Haiti: Information appearing on the national identification card (carte d'identification nationale, CIN) and the position and meaning of this information, including the meaning of the digits in the national identification number; cases in which the marital status appears on the card

1. Description of the CIN

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Director General of the National Identification Office (Office national d'identification - ONI), the institution responsible for issuing CINs in Haiti (Haiti n.d.), stated that the Decree of 1 June 2005 on the National Identification Card (Décret du 1er juin 2005 relatif à la carte d'identification nationale) attached to this Response (Attachment 1), is still in effect (ibid. 13 May 2015). However, he stated that a modification had been brought to the decree with respect to the validity period of certain cards (ibid.). According to Article 2 of the Decree Amending the 1 June 2005 Decree on the National Identification Card (Décret portant amendement du Décret du 1er juin 2005 relatif à la carte d'identification nationale), published on 2 March 2015 in the official journal of the Republic of Haiti, Le Moniteur, and attached to this Response (Attachment 2),

Article 29.1 has been added. It reads as follows:

Article 29.1 - The validity period of National Identification Cards (CIN) issued in 2005, 2006 and 2007 has been extended to 31 December 2017. (ibid. 2015, Art. 2).

A CIN sample sent to the Research Directorate by the ONI Director General is attached to this Response (Attachment 3).

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Director of the ONI office at Fort-Liberté [county town of the North East department] stated that the following information was on the front of the CIN: 17-number code; bearer's surname and given name; date of birth (day/month/year); [translation] "issuing date" of the card; "large photograph" on the left; bearer's signature under that photograph; miniature photograph at the bottom on the right (ibid. 8 May 2015). Moreover, according to that same source, the following features appear on the back of the CIN: date of expiration; place of issuance; bar codes (ibid.). The ONI Director in Fort-Liberté added that a sticker displaying the bearer's [translation] "voting centre" was affixed to the CIN (ibid.).

2. Marital Status

The ONI Director General states that the bearer's marital status does not appear on the CIN, only their gender (ibid. 13 May 2015). According to that same source, the marital status is however [translation] "available in the database, along with other biographical information [not appearing] on the card" (ibid.). The registration of marital status in the database and its absence on the CIN was corroborated by the Director of the ONI office at Fort-Liberté (ibid. 8 May 2015).

3. National Identification Number

The ONI Director General stated that two series of national identification numbers are currently in circulation-the 17-digit "first generation" and the 14-digit "second generation" (ibid. 13 May 2015). CINs with a "second generation" national identification number began being issued in December 2014 (ibid.).

The ONI Director at Fort-Liberté gave the following explanation of the significance of the digits making up the 17-digit national identification number: the first two digits refer to the issuing department; the next two digits refer to the commune of birth; the third two digits refer to "Haiti" or "foreign"; the next four digits refer to the year of birth; the next two digits refer to the month of birth; and the next five digits represent [translation] "a number allotted to the card bearer" (ibid. 8 May 2015).

A document sent to the Research Directorate by the ONI Director General explaining the structure of the 14-digit national identification number is attached to this Response (Attachment 4).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Haiti. 13 May 2015. Office national d'identification (ONI). Correspondence from the Director General to the Research Directorate.

_____ . 8 May 2015. Office national d'identification (ONI), Fort-Liberté. Telephone interview with the Director.

_____. 2015. Décret portant amendement du Décret du 1er juin 2005 relatif à la carte d'identification nationale. [Accessed 25 May 2015]

_____. N.d. Office national d'identification (ONI). "Contexte." [Accessed 25 May 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following individuals and organizations within the time constraints of this Response were unsuccessful: law office in Port-au-Prince; Groupe d'appui aux rapatriés et aux réfugiés; Haiti - Consulates General in Miami and Montreal; International Organization for Migration - Haiti office.

Internet sites, including: AlterPresse; ecoi.net; Factiva; Haiti - Primature; Haïti en marche; Haïti inter presse; HaïtiLibre; Haiti Press Network; Keesing Reference Systems; Migrants outre-mer; Le Nouvelliste; United Nations - United Nations Development Programme, Refworld; United States - Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Attachments

1. Haiti. 2005. Décret du 1er juin 2005 relatif à la carte d'identification nationale. [Accessed 20 May 2015]

2. Haiti. 2015. Décret portant amendement du Décret du 1er juin 2005 relatif à la carte d'identification nationale. [Accessed 25 May 2015]

3. Haiti. 3 August 2005. Office national d'identification (ONI). "Carte d'identification nationale." Sample sent to the Research Directorate by the Director General, 13 May 2015.

4. Haiti. N.d. Office national d'identification (ONI). "Nouveau NIN de l'ONI." Sent to the Research Directorate by the Director General, 13 May 2015.