New identification cards for country St. Maarten launched

~ More security features, available for any age~

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams on Wednesday launched the new Identification Cards (IDs) for Country St. Maarten in the presence of Department of Civil Registry (Census Office) staffers and clients.

The Prime Minister unveiled an enlarged mock copy of the card and was presented with a copy. She also registered for her new ID card.

The new cards are blue in colour and feature an image of the national bird - the brown pelican - in the background. Shortly after Monday's launch, members of the public were able to register for the new cards, which will be available a day after registration.

The new card has double the number of security features as the previous cards and will go through several layers of verification and quality control before being issued to the public, Census Office head Leona Marlin-Romeo told The Daily Herald shortly after the launch.

Marlin-Romeo said there had been cases in the past where persons had tampered with and manipulated the features of the previous cards. She said while there weren't many of these cases, the security features in the new cards are an improvement.

The new cards are also of international standards and are capable of being scanned and read electronically by 3M machines.

The creation of the new cards was a group effort by the Department of Civil Registry and the company that produced the cards. There were several options and the one unveiled was selected.

Unlike the previous cards, the new ID cards can be issued to persons from birth, Marlin-Romeo said. Previously, cards were only issued to children 12 years and older. The same application procedure applies to all applicants.

The application fee for a new card currently stands at US $20, but the tariffs for the new cards will be adjusted in the future.

Commending the Department on the launch, Wescot-Williams said the process to introduce the new cards took a while, but she said the legal basis needed to be in place to facilitate the introduction. Efforts, she said, were not only made to upgrade the security features on the new card, but to also include some of St. Maarten's national symbols on it. "I look forward to many persons getting and proudly displaying their new ID cards," Wescot-Williams said adding "it could not have come at a better time as we celebrate St. Maarten's Day week."

Marlin-Romeo said it was with great pride that the cards were being launched. "We have obtained our new country status and with that in mind it is important that we have an ID card that reflects that we have a new status instead of having a card that states Netherlands Antilles.

"We are busy building a new country and it is important to identify ourselves with a card that represents the country that we are from."

To facilitate the issuing of the new ID card, two options have been made available for the public. The first option is walk-ins. Individuals may visit the Civil Registry Office from Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00am.

The second option is by appointment, Mondays to Fridays from 11:00am to 3:00pm. Those wishing to make an appointment can call 542-2457. Wednesdays have been reserved for civil servants only for the months of November and December between the hours of 8:00am and 12:00noon.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/22340-new-identification-cards-for-country-st-maarten-launched-.html

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