What was claimed
Anyone looking to work or live in the UK will need to have digital ID.
Our verdict
This isn’t correct. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology confirmed a digital ID will only be mandatory if people wish to work and therefore not everyone living in the UK will need to hold one.
A video liked more than 3,000 times on Instagram makes misleading claims about the government’s plans to introduce digital ID.
In the video, which has also gained thousands of interactions on TikTok, a man speaking to camera says that “anyone looking to work, or live in the UK, you'll need to hold the digital ID”.
But this isn’t correct. As Full Fact has explained before, the government’s plans for digital ID plans do not require all UK citizens to hold one.
Digital ID would only be mandatory for those who are looking to work in the UK. It would therefore not be mandatory for everyone living in the UK. For example, someone who is retired wouldn’t need a digital ID.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology says: “It will not be mandatory for everyone in the UK to have a digital ID.
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“However, if you wish to work in the UK, your employers will be legally required to check your digital ID as proof of right to work.”
Additionally, while the department also said the scheme would “in time make it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare, while streamlining access to tax records”, the government confirmed to Full Fact previously that digital ID won’t be mandatory to access these services.
The video also mentions a “BritCard”. The think tank Labour Together proposed a digital ID it termed “BritCard ”in June, prior to the government’s announcement of digital ID in September. However, the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said in October that the ID could not be called “BritCard”, although the official title of this identification has not yet been confirmed.
The video also talks about the Veteran’s ID card, which was launched in a digital format in October and allows military veterans to access government and health services, and discounts. The digital pass is optional, and will exist alongside a physical card which provides the same benefits. This is not the same as the digital ID proposed that will prove someone’s right to work.
Government ministers and politicians have also made errors about how digital ID will function and when it will be required.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as partly false because under the government’s proposals the digital ID will only be needed to work, and therefore won’t be mandatory for all UK citizens.
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