Empowering vulnerable migrants to have agency over their ID

User-centric process which provides agency to a migrant person to update their ID credential when moving.

The UN SDG (16.9) recognises the importance of having a legal identity for all.

The unsaid assumption in this goal is that this identity is not only issued once but that it is also an ID that can be updated over time due to life events such as change in address as a result of migration or change in name perhaps after marriage, etc. Thus a convenient process providing agency to the user is required.

My idea revolves around helping a user update their address upon migrating to a new location.

Migration for better work opportunities is an increasingly common phenomenon, especially among the economically vulnerable. Such migration, when not updated in government systems, can result in people losing out on their social security benefits such as subsidised food, fuel, pension, etc.

Historically, updating one’s address has been a process wherein:

• A user needs have documentation to support presence at the new address.
• A user needs to submit such a credential at a physical location (government office).

The challenge with the above process is:

• Migration of the vulnerable rarely results in a house rent document. Thus the creation of the first document to acknowledge the migration remains an obstacle. A vulnerable person may be forced to pay bribes to create a first document with evidence of the new address.
• Physical submission of the first document with the new address at a government office may result in loss of day’s labour and travel expenses.

The alternate process being proposed attempts to address the above shortcomings by combining offline and online measures, as follows:

• Government ID agencies can accept a person’s address update request (with the new address details) electronically on an online public portal (thanks to the rapid penetration and high adoption of internet/IM) without the need to submit any document.
• Since most countries have a reliable government-run postal department, the ID agency can send a letter to the person requesting an address update to their new address. The postal-person delivering the letter can verify the presence of the said person at the new address and confirm the request. This last-mile verification can also be done in other ways: The postman can verify and then send the letter back to the ID agency for necessary action. Alternately, the letter can contain a verification code which the person must enter on the online public portal to confirm and complete the address update request. (This will also prevent fraudulent request attempts).
• The updated ID can then either be downloaded/printed by the user or sent by the ID agency directly to the person.

This process:

• enables independence to the user for creation of first document with new address.
• does away with the need to physically visit an office for updating address.
• can be suitably modified to accommodate similar needs for other updation requests.

Thank you,

Shrikant Karwa

This process leverages technology, moves agency from institution to the individual and starts from a position of trust in the person to inform about his ID credential changing and verification is only to prevent frauds. The change in trust-approach is a principle problem in interaction with government institutions across developing countries. 

Since the person is making the disclosure of his new address at his own volition, it contains the "privacy by design" from the very start.

The Digital ID system can build a public portal to initiate the request as well as accept verification code from the person on completing the transaction. 

The solution being proposed is for re-looking at an existing business process and giving the user the agency. The details in the executive summary.

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The solution can be built on various public interfaces -  eg Internet, USSD, IM or even on IVRS system. Thus covering the entire gamut of user capabilities from self-service to a assisted service. 

If the idea is selected, we can use the awareness and ID4D platform to take this idea to various countries to incorporate a version of the idea in their respective digital ID systems. 

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Its a good platform to take this idea to countries and positively benefit large number of migrant population. 

Awareness & freshly looking at a business process in light of new technology, treating a person from a position of trust & respect instead otherwise.