The Identity agency is in the process of renewing 160,000 identity cards of Maltese citizens that were issued ten years ago and will expire between this year and next year, the Government said.

It said that in the last two months more than 9,000 people renewed their identity card. During the next year and a half more than 160,000 other identity cards will expire and must be renewed with new ones.

An identity card is valid for ten years and the Government said that every citizen is obliged to check the expiry date and apply to renew it in the identity card section at Gattard House, Blata l-Bajda.

During a visit to the unit, the Minister for Home Affairs, Byron Camilleri followed the process of renewing identity cards, with each of them also having the biometric details of the individual .

Minister Camilleri claimed that “unlike what happened before 2013, when all Maltese and Goitans had an expired identity card, Identità is nowadays giving absolute priority to the efficient and effective renewal of identity cards.”

CEO of Identità, Steve Agius said that the agency is extending its hours so that the public can be better served in light of the increase in requests for the services provided by the agency.

He explained that those whose identity card has been closed, or is about to expire, can go to the agency’s offices, or make an appointment for renewal from the Identity agency’s website

The identity card was made mandatory by law 49 years ago for those who turn 18 and nowadays this obligation has dropped to 16 years. The Government said that new ID cards have a number of strong security features to protect a person’s identity and make it more difficult to manipulate.

Photo: DOI

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