The Seimas adopted the draft law on the mObywatel application. What next?
Work on the alignment of the identity card and the mObywatel application began in May 2022. Less than a year later, the Seimas adopted the draft law necessary for this purpose. Since when will mObywatel be honored in the same way as an ID card?
The Seimas adopted the draft law on the mObywatel application
Adam Andrushkiewicz, Secretary of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, he informedthat on March 9, 2023, the Seimas with a large majority of votes (436 MPs for, 9 against, two abstentions) adopted the mObywatel application bill. There is information on the Government Legislative Process website that The continuation of the legislative process of the above project can be found on the website of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. Digitization The Prime Minister’s Office published a post on Twitter yesterday, quoting Andruskiewicz – he said that probably from September it will be possible to use a digital identity card available in the application in banks.
The digitization of the Prime Minister’s office also emphasizes that the digital identity document is not an electronic identity card – it is a completely new document (functioning independently of the identity card) that can be used in the country. Adam Andrushkiewicz he informedthat there is no intention to abolish traditional documents.
However, work is being done on the “internationalization of applications” – this is a matter of agreements between countries. Here it is worth recalling that there are plans to add a passport to mObywatel and equate its validity with a physical document, although this is a much more demanding process and it is difficult to predict today whether it will be successful and, if so, to what extent degree.
What next?
In accordance with the legislative process in force in Poland, a bill passed by the Sejm is submitted to the Senate and then sent to the relevant Senate committee (one or more), which within no more than 18 days develops its position and presents it to the Senate in the form of a report. The bill is then debated by the Senate, which can either reject it in its entirety, accept it without changes, or amend it (after which it returns to the Sejm).
After the adoption of the bill, i.e. its examination by the Sejm and the Senate, the Marshal of the Sejm presents it to the President of the Republic of Poland for signature. The President signs the bill if he does not raise his objections and orders its publication in the Law Gazette. The law enters into force 14 days after its publication, unless another date is specified for its entry into force.
If the deputies were so unanimous, it can be expected that the senators and finally the president will show a similar unanimity. According to earlier reports, mObywatel will be formally (i.e., by the letter of the law) equated to an ID card before this year’s holidays. Banks are an exception, which – like he said Andruszkiewicz – they need more time to introduce new procedures. However, physical proof will still be required when crossing the border and obtaining a new ID – this will not change.
According to the latest data, the mObywatel app has already been downloaded by more than 9.6 million people.
Draft act for the mObywatel application (PDF)
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