Legislation and purpose
The Danish National ID Centre was established on 1 January 2018 as an independent centre with an expertise in identity and document control.
According to Danish legislation of 19 December 2017 on the establishment of NIDC, the centre must provide heighten the quality of and ressources for the control work done in the immigration field. Organizationally, NIDC is a part of the Danish Return Agency under the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.
NIDC can issue statements as well as advice and assist Danish authorities regarding questions about the identification and determination of identity of an alien.
NIDC provides the following services:
• Determine the authenticity of all types of documents through technical examinations.
• Conduct biometric evaluations through facial comparisons and fingerprint comparisons.
• Strengthen the competencies of immigration authorities in the area of ID control as well as identity determination through training courses in ID documents and facial comparison.
• Collect, process, and inform the relevant authorities about trends, experiences, and risk assessment concerning the misuse of identities.
• Provide assistance and training to Danish diplomatic representations in order to support their capacity in the area of control and security when ID documents are being presented.
• Assess and recommend to the minister whether other nationalities’ passport and other travel documents can be accepted as valid when entering Danish territory.
• Build, maintain, and develop NIDC’s ID database with country and document specific information as well as the centre’s specimen database with reference material on ID documents.
• Stay updated on the ID field on a strategic level and contribute to the cooperation across Danish immigration authorities.
• Station an ID attaché at a Danish diplomatic representation in order to strengthen ID control before aliens arrive in Denmark, to support the representation’s ID control, and to build an international network of ID experts through knowledge and experience concerning documents and misuse trends from the region to be shared with Danish immigration authorities.