Cubans to Begin Receiving New ID Cards

HAVANA TIMES — New identification cards will begin being issued in Cuba starting October 29, starting with the municipality of East Havana, the official media reported on the island.

The changeover will then continue in the other 14 municipalities of the capital and in 2015 throughout the country, although no deadline was specified. For now all the ID cards issued since 1974 remain valid.

The steps to make the change need not be specifically in the place of residence.

The new card will include biometric data of the person and allows the application and data collection and identification of persons from any of the Identity Card Offices in the country.

As new elements, the ID card possess a hologram, micro text, security frames, a background copy of the photograph, and areas readable by machine.

With the idea of it being an identity card within the parameters used in the global context, it will enable future inclusion of voice data, eye and DNA, and may be used to arrange ATM, access control and others.