I have just started a 3 month break from work. My employers have, after 25 years, given me some extended time off – for which I am very grateful. I’m only on day three but it’s already been a pleasure to spend a little more time with Ariane and my daughters. Having some time off work has also freed up some brain-space so that I can get back to writing…

One of the luxuries of having free time, is that I can read The Times (iPad edition) from cover to cover. This week there were a couple of articles and opinion pieces on identity cards as David Blunkett has come out and said that perhaps they‘re not such a bad idea after all. I agree.

After a third of a century living in a country where you must be able to prove who you are, and that you are here legally, I still think it‘s a good idea. When I came here in the 90s, I needed to register with the local council and apply for a 5-year residency permit (Aufenthaltsgenehmigung). As long as I didn‘t have a criminal record there was no chance of me being refused this, as it was back when the UK was in the EU. So I got my permit and after five years, I had to extend it for another five. After 10 years, I was granted permanent residency which was really a formality.

Over the years, I have been asked by the police a couple of times for my papers. Quite often at the border in the airport as they saw that I was flying in a lot. And a couple of times when I have been caught speeding. If you don‘t have any papers with you, then you have 3 days to present them at a police station. In order for me to have the right papers, I should really have been carrying my passport and my residency permit. As I didn‘t want to carry these around, I usually didn‘t have them on me in my day-to-day life. This wasn‘t much of a problem and in the 28 years I lived in Germany as a UK citizen I only once got asked for identification which I couldn‘t show immediately so had to go to the police station a day later. It took about 5 minutes and happens all the time.

5 years ago, after doing the language and citizenship tests, became a German citizen. I then applied for a passport and, what I really wanted, my first „Ausweis“ or identity card. The Ausweis is the size of credit card, has a photo along with date of birth and current address. Everyone has one here. It‘s very convenient, and I use it all the time. Collecting a package, renting a car, checking into a hotel, going to the doctors or anything „official“.

So, finally, I come to the point of my article. All the discussion in the UK press is about how identity cards can help stem the flow of illegal immigration. Everyone seems to be missing another point: that they will also make life easier for that huge majority: law-abiding citizens just going about their business. We have delegated law & order to the state and we are only too happy to blame „the Government“ when something doesn‘t work. It seems reasonable to me that being able to demonstrate you are here legally is something we can reasonably expect of anyone living in a civilized society.

What do you think?