Identity Cards Programme
From SR
Purpose
The ID Cards Programme is the cornerstone of The National Identity Scheme, an easy-to-use and extremely secure system of personal identification for adults living in the UK. ID cards will provide legal UK residents, including foreign nationals, with an easy and secure way of proving who they are.
ID cards will be linked to their owners by unique biometric identifiers (for example, fingerprints), which mean we will have a much stronger way of protecting people's identities. Background checks will ensure that claimed identities are real and not stolen, and will prevent criminals using multiple identities.
The exact format of an ID card isn’t yet decided but it’s likely that it will be a credit card-sized plastic card featuring the holder’s photograph and a computer chip storing basic personal information.
You will be eligible for an ID card if you are:
- UK resident for three months or more
- over the age of 16
Background
The decision to introduce a National Identity Scheme was announced in the Queen's Speech on 17 May 2005. The Identity Cards Act received royal assent, becoming law, on 30 March 2006.
It will take several years for the scheme to come fully into operation and for all eligible citizens to be enrolled. Biometric identification for foreign nationals will be introduced in 2008 and it is expected that the first ID cards to be issued to British citizens in 2009. In the early stages of the scheme you will be issued with an ID card if you apply for a first adult passport or renew an existing passport. Later stand-alone ID cards will be issued for people who do not want a passport.
The National Identity Scheme will eventually become compulsory. This means that all UK residents over 16 will need to have an ID card. However, you will not need to carry your ID card with you.
