Passports & immigration
Identity cards
Identity cards will provide an easy and secure way for legal UK residents to prove who they are.
Identity cards are the cornerstone of our national identity scheme, which calls for an easy to use and extremely secure system of personal identification for UK residents.
Each identity card will be unique, and will combine the cardholder’s biometric data with their checked and confirmed identity details - a ‘biographical footprint’. These identity details and the biometrics will be stored on the national identity register. Basic identity information will also be held in a chip on the identity card itself.
The cards will be linked to their owners by unique biometric information (for example, fingerprints). This is needed to ensure that your card is really yours, and to protect you from identity theft.
Background
Our decision to introduce a national identity scheme was announced in the Queen's Speech on in May 2005. The Identity Cards Act (new window) received royal assent, becoming law, on 30 March 2006.
Availability
The first identity cards were introduced for foreign nationals living in Britain in November 2008. Citizens living in Greater Manchester will be able to apply for an card on a voluntary basis later in 2009, and they will become available to the wider population in the North West by early 2010. We will make the cards available to the full population from 2012.
More detailed information about ID cards
To find out more detailed information about identity cards, what they will mean for you and how to register your interest, visit the identity card section on Directgov (new window).
