Fingerprint visas go global ahead of schedule

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Visa applicants looking to come to the UK from 133 countries will now have their fingerprints checked against local databases, as a new biometric database system is finished rolling out, the Home Office has announced.

The fingerprint check system was completed three months ahead of schedule and millions of pounds under budget, the Home Office added.

The biometric system checks fingerprints and other identifying information from potential visitors from 133 countries covering 75 per cent of the global population against UK databases. So far, it has helped discover almost 500 cases of identity swapping, the Home Office said - cases where an individual fails on a first application, and submits another under a different name.

Last year, UKVisas said it was checking fingerprints at a rate of two per minute.

In a speech to the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), the Home Office immigration minister Liam Byrne praised officials, saying the agency had exceeded by 200 a government target to deport more than 4,000 foreign national prisoners by the end of last year.

Byrne said: "The public wants stronger borders. They want us to shut down the causes of illegal immigration and hold newcomers to account, deporting rule breakers where necessary. They also want a compassionate system, which makes and enforces decisions fast when we have obligations to honour - and lets those we need contribute to Britain as long as they speak English, pay tax and obey the law."

He set several new milestones for the agency, including issuing identity cards to foreign nationals - anyone from another country living in the UK - within the next year.

A report by the Home Office released in November showed the biometric passport and identity card scheme would cost £5.5 billion for UK residents, plus an extra £200 million to include foreign nationals.

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