As promised, with this post I’m gonna elaborate a bit on something, Estonia is famous for: their ID Card with e-Services leading to e-Estonia. Every Citizen in Estonia has one, and also temporary residents within the EU or outside are eligible for one. As you can see, I’m allowed to stay here for 5 years (and if I’m still there have to renew the card). Working is also no problem, since as a EU citizen I’m legally allowed to work and also become employer in every country of the European Union (another great thing I like).
Coming back to the card, it’s my passport and personal unique online identification based on the date and place where I was born. It combines two important features: secure access of services and providing a digital signature. I won’t go into technical details here, just let me say that the technology is not new. Most student ID cards are build the same way and have a microchip.
But what’s unique here are the structures around the ID card. As of now there exist more than 2500 services, that are offered by the public and private sector. That means for example, you can declare your taxes online. Or you can check speeding tickets, access your health record and do any bank transaction you want... Well, lets say it the other way around: Getting married is the only B2C activity where you physically have to enter an administrative building. Every thing else you can do online, since with this card you are clearly identified online.
The next cool thing is the digital signature. That’s especially important for doing business. When was the last time when you had to sign a paper for a contract? Well, all this unnecessary paperwork is obsolete in Estonia. You can sign those documents online and by law this signature has the same meaning than your real handwriting. This accelerates business a lot and saves rain forrest :) And btw. registering a new business can of course also be done online, as said above.
The card was introduced in 2002, nearly 13 years ago!! Today most people use their mobile phone as a replacement of the ID card. The signature and key can also be stored on your SIM card, so that you don’t need a cardreader anymore. This is called mobileID.