Foreign nationals are now able to applying for UK identity cards. 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 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. Tier 5 covers those travelling temporarily to the UK for primarily non-economic reasons, such as sportspeople, entertainers and charity workers.

According to the Home Office, 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.

Identity cards will be mandatory for all foreign nationals. 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% of all foreign nationals will have been issued with one.
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.”

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.