U.K. government launches first ID cards

LONDON - The Home Office has started issuing the first biometric identity cards, to people from outside the European Economic Area.

The cards are being issued to students from outside the E.U., foreign employees and people holding visas as the marriage partner of a U.K. citizen.

But the ID card scheme has been significantly revised since its inception. Plans by the Home Office to make ID cards compulsory for all 200,000 airside workers at U.K. airports by 2009 drew strong opposition from pilots' union British Airline Pilots Association, which threatened legal action to prevent pilots from being forced to take the cards.

In early November, the government revised its plans, announcing an 18-month trial in two airports: Manchester and London City.

The cards will carry a facial image and fingerprints. The government says this will securely lock biometrics to one identity and help businesses crack down on illegal working.

But the cards are likely to be of limited use for full biometric ID checks as employers will not have scanners that can verify a worker's ID against the fingerprint and facial scans held on the card's chip. Instead, employers will rely on visual checks until scannners are rolled out.

Companies will have to keep records of the migrants they have sponsored - including their contact details and a copy of their identity card. Ministers want 90 per cent of foreigners in the U.K. to have cards with fingerprints and personal details by April 2015

Announcing the launch Tuesday, Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith said: "In time identity cards for foreign nationals will replace paper documents and give employers a safe and secure way of checking a migrant's right to work and study in the U.K."

The ID card scheme has faced strong criticism from opposition parties, unions and lobbyist that have called on the government to scrap the £4.7 billion plan.

On Tuesday Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "This hugely expensive scheme will have no impact on crime, terrorism, illegal immigration or illegal working as foreign nationals already have passports with visas. This intrusion on British liberty is completely unnecessary."

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Comments (1)

Mr

by Adrian Tawse 11/27/2008 12:00:00 AMThis is a completely useless exercise intended mainly to soften up the native population to the concept of ID cards. 'It will stop illegal working' - crap, any employer willing to employ someone without checking a visa will not be prevented from not checkng an ID card. In any case, unless you have a very stong non-eu accent all you have to say is 'I am a UK Citizen guv' and that's OK then. 'It will prevent foreign students coming to this country on false pretences studying at bogus institutions', bollocks, if you can get a visa you can get an ID card. The solution is to do more checking when issuing visas. This scheme just does not stand examination on so many fronts. It is an exercise in frog boiling. So, all potential employers will have to buy fingerprint scanners, I think not. Remember these will not be off-he-shelf items made in china and sold in Dixons, they will have to be Gov'nt Certified. Having won the gov contract at a very keen price any firm is going to be real keen to make a stonking profit from selling the devices.