To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which biometrics will be used on the identity cards issued to foreign nationals from November 2008. (209973)

The identity card for issue to foreign nationals from November 2008 will contain the holder's facial image and up to two fingerprints, all of which will be encrypted within a tamper-proof chip embedded in the card. The holder's facial image will be shown on the face of the card.

In total, we will record 11 biometric identifiers (a facial image and all 10 fingerprints) from each applicant, and store them centrally.