National Registration Identity Card

National Registration Identity Card
Date first issued	1965
Issued by	Singapore

The National Registration Identity Card (abbreviation: NRIC, or colloquially IC; simplified Chinese: 身份证; traditional Chinese: 身份證; Tamil: அடையாள அட்டை) is the identity document in use in Singapore. It is compulsory for all Singaporean citizens and permanent residents who are fifteen years of age and older to have their NRICs.

Bearers have to carry the card at all times or show their cards to police officers conducting regular screening while on patrol, for instance. Failure to show any form of identification, however, may allow the police to detain suspicious individuals until relevant identification could be produced subsequently either in person or by proxy. The NRIC is also a required document for some government procedures, in commercial transactions such as the opening of a bank account, or to gain entry to premises by surrendering or exchanging for an entry pass. Failure to produce the card may result in denied access to these premises or attainment of goods and services.

The National Registration Act of 1965 (last amendment in 2001) legislates the issuance and usage of NRICs. Section 7 indicates that all registered persons of the national registry are to be issued with the identity card.^[1]

Type and design

The NRIC comes in two main colour schemes, namely pink for citizens and blue for permanent residents (PR). Each card is identified by an NRIC number ("Identity Card Number"), which is a unique set of nine alpha-numerics given to each citizen or PR at birth registration or successful attainment of permanent residence status. These numbers are similar to that on birth certificates for citizens, and are automatically transferred to the NRIC at age 15 and above.

Also indicated on the front side of the card, are the holder's name, race, date of birth, sex, country of birth, and a colour photograph. On the back of the card is the NRIC number and its bar code, a fingerprint, issue date of the card, and the holder's current residential address. The nationality of permanent residents is indicated on the card as well; this field is absent for citizens. NRIC holders can choose to add in their ethnic names below their name in English (in Chinese characters). For Chinese characters, whether they will be in simplified or traditional script will depend on the name on the holder's birth certificate. Any change to the information on the card has to be reported to the authorities, or it could be considered an invalid identification card.

Until 29 September 2002, the NRIC indicated its holder's blood group. This information was subsequently removed due to the widespread availability of quick blood group tests that are conducted during medical emergencies.

Since 2008, Singapore started issuing a card, termed a "Visit Pass", similar in design with the NRIC to long-term pass holders (such as foreigners studying or working in Singapore), replacing the formerly issued laminated green cards. The Visit Pass is green in colour, uses the term "Foreign Identification Number" (FIN) instead of the NRIC number, as well as showing the nationality of the pass holder. The card includes a date of expiry, conditional on the card holder holding a valid passport.^[2]

Structure of the NRIC number/FIN

The structure of the NRIC number/FIN is #0000000@ where:

#

• This is a letter that can be "S", "F", "T" or "G" depending on the status of the holder.
• For Singapore citizens and permanent residents, this is the century prefix.
• The NRIC number for citizens and permanent residents born before the year 2000 is assigned the letter "S". "S" is the 19th letter in the English alphabet, denoting that the person was born in the 20th century (1900-1999). It was commonly believed before 2000 that the "S" stands for Singapore, especially since the letter "F" was used for foreigners. It is unknown, however, if that was ever the intended meaning.
• Singapore citizens and permanent residents born in 2000 and beyond are assigned the letter "T". "T" is the 20th letter in the English alphabet, denoting the person was born in the 21st century (2000-2099).
• Foreigners holding employment or student passes issued before 2000 are assigned the letter "F".
• Foreigners holding employment or student passes issued in and after 2000 are assigned the letter "G".

0000000

• This is a 7 digit serial number assigned to the document holder
• For Singapore citizens and permanent residents born in 1968 and after, their NRIC number will start with their year of birth e.g. 71xxxxx#. For those born in 1967 and earlier, the NRIC number does not relate to year of birth, and commonly begins with 0 or 1. Non-native Singaporeans who were born before 1965 are assigned the heading numbers 2 or 3 upon conversion of permanent residency (PR) or citizenship.

@

• This is the checksum letter calculated based on # and 0000000.

The algorithm to calculate the checksum of the NRIC is not publicly available; as of 1999, the Ministry of Home Affairs only sold the algorithm to Singapore-based organizations demonstrating a "legitimate need" for it.^[3] That said, the checksum algorithms for the NRIC (S- and T-series) and the FIN have been easily reverse-engineered, such as described by Ngiam.^[4]

Privacy issues

For long, the NRIC number has used by both government and commercial organizations as an unambiguous and "tidy" identifier for Singaporeans. Full NRIC numbers have been listed to identify winners of lucky draws.^[5] It is possible to borrow books from the National Library Board simply by scanning the NRIC number, in the form of a barcode at self-service kiosks, without further authentication. This has led to complaints of the possibility of fraud and identity theft. Therefore, now when NRIC numbers are publicly displayed, only the last three digits and the letters are displayed. (The first three digits are not displayed as they easily give away a person's age.)^[6]

See also

• Singaporean nationality law

References

1. ^ National Registration Act (Cap. 201)
2. ^ New long-term pass for foreigners living in S'pore
3. ^ Application Form for UIN/FIN Algorithm. Ministry of Home Affairs. 1999 . Archive copy at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Ngiam S. T. (2004). "Fun With Numbers". http://www.ngiam.net/NRIC/. 
5. ^ Balasingam-Chow Yu Hui (2006-09-07). "Take steps to prevent breach of privacy" (Letter to the forum). The Straits Times. 
6. ^ Ngiam Shih Tung (2000-05-03). "Data privacy risk overlooked in IT rush" (Letter to the forum; reprint). The Straits Times. http://www.ngiam.net/NLB/for3_0503.html. 

External links

• ICA Identity Card services
• Showing of NRICs
• NRIC/FIN Validation Service
• Reporting Loss of IC