Citizens over the age of 18 will be able to apply for a new national electronic identity card (eID) as of January 27, Deputy Research and Innovation Minister Nicodemos Damianou said on Tuesday.

The issuance of the first 100,000 eIDs will be subsidised by the government, with 30,000 of them given out for free and the remaining 70,000 available for €15.

EIDs can be used as means of authentication, identification and digital documentation. According to Damianou, the cards will furthermore provide holders with the ability to electronically sign documents with the same legal force as handwritten signatures.

He added that in the context of the eID implementation, digital citizens services would be expanded. This includes the digitalisation of documents and services which up until now were only available in paper form.

Damianou emphasised the difference between the eID and the digitised form of identity which had been introduced in December of last year. While the latter could be placed in the Digital Citizen application and used as a digital form of a person’s digital identity, whereas the eID concerns digital services only.

The government approved the broader introduction of the digital identity cards last year. However, as an EU member state Cyprus was bound to issue digital wallets by latest 2026.

The deputy ministry will implement the electronic identity cards in collaboration with financial service provider JCC Payment Systems Ltd.

JCC, of which Damianou had been the general manager for six years before taking office, will both issue and administer the eIDs.