Overview

• Reports say every adult would hold a government-issued digital ID to verify the right to live and work, with some coverage indicating checks for private rentals as well.
• The credential is expected to sit in the GOV.UK wallet app on smartphones, with non-digital options promised for people without devices.
• Employers’ checks would be logged and could be cross-referenced with HMRC payroll data to guide immigration enforcement activity.
• Civil liberties groups and opposition figures warn of privacy risks, data security concerns and digital exclusion, and petitions have passed 100,000 signatures.
• Ministers including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood back the approach, which supporters link to reducing migration pull factors highlighted by Emmanuel Macron.