www.electionin.org

Organisation : Elections & Boundaries Commission
Facility : Registration of Persons Eligible to Obtain National Identification Card
Country : Trinidad and Tobago

Registration of Persons : http://www.ebctt.com/identification-card/renewals-lost-and-change-of-nameaddress/
Home Page : http://www.ebctt.com/index.php

1. Registration Of Persons Eligible To Obtain A National Identification Card :
Note: All applicants for registration are cautioned that it is an offence to wilfully give incorrect information to a Registration Officer.

Related / Similar Service : ID Card Renewal Trinidad

To qualify for a National Identification Card you must be:
** A citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, fifteen (15) years and over
** A Commonwealth citizen, fifteen (15) years and over who has resided in Trinidad and Tobago for a period of at least one year
** A non- Commonwealth citizen, (15) years and over resident in Trinidad and Tobago for a continuous period of five years.

You will be required to produce the following documents :
For Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago (By Birth)
(i) An original Computer-generated Birth Certificate and copy (the Birth Certificate must be issued from the Registrar General’s Department).
(ii) Supporting Affidavit and copy (if name does not appear or correspond with that on the Birth Certificate).
(iii) A Marriage Certificate and copy (if a married woman).
(iv) A Deed Poll (if names being used differ from those on Birth Certificate).

For Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago :(By Descent or otherwise)
(i) Original Birth Certificate and copy.
(ii) Appropriate documentation from the Immigration Division, Ministry of National Security attesting to citizenship.
(iii) Items (ii), (iii) and (iv) above apply.

For Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth Citizens :
(i) The same as for Nationals in respect of (i) to (v) above, plus the appropriate documentation from the Immigration Division, attesting to residential status in Trinidad and Tobago.
(ii) Give only true and correct information to the registering officer as it is an offence punishable by law to give false information.

Eligibility to Vote :
(i) A person is qualified to be an elector for an electoral district at a Parliamentary, Regional Corporation, Tobago House of Assembly, City or Borough election if on the qualifying date he has resided in that electoral district for a period of at least two months preceding the qualifying date, and
** is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago of the age of eighteen years or upwards; or
** is a Commonwealth citizen of eighteen years and over who has resided in Trinidad and Tobago legally for a period of at least one year immediately preceding the qualifying date.

(ii) A non-Commonwealth citizen is qualified to be an elector for an electoral district at a City or Borough election if on the qualifying date
** has resided in Trinidad and Tobago for a continuous period of at least five years immediately preceding such date; and
** has resided for a period of at least two months immediately preceding that date in that electoral district; or
** has resided within ten miles of the City or Borough for a period of at least twelve months immediately preceding that date, and during the period has owned or occupied property in the City or Borough of an annual rateable value of not less than sixty dollars.

Entitlement to Vote :
Only persons eighteen (18) years and over are eligible to vote.
Election Rule No. 36 states:
“No person shall be entitled to vote at a polling station for any polling division unless his registration record appears in the Unit Register of Electors for that polling division, or his name appears on the Revised List of Electors for that polling division.”

YOUR IDENTIFICATION CARD :
It is expected that applicants for an Identification Card, moreso older persons, apply for this document when they are required to produce one in connection with some transaction in which they may be engaged. Such persons will, naturally, consider the matter urgent, and would expect to receive the card in the shortest possible time.

However, the procedure used in the processing of the application and the production of the I.D. Card is significantly different from that used in respect of some other national documents; eg. Driver’s Permit and Passport. While the issue of a Driver’s Permit is normally a same-day transaction and the Passport is reportedly issued within a specific number of working days following application, the issue of an Identification Card to a first-time applicant takes somewhat longer.

This is due, in part, to the fact that:
** All such applications are subjected to a field check intended to verify certain particulars supplied by the registrant.
** Every effort is made to establish the correct residential address, since this impacts the Polling Division into which the person is placed; a necessary pre-requisite for voting.
** This also has implications for the creation and maintenance of accurate related records.
** While application for an Identification Card is made at the respective Registration Area Office, production of the document takes place only at the Commission’s Central Electoral Office, located in Port-of-Spain, from where the finished product is despatched to the Area Office.

These procedures naturally add to the time-frame within which an Identification Card can be processed and delivered to an applicant. It should be noted, though, that unlike the issue of a first-instance I.D. Card, applications for replacement and renewal cards are processed much quicker.

Notwithstanding the above, the Commission wishes to advise that it is not unmindful of its responsibility towards the public to provide this very important national document in a timely manner; and gives the assurance that every effort continues to be made to ensure efficient service delivery.