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DIGITAL IDS

Residents in Norway to be able to use phone app as valid ID

BankID users in Norway will be able to use the app as a valid form of ID from Monday following an update to the app.

Published: 11 March 2024 10:53 CET
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To activate the new mobile phone ID service, users will need to scan their passport or national ID card into the BankID app. Logo by bank ID; Photo by Collins Lesulie on Unsplash

From Monday, BankID users in Norway will be able to upload their passport or national ID card to the app to use as ID. 

READ MORE: What you need to know about ID cards in Norway

BankID is a personal electronic identification solution used for verifying one’s identity and signing documents online. For example, you’ll likely need to use your BankID to log into your online bank account, or check your tax return.

Once you successfully scan your ID document into the latest version of the app, you will have a digital form of identification stored and readily available on your mobile device.

Initially available at Vinmonopolet and Posten

This feature will initially only work at select locations in the country, such as Vinmonopolet, the state-owned alcoholic beverage retailer, and Norway’s postal service, Posten.

Elisabeth Hunter, the managing director of Vinmonopolet, said an increasing number of customers have been turned away at counters in recent years due to a lack of ID.

The implementation of mobile phone identification is set to address such challenges.

READ MORE: Everything foreigners in Norway need to know about electronic IDs

Beyond Vinmonopolet and Posten, the app could be used as ID when accessing other services in the near future.

Pharmacies, for instance, are exploring the possibility of adopting the new ID solution to streamline prescription pickups, enhancing customer service and operational efficiency.

Further details on how the BankID app could be used to verify one’s identity will be revealed later in the week. 

What you need to know about electronic ID in Norway

Wondering how to get an electronic ID in Norway (even if you don’t have a ‘personnummer’)? Check out our explainer on the issue.

We’ve also covered Norway’s plans related to its new national strategy for the secure digital ID system e-ID, and how it could affect foreigners living in Norway.

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DIGITAL IDS

How Norway plans to tackle foreigners’ issues with digital IDs

Electronic IDs are a big part of everyday life in Norway. The system can cause some problems for foreigners, and the government has told The Local that it has a plan to address the issues.

Published: 12 June 2024 13:02 CEST
Updated: 29 June 2024 08:10 CEST
How Norway plans to tackle foreigners’ issues with digital IDs

For around 20 years, electronic IDs have been used for everything from filing taxes to filling out forms and doing online banking.

In a recent survey of our audience, many readers agreed that the system was simple, efficient, and helpful when you could obtain an electronic ID. Still, there were some issues, such as the rules for who can have one being unclear for certain types—like BankID.

READ MORE: ‘It’s not easy to live in Norway without an electronic ID’

Other issues include different electronic IDs having different security clearances, with foreign residents typically unable to access the digital logins with a higher security rating if they had a d-number rather than a “birth number”.

The ministry responsible for digital IDs, the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance, has told The Local it was aware of the issues some foreigners have had with digital IDs.

“I am indeed aware of the issues surrounding the acquisition of BankID and the challenges that may arise when it comes to certain services that require a high security level. The government is committed to improving access to digital public services for all citizens,” state secretary Thomas Norvoll told The Local.

When asked by The Local what could be improved about electronic IDs, many foreigners said they simply wanted the rules on who could obtain certain kinds of digital logins, such as BankID, to be much clearer.

“For new foreigners, there should be a clear and easy process to follow,” Arjen in Jessheim wrote.

The government told The Local that it had an action plan in place as part of a wider strategy on electronic IDs to make them easier to obtain and clear up the rules on who can have them.

“The action plan includes measures to investigate how eID with a high-security level can be made available to more users, assessing how eID can be distributed safely among user groups that currently do not have an eID at a high security level today, and measures to ensure that all user groups shall be knowledgeable about how to obtain and use an eID in a secure manner,” Norvoll said.

The action plan has been published by the digitisation ministry and is available in Norwegian on the ministry’s website (in Norwegian).

Among the seven measures is an investigation into how user-friendly electronic IDs can be obtained for users without a d-number of birth number. Norway’s immigration Directorate (UDI) is among the services included in this review.

This review would take place between 2024 and 2025, but the bad news is that any changes as a result of the review may not be implemented until 2026-2027.

The action plan also outlined the government had begun measures to make sure electronic IDs with a high security level are available to more people and that this work would continue until 2026.

The measure that will see electronic ID users given more information on how to obtain one would be in an analysis stage throughout 2024, with input from entities that issue the digital IDs before the results of the investigation are implemented in 2025 and 2026.

At the time of writing, more specific details on how the information would be made clearer or how exactly electronic IDs would be made more accessible were not available.

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