British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said plans for a new digital ID held on people's phones will be an "enormous opportunity" for the UK and make working illegally in the country tougher.
Digital ID, also being called 'Brit-Card', will become mandatory as a means of proving the right to work under the plans, but people will not be required to carry it or be asked to produce it.
It will be available to UK citizens and legal residents by the end of the current UK parliament in 2029.
Mr Starmer said that Digital ID was "an enormous opportunity for the UK" and will make UK borders more secure.
"I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country. A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering," Mr Starmer said.
The plans envisage ID cards being stored on devices in the same way contactless payment cards are.
It would, in time, also be used to provide access to other services like childcare, welfare and access to tax records.
"It will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly - rather than hunting around for an old utility bill," Mr Starmer said.
Polling shows immigration is top of voters' concerns in Britain, with Mr Starmer under intense pressure to stop migrants entering the country illegally by making crossings in small boats from France.
The plans, which the government had previously said it was considering, drew criticism from political opponents who say it would not deter migrants and could infringe on civil liberties.
Last night, Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill described the scheme "ludicrous" and "ill-thought out".
The Sinn Féin vice president said that the proposal was an attack on the Good Friday Agreement.
"The British Prime Minister's proposal for a mandatory digital ID card is ludicrous and ill-thought out.
"This proposal is an attack on the Good Friday Agreement and on the rights of Irish citizens in the North of Ireland," she said.
The proposal is to be subject to consultation and thought to require legislation.
Aontú has called on parties in the Stormont Assembly to reject the Digital ID and "defend civil liberties".
On X, the party said that British government was moving to "force Digital ID cards on every adult in the North of Ireland".
"It's laughable that those already breaking immigration law will suddenly comply, or that digital IDs will have any impact on illegal work, which thrives on cash-in-hand payments," said a spokesperson for Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK Party.
"All it will do is impinge further on the freedoms of law-abiding Brits."
Under the plans, anyone starting a new job or looking to rent a home in the UK would be required to show the card on a smartphone app.
It would then be checked against a central database of people entitled to live and work in the UK.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
