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Biometric data collection for visa applicants
The British Government's five-year Strategy for Asylum and Immigration entitled
'Controlling our borders: making migration work for Britain' published on 7
February 2005 announced that UKvisas will be collecting biometrics data from
all visa applicants, irrespective of nationality. In the forward to the
strategy the Prime Minister wrote:
We will fingerprint visitors who need visas, and those planning longer stay,
before they arrive.
By the end of 2007 all applicants, will be required to supply 10 digit
fingerscans and a digital photograph when applying for a UK visa.
Why?
We live in a constantly changing world. More travelers, greater mobility, new
security threats and new technologies mean we must find new ways of working
which keep us all secure but which also benefit customers.
Identity theft is a major and growing problem globally. It helps terrorism and
organized crime, and undermines national economies. To protect the integrity of
the visa system and to protect our customers, we want to ask every visa
applicant around the world to enroll their fingerprints digitally, and to have
a digital photograph taken, when they make a visa application.
We are not alone in doing this. Biometrics are becoming the industry standard
for identity management. Very soon, we will be able to withdraw money from our
bank accounts using fingerscans or iris scans. Increasingly, all passports will
have a unique biometric identifier, whether this is fingerscans or an iris scan
or a digital photograph. All EU countries are introducing fingerscan biometrics
into their visas.
Biometrics is the next natural step in a progression of identifiers from
signatures to photographs.
What does it mean for visa applicants?
The immediate impact is that, whereas applicants were previously able to apply
for a visa by post or through a travel agent without having to come to the Visa
Application Centre, we will be asking them to come in person to the nearest
Visa Application Centre to enroll their biometric.
It will be simple and quick
Enrolment will simply mean presenting fingers on a glass screen, plus having a
digital photograph taken; no ink, no mess; it will take no more than three
minutes.
It will be discreet
We are extremely aware of the need to protect the dignity, privacy and modesty
of our applicants; there will be special arrangements for customers to ensure
that the finger-scanning and photographs are taken discreetly.
It will not delay your visa application
Biometric enrolment will not slow down visa applications; it will add about
three minutes to the length of processing time. There will be no additional
delay in the processing of visa applications by the British High Commission.
What will you do with the information?
The biometric data will be stored on a central government database in the UK
and checked against UK government records. It will be handled in accordance
with the UK's strict data protection laws.
What are the benefits to visa applicants?
It helps protect applicants and their family from identity theft.
It helps keep visa applicants and their family safe from crime and terrorism
through ensuring that we can make travelling to, and being in the UK more
secure;
Visa applicants won't be accidentally mistaken for another person with the same
or similar name.
In the longer term, applicants' biometric data will be used to facilitate fast
passage through automatic gates of entry at UK ports and airports.
Where are we doing it?
UKvisas has been collecting biometric data (2-fingerscans) from visa applicants
in certain countries since 2003. In Nepal, we have been collecting biometric
data (10-fingerscan and a digital photograph) since April 2007. It will be
introduced worldwide gradually with the system going live in a country as soon
as it is installed rather than have one global start date.
Biometric data is currently collected from all visa applicants (irrespective of
nationality) when they apply for a UK visa.
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