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24 November 2008
Foreign nationals can begin applying for identity cards today.
Their facial image and fingerprints will be taken to securely lock them to one identity and to help businesses crack down on illegal working.
Later this week stringent new rules to bring in workers to the UK through Tiers 2 and 5 of the points system will also begin.
Under Tier 2, companies must pass the Resident Labour Market test by proving they cannot fill the post with a resident worker before they can bring in someone from outside the EEA.
ID cards for foreign nationals will help secure the UK’s borders by improving immigration control and reduce identity abuses. They will also enable those here legally to prove it and prevent those here illegally from benefiting from the privileges of life in the UK.
Over the next three weeks, enrolment identity card centres for foreign nationals will open in Cardiff, Glasgow, Northern Ireland, Sheffield, Solihull and Liverpool.
Will be mandatory for all foreign nationals
Identity cards will be mandatory for all foreign nationals and provide a simple secure means of proving a foreign national’s right to work to businesses. Companies will have to keep records of the migrants they have sponsored - including their contact details and a copy of their identity card.
Starting in Croydon, the first identity cards will be issued to people making applications to remain in the UK as a student or based on marriage.
All new foreign nationals and those extending their stay will have a card within three years. It is estimated that by the end of 2014/15 about 90 per cent of all foreign nationals will have been issued with one.
This Thursday, 27 November, Tiers 2 and 5 of the points system will go live. From this date employers who have registered with the UK Border Agency will be able to bring in migrant workers from outside European Economic Area (EEA) under the scheme.
Home Secretary’s statement
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, ‘The first identity cards for foreign nationals along with the launch of Tiers 2 and 5 of the points system demonstrate our commitment to preventing immigration abuse and protecting the prosperity of the UK.
‘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 UK
‘The Australian-style points system will ensure only those we need – and no more – can come here. It is also flexible, allowing us to raise or lower the bar according to the needs of business and taking population trends into account.’
Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s statement
Tom Hadley, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s director of external relations, said, ‘Recruitment professionals working in the frontline of the UK labour market play an increasingly pivotal role in checking the identity, background and status of individual job seekers.
‘We welcome the extensive communication programme which has accompanied the introduction of this card. We need to ensure that all those verifying ID are aware of the appearance of the new card.
‘Recruiters take their responsibility to validate an individual's right to work in the UK extremely seriously and support initiatives that enhance safe and ethical recruitment.
Statement from Association of Colleges
Julian Gravatt, Association of Colleges Director of Funding and Development, said, ‘Issuing ID cards to overseas students should assist in the reduction of identity fraud.
‘Colleges welcome any measure that facilitates the recruitment of genuine students to study in the UK and the economic benefits this brings.’
Statement from NCP Services
Tim Cowen, director of communications for NCP Services said, ‘This is good news for employers, and a credit to the work the UKBA has done to help make the hiring of migrant workers more streamlined for UK organisations.
‘Employers will, quite rightly, still need to make sure their systems for spotting forgeries are robust, but the biometric cards will cut down on fraud and make it easier for us to do this.
‘Crucially, it will also help those who genuinely have the right to work in the UK get employment quickly – since it will be easier to check their identity and get them working.’
Tiers 2 and 5
Tiers 2 and 5 will sweep aside around 30 different routes to the UK, including the old work permit system. Tier 2 of the points system will ensure that British jobseekers get the first shot at jobs and only those foreign workers we need will be able to come to the UK.
Tier 5 covers those travelling temporarily to the UK for primarily non-economic reasons, such as sportspeople, entertainers and charity workers.
To ensure entertainers continue to contribute to British cultural life, those coming to the UK for permit-free gigs or festivals - such as the Edinburgh Fringe - will be assessed outside of the points system, under visitor visa rules.
Protection against identity fraud
The national identity scheme will help protect against identity fraud, illegal working and immigration, crime and terrorism, and those trying to abuse positions of trust and make it easier for people to prove they are who they say they are.
The first ID cards are being issued to people making applications to remain in the UK as a student or based on marriage and will be followed by identity cards for British workers in sensitive roles and locations in 2009 and to young people in 2010.
Notes to editors
For any employer who breaks the rules and employs foreign nationals who have no right to work in the UK, the outcome is clear — huge fines are already being handed out by the UK Border Agency. This year's much tougher enforcement campaign has already issued over 1,000 fines worth around £9.7 million.
Tier 1 of the points system, for highly skilled migrants, was introduced in February this year and Tier 4, which covers students, will follow at the beginning of 2009. Tier 3, which covers low skilled routes, will only be used if specific shortages are identified that cannot be filled from the UK’s domestic or European labour force.
Employers will need to get a sponsor licence to enable them to bring migrant workers into the country from outside the European Economic Area. They will be checked out by the UK Border Agency (new window) and will sign up to certain duties.
This means that government will share the responsibility for migrant workers with those who benefit from them. Earlier this month the Home Office helped businesses to prepare for the changes by publishing detailed guidance on Tiers 2 and 5 (skilled workers and temporary workers respectively) of the system.
Had the points system been in place last year there would have been 12% fewer people coming into work through the equivalent work permit route.
To get in under Tier 2 skilled foreign workers must have:
- English language skills
- prospective earnings of more than £24,000, or slightly less if they have a decent qualification – or an offer of a job on the shortage list
- enough money to support themselves for the first month of their stay.
The UK Border Agency published Introducing compulsory identity cards for foreign nationals (new window) in March. For more information visit Identity Cards for Foreign Nationals (new window) on the UKBA website.
Visit the Home Office YouTube channel (new window) to see a short film explaining how identity cards for foreign nationals will work.
