UK Skilled Immigration

The United Kingdom made good on its promise to hand out ID mandatory biometric ID cards to foreign nationals. The change comes as part of the Government's efforts to show Britons that they are "tough" on immigration. From the horse's mouth:

From today foreign nationals will begin applying for identity cards containing their facial image and fingerprints to securely lock them to one identity and help businesses crack down on illegal working. Identity cards will be mandatory for foreign nationals.

Later this week stringent new rules to bring in workers to the UK through Tiers 2 and 5 of the points system will begin.

Identity cards will provide a simple secure means of proving a foreign national’s right to work to [sic] businesses, which as sponsors 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 and it is estimated that by the end of 2014/15 about 90 per cent of all foreign nationals will have been issued with one.

This Thursday, 27 November, Tiers 2 and 5 of the points system will go live. From this date employers who have registered with the UK Border Agency will be able to bring in migrant workers from outside Europe under the scheme.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Tier 5 covers those travelling temporarily to the UK for primarily non-economic reasons, such as sportspeople, entertainers and charity workers. To ensure entertainers continue to contribute to British cultural life, those coming to the UK for permit-free gigs or festivals - such as the Edinburgh Fringe - will be assessed outside of the points system under visitor visa rules.

The National Identity Scheme will help protect against identity fraud, illegal working and immigration, crime and terrorism, and those trying to abuse positions of trust and make it easier for people to prove they are who they say they are.

The first ID cards are being issued to people making applications to remain in the UK as a student or based on marriage and will be followed by identity cards for British workers in sensitive roles and locations in 2009 and to young people in 2010.