UK visa holders and citizens can start to apply for ID cards
May 07 2009 by Liam Clifford
ID cards will hold biometric data
The Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has announced that citizens and UK visa holders living in Manchester are the first to be given the chance to obtain a national ID card as part of a the roll-out of the scheme.
Manchester is to act as a pilot for the ID card scheme and 75,000 cards are expected to be issued in November 2009.
The option to apply for a ID card may be especially attractive for people who have moved to the UK from abroad as the ID card will show that the immigrants has the right to live, study or work in the UK.
Manchester Airport will be opening a checking station to read ID cards which will help UK visa holders and UK citizens, who hold ID cards, to move in and out of the country and will prevent unregistered people from entering.
Jacqui Smith says ID cards will be beneficial to the UK population as a whole, "ID cards will deliver real benefits to everyone, including increased protection against criminals, illegal immigrants and terrorists."
The Home Office plans to roll out the card scheme, with young UK visa holders and citizens living anywhere in the UK able to apply from 2010 and the general population able to apply from 2012.
See the latest Immigration News
