The UK Border Agency is continuing to increase the number of identity cards issued to foreign nationals granted further permission to stay in the country. In time, card readers will be made available so that the cardholder’s biometric and biographical features can be checked against the card, although a timetable for their introduction has not been established. At present, cards may currently be verified using the card verification phone line and as the volume of cards in circulation increases other forms of verification will be introduced.
Identity cards issued to British citizens under the Identity Cards Act 2006 will be valid for travel in Europe and so will have the capability for facial image biometrics to be read at border control in the same way as biometric passports. Any wider introduction of readers would be linked to the incremental rollout of the National Identity Service as detailed in the National Identity Service Delivery Update 2009 published on 6 May 2009.