Introduction

The Government is introducing a national identity scheme for the

UK population and for foreign nationals wishing to stay in the UK.

The Home Secretary made a speech on 8 March 2008 at the thinktank,

Demos, outlining how the scheme will be introduced over the

next few years. Students, and in particular international students,

will be some of the first to be affected by the scheme.

The stated intention of the scheme is, "to protect the integrity of

the information held, in the interests of both personal and national

security, thus reducing the risk of fraudulent activity; and… to offer

the convenience of being able to quickly prove who we are when

accessing services in the public or private sector."

Foreign nationals coming into the UK will be required to register, to

help ensure compliance with visa conditions.

Citizens and others with an ID card will have their name linked to

fingerprints, which will be held on the national identity database.

Biographic details will be held in a separate database from

fingerprints to reduce the potential for data to be compromised,

and will not be online for the same reason.

Whilst physical ID cards will be issued, applicants will be able to

choose to have theirs incorporated into a passport or, potentially, a

driving license instead. All passport data will in any case be put on

the national identity register from 2009.

SPB/08/01

Suggested distribution Welfare officers and staff, international student officers

Action

For information

NEC Contacts

Ama Uzowuru

ama.uzowuru@nus.org.uk

Staff Contact

David Malcolm

david.malcolm@nus.org.uk

Proposals to roll-out the scheme

The identity register is already being trialled, and from the autumn 2008, the process of

extending the scheme will begin. International students are one of the priorities for the

scheme as foreign nationals with student visas have been identified as one of the

highest risk categories for abuse of the immigration system.

All foreign nationals applying for student visas will be required to register from April

2009, which will also be the year that the first ID cards will be issued to UK nationals,

starting with workers in occupations with security considerations such as aviation.

Young people aged 16 to 19 will be offered them on a voluntary basis from early 2010.

It will be "up to each young person to decide" but the cards would help make it easier

to, "enrol on a course, apply for a student loan, open a bank account, or prove your

age."

For clarity, the inference given by the Home Secretary and in official documentation is

that it would not be necessary to have one in order to get a student loan but it would

however make it much easier, and that banks and similar institutions would be

encouraged banks to make ID cards central to their identity management processes.

The scheme will be opened to all later in 2010 or 2011. The Home Secretary inferred

that at some stage all benefits claimants will be required to provide fingerprints and a

photo when make a claim so these can be checked against the national identity register.

There will be no compulsion to have a card, or to carry or present one, and no

requirement to apply for a dedicated card, and this would require primary legislation to

change.

The cards will cost £30 when they are introduced.

NUS' Position

NUS opposes the introduction of ID cards and is extremely concerned that young people

and students will be the first to be targeted in the roll-out. We are also concerned that

whilst there will be no compulsion, young people choosing not to register their identity

will find it more difficult to apply for student finance and other services, and that the

process might discourage international students from studying here.

We will be speaking to Government on the issue and would encourage member students'

unions to feed in their concerns and comments, particularly in relation to international

students (as a formal consultation exercise is being undertaken - see below). Please

email Situma, International Students Officer regarding the international student perspective or

Further information

The full text of the Home Secretary's speech is available here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7281368.stm

Official information about the scheme is here:

www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news/id-card-plan

The consultation on the plans for foreign nationals, including overseas students, is here:

www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/idcards/

NO2ID, an opposition group, has a site here:

www.no2id.org.uk