Finally, after an official "call-up", a year of procrastination and several reminder letters, I went to make my new identity card on Saturday. It is an offence here if one does not re-register ourselves by the time we turn thirty-one, hence I had to do it since the deadline is fast approaching.
So I was at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority early Saturday morning. I always wonder why do I have to make my identity card at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, since mine is the little pink card (not the blue or green) indicating that I am a born and bred citizen, not any immigrant (legal or illegal) for that matter?
Anyway, perhaps it was early, the queue was not as long as I thought. I proceeded to take my photo (I really do look puffy!), then queued to make my new pink card. Hmmm.... my personal particulars remain the same, save for the religion part. They do not even have "Roman Catholic" in their system, so I had to be categorised under "Christianity". If things were different, perhaps I would have a change of name and status by this time already. Oh well ....
In any case, my Chinese characters are still included. I must really "thank" my mum for giving me such a Chinese name that not everyone has come across it, let alone know how to pronounce it! I had to write out all the different strokes for them bit by bit before they finally found it in their system!
After that, I had to go to another counter to wait for my instant pink card. My name was called and as I proceeded to the counter, they checked my thumbprint again, when just half an hour ago, I had to press both thumbs on the form in order to make the card!
One thing I do not understand is, why, when I have already pressed two thumbprints on the form and given clearance, I had to scan my thumbprints again before I could collect my new card, when my new card had my photo on it? Would my thumb prints be any different after a gap of just half an hour?! Or is it because it is a rule that they must do it, so they just follow suit, without questioning how ridiculous it is?
So anyway, I now have my new pink card, and my old one has been punched a hole, hence cannot be used anymore! The new card looks exactly the same as the old one, save for the photo, which, besides the puffiness, I do not look that different as compared to the old photo. Which makes me wonder, in that case, why is it a necessity to make it mandatory to change the identity card then, instead of changing when one gets married or moved house?
So I was at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority early Saturday morning. I always wonder why do I have to make my identity card at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, since mine is the little pink card (not the blue or green) indicating that I am a born and bred citizen, not any immigrant (legal or illegal) for that matter?
Anyway, perhaps it was early, the queue was not as long as I thought. I proceeded to take my photo (I really do look puffy!), then queued to make my new pink card. Hmmm.... my personal particulars remain the same, save for the religion part. They do not even have "Roman Catholic" in their system, so I had to be categorised under "Christianity". If things were different, perhaps I would have a change of name and status by this time already. Oh well ....
In any case, my Chinese characters are still included. I must really "thank" my mum for giving me such a Chinese name that not everyone has come across it, let alone know how to pronounce it! I had to write out all the different strokes for them bit by bit before they finally found it in their system!
After that, I had to go to another counter to wait for my instant pink card. My name was called and as I proceeded to the counter, they checked my thumbprint again, when just half an hour ago, I had to press both thumbs on the form in order to make the card!
One thing I do not understand is, why, when I have already pressed two thumbprints on the form and given clearance, I had to scan my thumbprints again before I could collect my new card, when my new card had my photo on it? Would my thumb prints be any different after a gap of just half an hour?! Or is it because it is a rule that they must do it, so they just follow suit, without questioning how ridiculous it is?
So anyway, I now have my new pink card, and my old one has been punched a hole, hence cannot be used anymore! The new card looks exactly the same as the old one, save for the photo, which, besides the puffiness, I do not look that different as compared to the old photo. Which makes me wonder, in that case, why is it a necessity to make it mandatory to change the identity card then, instead of changing when one gets married or moved house?
2 comments:
I find the notion of ID cards very strange. Even though I am immigrant to Canada and have a photo ID card (me when I was 10 years old!) I have never had to update it. I also have a citizenship certificate. The only time I ever haul them out (along with my British birth certificate) is when I need to get a passport, for my daily life, I don't need them.
In Canada, there are numerous photo ID Cards that are acceptable: driver's licence, health card, passport, but we don;t need them on a daily basis.
Spain, on the other hand, is differnt, you have to carry your ID card with you (I have a diplomatic one). When you use a credit or debit card in teh store, you have to show your ID (very different from Canada, where they almost never ask for picture ID). With the economic situation being bad here, police are stopping visible foreigners (Asian and Blacks) and asking for ID. IF they can't produce it, they end up spending the night in jail.
You are lucky in Canada. Here, photo ID is essential as every counter you go to they require it. We need identification check over every major transaction. Its security to the maximum. A big pain, but just have to live with it.
Post a Comment