Technically, you don't have to renew your documentation until it expires, though, so it *is* possible that the information is only on file for people who have had to get new ID cards issued for whatever reason.
There is that: any time there's an update to an ID policy, there's always a lag. Although people can fall through the cracks in other ways, like in a Taiwanese drama I watched, where the usual assumption is that (due to mandatory military service), of course the guy would be on file... but he's not, because (as a former homeless person), he was never tracked down and forced to do his military service. So, no records at all on file for him, because he never got entered in the 'expected' manner.
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Date: 7 Feb 2011 06:33 pm (UTC)There is that: any time there's an update to an ID policy, there's always a lag. Although people can fall through the cracks in other ways, like in a Taiwanese drama I watched, where the usual assumption is that (due to mandatory military service), of course the guy would be on file... but he's not, because (as a former homeless person), he was never tracked down and forced to do his military service. So, no records at all on file for him, because he never got entered in the 'expected' manner.
(also, thanks for the links! nomnomnom.)