Malawi’s Minister of Homeland Security, Peter Mukhito, has announced that national identity cards will no longer carry expiry dates, accompanying the launch of the country’s Nzika Digital ID Wallet.
Mukhito made the announcement at the National Registration Bureau’s launch event in Lilongwe. The bureau reported that 22,000 people had registered for the wallet, which gives citizens a digital way to hold and present government-issued credentials alongside their physical documents.
National ID cards have historically followed a ten-year renewal cycle, with first cards issued for the remaining period until a holder reaches the next renewal age. The expiry change announced by the minister would alter that recurring card-renewal model.
The wallet launch follows the bureau’s preparation for nationwide mobile credential issuance. Onboarding links an existing national registration record to a wallet after the user supplies identity details and completes a camera-based liveness check.
The official Nzika Wallet app can receive verifiable credentials issued by the bureau and other government offices. Holders present documents by showing a QR code, with no internet connection required at the point of presentation. The credentials are stored on the user’s device and protected by a PIN, with optional fingerprint or face unlock.
The app also supports a photo-based liveness check when identity renewal or verification is required. That process is separate from routinely unlocking the wallet: liveness assesses whether the person completing a verification is physically present rather than simply submitting a photograph.
United Nations Resident Coordinator Rebecca Dontoh said the digital wallet could support identification in financial services, elections and government programs while complementing physical national ID cards. She urged the government to maintain access for people without reliable internet, smartphones or electricity.
Dontoh also called for straightforward ways to correct identity-record errors and strong safeguards for personal data. Continued physical-document access allows citizens who cannot use the app to retain an identification route as digital services expand.
The rollout builds on Malawi’s 2025–2030 civil-registration strategy, which calls for recording births, marriages and deaths and integrating new registrations into the national register. The bureau’s work supports the goal of legal identity for all, including birth registration, by 2030.
Sources: Nyasa Times, Google Play, Malawi National Registration Bureau
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
