Definitely not in the UK.

We had them after WWII until sometime in the 50's when they were removed due to abuse by the authorities. Hence there is still a distrust of them. The scheme recently introduced and then scrapped could have had some interesting consequences.

This is part of why we have such "fun" with the free movement provisions, in that we do not have a population register. Nor a requirement to keep the authorities notified of where we live.

Hence unlike the other EU countries, we can not enforce the 90 day limit on EU folks being here without means to support themselves.

I think it was when the wartime id cards where up for renewal the civil service wanted it - but parliament thought it smacked to much of "Gestapo" as Churchill put it.

It was killed by a Motorist refusing to present an ID card to the police, and the resultant court case. That is what lead to Parliament being "forced" to scrap them.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3129302.stm

a bit more detail here:

http://www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/identit...

Interesting I did not know that

FYI, any non-British citizens living in the UK (excepting EU for now) are being forced towards getting Biometric Residence Permits with any visas/renewals... a plastic card containing photos/biometrics and a big ID number on it. And biometrics are collected every time you cross the border.

Yes, that has been going on for a little while now. It started with refugees having to have such, and is getting rolled out wider now.

It is rather a pointless exercise, since people can slip past the border, and once within the country there is no need to carry or produce ID. So as long as one avoids interactions with the authorities, one will not be tracked.

About all it will do is allow a count to be kept of the number of law abiding (non EEA & non Swiss) foreigners within the country.

If Brexit ever does occur, it may then also include the EEA countries and Switzerland (depending upon what reciprocal travel arrangements develop), but would not include the Irish.

In several EU countries you're required to carry id at all times. In the US Green Card holders are required to carry the card at all times.

> In several EU countries you're required to carry id at all times.

Any idea what the punishment is for not carrying?

As far as I know, the only countries where you are obliged to carry your ID are Portugal and the Netherlands. In Germany you are required to possess one but not to carry it with you, except in special cases (fields of work known for a high percantage of illegal workers, people carrying weapons, police men). If you do not posses a valid ID, you will be fined up to 3000€. But do note that you are required to identify yourself to the police or other official institutions and if you are unable to they might escort you home to present your id or to the police office to identify you there.

Bulgarian here. The punishment for not having an ID when a police officer requests it, is being jailed until someone with an ID can come and ID you.

In the Nordic countries, ID isn't mandatory, and apart from a few border crossings between Denmark and Sweden, there are no border controls either. Apart from the aforementioned border controls, citizens of other Nordic countries aren't required to carry a passport or a national ID card, but should carry some kind of identification on them.

In practice, that means you just carry your regular driver's license in your wallet when crossing the border.

I hear there's a similar setup in the Benelux countries, so ID is definitely not mandatory in the entire EU.

You are very much required to carry a national ID card (or passport) when travelling to other Nordic countries.

Now, there aren't any checks except for the border into Sweden from Denmark, but if there is a check you are not allowed to travel using an ID or driver's license. Driver's licences, ID cards issued by banks or tax offices are not valid for travel within schengen even though you are generally able to move between the countries anyway.

The misconception you present is the reason Swedes with driver's licences and normal ID cards got stranded in Denmark.

Misconception? The Nordic Passport Union is still quite valid. Quoted from Wikipedia:

"Within the Nordic area, any Nordic identity documentation (e.g. a driving license) is valid as proof of identity for Nordic citizens because of the Nordic Passport Union, while a national identity card or a passport is can be required in other Schengen countries"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_Passport_Union

In other words, you need to be able to identify yourself, but not necessarily with a national ID or a passport as you would when entering other parts of the Schengen area.

The border controls between Denmark and Sweden are a temporary suspension of those rules but it only concerns people crossing the border at those points -- not people who who are already in the country or people who cross the borders at other locations, like say, the Finnish/Swedish border.

Definitely not the case in the UK - in fact there was quite fuss made when there was a plan a few years back to introduce ID cards.

Mind you I suspect mostly people do carry 'official' identification documents on them most of the time (e.g. driving licenses) but there is no requirement to actually have these on you at all times.

My favorite song on the Pet Shop Boys' 2006 album Fundamental ("Integral") was a protest against Blair's Identity Cards Act

"if you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to fear / if you've something to hide, you shouldn't even be here"

Also people of a certain age (like me) who associate "Papers please" with WW2 movies.

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens: as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone."