth rate will be over the next couple of weeks or so.
5. SanjayMehta ◴[02 Oct 25 11:36 UTC] No.45448355[source]▶
Papers please.