Sending certified copy of ID for PR confirmation

I'm an EU national and I intend to apply for confirmation of PR. I will need to send my ID I guess and I currently have just my national identity card as valid form of ID to travel within Europe.

I was thinking of applying in December when it should have been 5 years of residence here, but I will need to travel back to my home country to visit my family in January or so, so will need ID.

Can I send a certified copy of my ID. I would go to a solicitor and do it, no problem. Just need to know if I can send that and keep the original. In any case I wouldn't really wanna send the original document because if it got lost it would be a big problem for me to get a replacement. Thanks.

Originals only as far as I am aware. However, you can always request your documents back once you have submitted your application.