The Ministry of Interior says it is about to roll out a new electronic housing system across Iraq, marking a big step toward digital government services.
Ministry spokesperson Colonel Abbas Al-Bahadli said the project will greatly reduce paperwork and complicated procedures. Under the new system, citizens will only need one document: the unified national ID card. This card already holds personal and biometric data, and now it will also include housing information.
He explained that using the national ID card will cut down on administrative work and reduce the need for repeated visits to government offices. Citizens will only need to visit a national ID office if they change their place of residence, and even then, it will be just to update their information.
Al-Bahadli said the project is part of the Ministry of Interior’s broader move toward e-governance and digital transformation. The goal is to end paper files, reduce bureaucracy, and provide faster, modern services to citizens.
He also pointed out that Article 45 of the National Card Law No. 3 of 2016 canceled the old Civil Status Law and the Residence Regulation Law. Because of this, the separate residence card is no longer needed. From now on, all housing data will be fully merged into the unified national ID card.
Al-Bahadli stressed that all personal data will be fully protected. He added that the project is being carried out by the German company Fredus, a global firm that specializes in this field and has received all required security approvals. He made it clear that the national ID card itself has not changed—only housing information has been added. Once the project is fully completed, the old housing card will be permanently canceled.
He described the project as part of a major shift inside the Ministry of Interior toward modern digital and technological solutions. This shift, he said, will improve basic services, strengthen internal security, and support long-term stability.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani also chaired a meeting on Sunday to review the project. The meeting confirmed that the unified national ID card will become the main system for managing citizens’ personal and housing data, removing the need for a separate residence card.
Officials also discussed expanding the electronic system to include services such as changing housing details, requesting registration copies, updating marital status, and other related services. The goal is to create one central digital system used by all government departments.
Al-Sudani directed that the project be completed as quickly as possible. He also called for expanding the system to include more official documents, so the unified national ID card becomes a single electronic reference that reduces paperwork and saves citizens time and effort.
The project also includes upgrading national ID offices across all provinces, improving infrastructure, and updating computer systems and software to meet the latest global technology standards.
