Government unveils new ID card roadmap

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 7 Mar 2008 at 10:39

Foreigners living in the UK, students and staff at certain secure sites are among those who will be involved in a new ID card trial starting later this year.

From late this year foreign nationals from outside the EU will be required to sign up for an ID card and submit biometric data to a national database, announced the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, yesterday. Staff at high security sites such as airports will be required to do the same as of 2009.

Students will be asked to join the scheme in 2010, although this will still be voluntary. However, from 2011 all UK nationals applying for a passport will be required to submit biometric data, although it will still be possible to refuse an ID card until 2012.

"The Government's National Identity Scheme will give us all a new way to protect ourselves and our families against identity fraud, and to protect our communities against crime, illegal immigration and terrorism. And it will help us to prove our identity in the course of our daily lives - when travelling, for example, or opening a bank account, or applying for a new job, or accessing government services," writes Smith in a Home Office document.

A final decision on the winning bidder to implement the ID card scheme will be made in three months.