The implementation of the identity card legislation is now moving forward, with the unveiling of the first identity card on 25 September 2008.

The Home Secretary stated that:

'from November 2008 we shall start to issue the first identity cards in the form of biometric immigration documents to foreign (non European Economic Area) nationals.'

Initial Schedule:

The UK Border Agency has stated that from 27 November 2008 they will start issuing identity cards to non-EEA or Swiss nationals, who are given permission to extend their stay in the United Kingdom, in the following categories:

  • students (and their dependants); and
  • husbands, wives, civil partners, or unmarried or same-sex partners of permanent residents, (and the applicant's dependants).

This system will run alongside the existing scheme of endorsing migrant's passports with a vignette detailing the visa expiry. The old system will be gradually phased out as the identity card scheme is introduced.

Rationale behind the Schedule:

The government's strategy is to maximise the efficiency of the ID card system, in order to reduce the risk of illegal migrants entering the UK. This is to be achieved by 'targeting the most abuse prone categories first.' The above two categories have been identified as the highest risk.

Further to this, a March 2008 Home Office Paper entitled Intoducing Compulsory ID Cards for Foreign Nationals stated that the initial categories targetted would be: students;

  • discretionary leave;
  • marriage, civil and common law partnerships;
  • children of parents already settled in the UK; and
  • work permits / Tier 2 sponsored migrants.

The last entry, the work permit / Tier 2 category, will be of particular interest to Human Resource Departments. This is where the majority of mainstream corporate immigration work is focused.

The Next Steps:

Proposals suggest that from April 2009, ID cards will be rolled out other 'high risk' categories. This will include persons transferring their existing leave conditions and persons granted discretionary leave.

The rollout to Work Permit holders/Tier 2 Sponsored Migrants is currently expected to commence in April 2010.

The overall target is for 10% of migrants in the UK to have ID cards by the end of 2009/10. This percentage figure is due to increase incrementally over the first half of the next decade. Projections are for 90% of migrants to be covered by the end of 2013/14.

The Implications for Businesses:

The government is implementing a well publicised overhaul of its immigration legislation. The previous system is being replaced with a 5-Tier, Points-Based approach.

The current work permit regime will be encompassed in the new Tier 2. The onus has now shifted to the employer of migrant workers; employers and businesses wanting to recruit migrants must apply for a sponsor licence and keep stringent records of their migrant population and recruitment processes on file.

There will eventually be a requirement for employers to keep a certified copy of the migrants ID card. Non-compliance with this stipulation will be detrimental to an employer's ability to bring migrants into the UK in the future. Any business found to be employing illegal migrants may be fined up to £10,000 per illegal worker.

Further Information:

The UK Border Agency has published information on 'Identity cards for foregin nationals' and 'Identity cards for foreign nationals - latest news'.

The strategy paper Introducing Compulsory ID Cards for Foreign Nationals.

This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq

Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.

The original publication date for this article was 27/10/2008.