Immigration (Biometric Registration) (Amendment) Regulations 2012

My Lords, on 25 November 2008, the UK Border Agency issued the first biometric residence permits, through regulations made under the previous Government’s UK Borders Act 2007, to foreign nationals granted further leave under student, marriage and partnership categories. Since then, the UK Border Agency has made significant progress by incrementally rolling out these highly secure immigration status documents, known in legislation as biometric immigration documents. Identity-swapping threatens the integrity of immigration control and helps abusers to make multiple fraudulent immigration applications, to work illegally, and to access public funds and services to which they are not entitled. By recording fingerprints and digital facial images, we can check a person against our existing immigration database records and the police fingerprint database before deciding whether to allow someone to stay in the UK. We can then establish a reliable link between the holder and the document by linking the biographical details they give us to their unique biometric identifiers. Further rollouts since 2008 have incorporated points-based system applicants extending their stay in the UK for more than six months and a number of other immigration categories, and more than 600,000 biometric residence permits have been issued to date. Approval of the Immigration (Biometric Registration) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 will mean the UK Border Agency can complete the in-country rollout of biometric residence permits to all foreign nationals from outside the European Economic Area given permission to stay here for more than six months. The planned date for rollout to new applicants in the new categories, which include those applying for settlement or indefinite leave and asylum or protection, is 29 February 2012. All non-EEA nationals will need to enrol their fingerprints and facial image if applying to stay here for more than six months from this date and they will be issued with a biometric residence permit if successful. The provision in the regulations for any migrant granted permission to stay for more than six months from 1 December 2012 to apply for a biometric residence permit if they have not done so already is intended to incorporate those who made an application to stay in the UK before a biometric requirement in their immigration category. This ensures that from this date the agency will only issue one format of document to non-EEA nationals permitted to stay here for more than six months. Rolling out secure biometric residence permits to more foreign nationals helps the UK Border Agency to upgrade and streamline the documents it issues. Volumes of biometric residence permits in circulation will be significantly boosted by this phase of the rollout, which in turn helps employers and others who are becoming increasingly familiar with them. Feedback from employers, businesses and other government departments supports this. The documents provide the opportunity for fast and simple checking and lend themselves to a one-stop check of immigration status, identity and right to work or access public benefits. As increased numbers of migrants will hold biometric residence permits, these regulations widen the circumstances when they must be presented, to include all immigration applications and also nationality or related applications. The regulations ensure that when presenting these biometric documents, foreign nationals may be compelled to provide their fingerprints for comparison against those in the document, and this is extended for employment purposes. We will trial technology to achieve this with a select number of external organisations during 2012. In addition to streamlining the immigration documents issued in the UK, biometric permits meet the standardised format of documents set out in European legislation that the UK opted into: Regulation EC 1030/2002, as amended by EC 380/2008, with which I am sure the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, will be very familiar. Aligning with other member states ensures we are not a weak link in Europe for immigration abuse. Rollout to overseas applicants coming to the United Kingdom for more than six months will require significant infrastructure and system changes, and we will return to Parliament with our plans, including policy proposals, for that final stage. This will be after the accreditation period for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to ensure that the integrity and robustness of business-critical systems are maintained. The infrastructure for enrolling biometrics and issuing permits is embedded, and successful applicants typically receive their permits within a few days. The agency is significantly expanding its biometric enrolment provision and, following a successful pilot with 17 Crown post offices and a full procurement exercise, the Post Office has been contracted to provide a network of more than 100 locations from spring this year for a walk-in service. The regulations introduce other, minor amendments that are necessary to reflect the new categories that are being incorporated. Finally, they also make it clear that where a person has made an application for recognition as a refugee or stateless person, or where they are in need of humanitarian protection, the sanctions imposed for non-compliance will be limited. This is to ensure that there is no conflict with the United Kingdom’s obligations under international conventions and domestic human rights legislation. We are satisfied that the biometric residence permit scheme complies with United Kingdom legislation on human rights and discrimination, provides legitimate migrants with convenient evidence of their immigration status and right to work, and facilitates access to services. Research with biometric residence permit holders has indicated that they find them effective and have confidence in them. That is what the regulations seek to achieve and I commend them to the Committee. I beg to move.