Passports & immigration

ID cards

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.

Who’ll be eligible for an ID card?

You will be eligible for an ID card if you are:

• UK resident for three months or more
• over the age of 16

When will ID cards be introduced?

Our 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.

We began introducing biometric residence permits for foreign nationals in 2008, and we expect the first ID cards to be issued to British citizens in 2009.