iPhone My Number Card enables online passport applications

After a few taps on an iPhone and a face-authentication check, an ITmedia reporter completed registration for the new “Myna App” in 1–2 minutes. Because the reporter had already set up a My Number Card on the iPhone, the physical card was never scanned. On August 25, Japan’s Digital Agency revamped Myna Portal’s online passport application process to support this method.

Until now, the Myna Portal app and Digital Authentication app had been offered separately. The new app combines both sets of features and is available on iOS and Android. For passport applications, users select the My Number Card added to their iPhone and verify their identity with the device’s face or fingerprint authentication, eliminating the need to enter a PIN or scan the physical card. The screen layout and basic operations remain similar to those of the former app after migration to the new one.

Identity verification is not the only change. Parents or legal guardians applying for a child’s passport can now select “Passport for a child or other person” and follow the instructions. Residents living abroad who updated their My Number Card after filing a notification of moving overseas can also apply through Myna Portal. The update adds options to enlarge or reduce portrait photos and signature images, save and resume data entered partway through an application, and answer questions to confirm the type of application.

In short, eligible users will have fewer occasions to find their card and hold it against a smartphone, as well as fewer occasions to enter a PIN. The changes should make it easier, in particular, for parents handling applications for children and people completing the process from overseas to follow the instructions on the application screen. The new app also shows a list of services authenticated or signed with a My Number Card, including Myna Portal and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s official app.

However, users must add their My Number Card to an iPhone in advance, and using the service requires updating to the new “Myna App” and completing registration. If users forget the PIN for the iPhone, they must use the physical My Number Card and their signing password to initialize and reset it. The Digital Authentication app is scheduled to be discontinued in the future, but compatibility with its authentication and signature APIs will be maintained. As a result, the Digital Agency says service providers will not need to modify systems that rely on the two apps.