After the deadline was extended to April 1, the Ministry of Interior announced that working with old identification documents in state departments and conducting transactions would continue until then, giving millions of Iraqis who hold old paper citizenship an additional 40 days to obtain the Iraqi national card. March 1st is the final day.a\
- Extending the due date.
Brigadier General Miqdad Miri, the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior and the Security Media Cell, stated in a statement obtained by that the Ministry of Interior “decided to extend the work on identification documents until 1-4-2024 with the aim of making more room for honorable citizens,” emphasizing the departments’ continued work. The National Card in the governorates and Baghdad to offer tourists the best services possible and lessen their burden.
This extension was granted in response to the Ministry of Interior’s earlier March 1 deadline for state departments to approve paper identification documents and complete evaluations of different transactions.
As to the most recent data, out of around 44 million Iraqis, approximately 35 million unified cards have been distributed thus far.
You will still have identification documentation that you may use for checks and other procedures, but paper citizenship will no longer be valid in government audits and transactions after April 1, 2024 (the date set by the Ministry of Interior).
The Interior Ministry clarified that the national card would continue to be issued and will not cease at a set date after the civil status offices in the Iraqi governorates saw a “tremendous” surge of residents desiring to receive the Iraqi national card.
Notably, the national card project was started by the Iraqi government in 2015 as a replacement for the outdated paperwork that had been authorized by the former administration. Along with creating a universal national card for Iraqis to use in promoting transactions in official state offices and organizations, the initiative also intends to create a central database for all Iraqis.
The project experienced occasional delays, as seen by the cessation of the card’s printing and issuance owing to technical issues and the shortage of raw materials as a result of the company’s failure to pay its outstanding debt to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior contractual body. But according to their authorities, these issues have lately been resolved, and things are moving forward nicely in the civil status departments.
