More than 10,000 people have already downloaded the Digital Citizen application since it went live last week and the number is expected to increase considerably, Deputy Digital Policy Minister Nicodemos Damianou said on Thursday.

Presenting the application at a press conference, in the presence of Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou, Damianou said that during the initial period people would need to become accustomed to the new digital environment.

The new app, available on Google Play and the App Store, was launched last week, ushering in a “new era” in digital services for the public and businesses.

During the press conference, Damianou also presented the Digital Assistant, an artificial intelligence tool for live chats, which will be available on gov.cy as of December 18 to provide information.

The Digital Assistant will be “continuously improved” and will be trained through chats, so that it can provide direct and timely information to users.

In its pilot version, the Digital Assistant will be able to serve users in social insurance services.

The programme also includes the digital identification document ‘eID’, which will launch during the first fortnight of January 2025.

Damianou said more services would be added and that it would be extended to people under the age of 16 and foreigners.

He said another important feature was linking it to the Greek GovGrWallet for the mutual recognition of documents.

At the launch of the app last week, President Nikos Christodoulides had said it allowed people to issue and save official documents, initially identity cards, driver’s licences and MOT certificates, with more to be added later.

“The new era is here: easy, simple, digital,” he said.

Procedures become easier and it is not necessary to carry hard copies, the president said.

The mobile application documents are valid for official use within the country, however they could not be used as international travel documents.

To create a digital copy, one would need to have already obtained the hard copy.

The deputy ministry called on all organisations to immediately incorporate the acceptance of digital documents in their procedures, which will later become obligatory.

To use the app, people will need an active and certified CY Login profile, which allows access to state systems and services.

The validity of all digital documents can be easily verified by scanning a QR code.

Information and Q&A regarding the new app can be found at www.digital-citizen.gov.cy