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Who needs an identity card for foreign nationals?

This page explains which categories of migrant need to apply for an identity card, and how they can do so.

Categories of migrant

When certain categories of migrant from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland apply for permission to extend their stay in the United Kingdom, they must also apply for an identity card for foreign nationals.

The card was introduced in November 2008, and in March 2009 we broadened the range of migrants who are required to have one. Our applicant category table, which you can download from the right side of this page, lists the categories of migrant who must apply for an identity card when they apply to extend their stay in the United Kingdom.

We are now accelerating the roll-out of identity cards. Subject to Parliamentary approval, from January 2010 we will require all sponsored skilled workers to obtain an identity card if they apply to extend their stay in this country under Tier 2 of the points-based system. And we propose that, from the end of 2010, highly skilled and temporary workers will need to apply for an identity card when they apply to extend their stay under Tier 1 or Tier 5 of the points-based system.

We will continue to put a sticker (vignette) in the passports of successful applicants who do not yet need to apply for an identity card as part of their immigration appication. The two systems will run alongside each other as we issue identity cards to more categories of migrant.

Under current plans, everyone who successfully applies to extend their stay in the United Kingdom, or who comes here for more than six months, will need to have an identity card for foreign nationals by April 2011. By 2015, we expect that 90 per cent of nationals from outside the EEA and Switzerland will have a card.

How can a migrant get a card?

Migrants who apply to extend their stay in the United Kingdom will be told whether they need to apply for an identity card as part of their immigration application. If so, they will need to enrol their biometrics (fingerprints and photograph) with us.

Applicants can enrol their biometrics at a range of biometric enrolment centres around the United Kingdom. They will need to book an appointment, and we have made this process more convenient by launching an online booking service alongside telephone booking.

Postal applicants living within certain postcodes will soon also be able to enrol their biometrics at 17 Crown post offices nationwide. This will be a walk-in service, with no need to book an appointment. Applicants will be informed that this service is available to them through the biometric enrolment notification letter as the participating post offices roll out.

Enrolling biometrics is a quick and clean process. We take a digital photograph of the applicant, and ask them to put their fingers on a glass screen for scanning - there is no ink or mess. The process takes less than five minutes. We are extremely aware of the need to protect the dignity, privacy and modesty of applicants, and there will be special arrangements for applicants where needed.

If their application is successful, the migrant should receive their identity card no more than 10 working days after the date of the letter extending their permission to stay.