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Analysis: The first ID cards | Analysis: The first ID cards |
(about 9 hours later) | |
By Dominic Casciani BBC News Home Affairs reporter Fingerprint scan: From screen to card | By Dominic Casciani BBC News Home Affairs reporter Fingerprint scan: From screen to card |
Almost 600 years ago, Henry V created the world's first passports. They were designed to help prove who you were if you travelled to a foreign land. | Almost 600 years ago, Henry V created the world's first passports. They were designed to help prove who you were if you travelled to a foreign land. |
Within weeks, people who have come from abroad will be the first people in modern Britain to be given ID cards. | Within weeks, people who have come from abroad will be the first people in modern Britain to be given ID cards. |
From late November the UK Border Agency will roll out the first part of the controversial identity card scheme which, Parliament permitting, will register everyone living in the UK. | From late November the UK Border Agency will roll out the first part of the controversial identity card scheme which, Parliament permitting, will register everyone living in the UK. |
At present, a legally-resident foreign national has a sticker or stamp in their passport. If they go for a job, a scrupulous employer can make checks to ensure they are not about to employ an illegal immigrant. | At present, a legally-resident foreign national has a sticker or stamp in their passport. If they go for a job, a scrupulous employer can make checks to ensure they are not about to employ an illegal immigrant. |
That's all changing. | That's all changing. |
The new cards, complete with fingerprints encoded on a chip, replace the passport stickers. | The new cards, complete with fingerprints encoded on a chip, replace the passport stickers. |
They will initially only apply to people who live in Britain as a student or through a marriage visa - a small proportion of the overall number of migrants. | They will initially only apply to people who live in Britain as a student or through a marriage visa - a small proportion of the overall number of migrants. |
ID CARDS TIMETABLE Nov: First foreign nationals2009: Airport workers 2010: Voluntary take-up2011: High volume roll-out2015: 90% foreign nationals covered2017: Full roll-out? | ID CARDS TIMETABLE Nov: First foreign nationals2009: Airport workers 2010: Voluntary take-up2011: High volume roll-out2015: 90% foreign nationals covered2017: Full roll-out? |
But eventually, any foreign national from outside the European Union over the age of six will be called to an immigration agency office and asked to put their hands on a scanner. | But eventually, any foreign national from outside the European Union over the age of six will be called to an immigration agency office and asked to put their hands on a scanner. |
The card, rather than the passport, will become proof of a holder's right to stay, work or study in the country. It will be a recognisable form of identification for opening a bank account or applying for benefits. | The card, rather than the passport, will become proof of a holder's right to stay, work or study in the country. It will be a recognisable form of identification for opening a bank account or applying for benefits. |
But are the cards really needed? | But are the cards really needed? |
The UK's immigration system is halfway through its own cultural revolution with ministers trying to win back public trust. | The UK's immigration system is halfway through its own cultural revolution with ministers trying to win back public trust. |
Government needs to convince people times have changed - and biometric, secure identity cards are part of that story. | Government needs to convince people times have changed - and biometric, secure identity cards are part of that story. |
Supporters of cards predict they will help to combat illegal working and enable public bodies, employers, colleges to work out precisely who they are dealing with. | Supporters of cards predict they will help to combat illegal working and enable public bodies, employers, colleges to work out precisely who they are dealing with. |
'Softening up' | 'Softening up' |
But according to critics, the second reason for the cards is more political. | But according to critics, the second reason for the cards is more political. |
Officially, the cards are not part of a National Identity Register - the grand machinery which underpins the whole idea of a universal card. | Officially, the cards are not part of a National Identity Register - the grand machinery which underpins the whole idea of a universal card. |
They are in fact a residence permit similar to other EU schemes. | They are in fact a residence permit similar to other EU schemes. |
BIOMETRICS Cards will hold fingerprintsImage of faceEye scans dropped How biometric technology works | BIOMETRICS Cards will hold fingerprintsImage of faceEye scans dropped How biometric technology works |
Home Office opponents accuse it of playing a very clever game with foreign national identity. | Home Office opponents accuse it of playing a very clever game with foreign national identity. |
The people selected for the first wave of cards will have no choice - it will be part of the process of a legal right to stay. | The people selected for the first wave of cards will have no choice - it will be part of the process of a legal right to stay. |
The next group to receive ID cards will be anyone (including Britons) working in "sensitive" jobs such as airports - and again the employees will need the document to go about their business. | The next group to receive ID cards will be anyone (including Britons) working in "sensitive" jobs such as airports - and again the employees will need the document to go about their business. |
The Home Secretary says these workers will benefit from a card that guarantees their identity - but conceded at the foreign ID card that airport staff already face more security checks than those required for the national scheme. | |
Opponents say this all smacks of a "softening up" exercise for the general population. | Opponents say this all smacks of a "softening up" exercise for the general population. |
They accuse the government of incrementally chipping away at opposition by slowly bringing everyone in to the register over a decade, without having to win a debate over its actual merits. | They accuse the government of incrementally chipping away at opposition by slowly bringing everyone in to the register over a decade, without having to win a debate over its actual merits. |
People with the least power to complain are being used as "guinea pigs" for an untried and controversial system. | People with the least power to complain are being used as "guinea pigs" for an untried and controversial system. |
No 'magic bullet' | No 'magic bullet' |
The Home Office says the foreign national card has many practical purposes. | The Home Office says the foreign national card has many practical purposes. |
It argues the card is a positive thing for the migrant - an easy way to assert one's identity and acceptance into British society. | It argues the card is a positive thing for the migrant - an easy way to assert one's identity and acceptance into British society. |
But there are also an awful lot of migrants living and working without permission in the UK. | But there are also an awful lot of migrants living and working without permission in the UK. |
Critics say the card is no magic bullet for people who are invisible - people who survive in the black economy working for people who don't care about doing things by the book. | Critics say the card is no magic bullet for people who are invisible - people who survive in the black economy working for people who don't care about doing things by the book. |
The Conservatives have raised no objections to collecting biometric identity data on foreign nationals. But they object fiercely to the idea of a national identity register because they believe it is neither workable nor needed. | The Conservatives have raised no objections to collecting biometric identity data on foreign nationals. But they object fiercely to the idea of a national identity register because they believe it is neither workable nor needed. |
So while the Home Office pushes ahead with the £4.7bn scheme, its survival may hinge on the outcome of the next general election. | So while the Home Office pushes ahead with the £4.7bn scheme, its survival may hinge on the outcome of the next general election. |
But here's another thought. | But here's another thought. |
Officials confidently predict that every new immigrant will be given a card within three years - and that nine out of 10 foreign nationals already in the UK (legally) will be in the scheme by 2015. | Officials confidently predict that every new immigrant will be given a card within three years - and that nine out of 10 foreign nationals already in the UK (legally) will be in the scheme by 2015. |
We've never had a reliable figure for how many people come and go each year - which means that public tension over migration is based on only half the picture. | We've never had a reliable figure for how many people come and go each year - which means that public tension over migration is based on only half the picture. |
All those biometric records beeping away at airports may soon help to answer those questions once and for all. | All those biometric records beeping away at airports may soon help to answer those questions once and for all. |
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