Norway lacks control over one million ID numbers

Hans Christian HolteOslo 20120216. Hans Christian Holte .Photo: Anette Karlsen / NTB scanpix

There are around 1.3 million ID numbers for foreigners in the National Register over which Norwegian authorities have no control.

The so-called D-numbers are temporary social security numbers for expatriates, business people, asylum seekers or migrants who are not in Norway permanently.

Now  the  tax director Hans Christian Holte says to NRK that the flow of migrants and asylum seekers now make it urgent to gain control of the vast quantity of numbers.

–  I will describde the D numbers as the Achilles heel of the Norwegian identity management. There it is 1.5 million numbers out in circulation. But only just over 15 percent of those who are under the control  of this Tax Administration, he said.

The Tax Director would not say that all these numbers are necessarily identities authorities do not know who is, but he stressed that they do not have full  access to the information they need.

– It is certainly correct to say that there is an inadequate control of the large population of these D-numbers, the tax director  says to NRK.

Previously there have been several cases where the D number has been misused to create one or more false identities in Norway. Among other things, they have been used to obtain credit cards, passports, driving licenses and illegal residence.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today