Biometric residence permits

[Terpe]

Biometric residence permits – online checks to simplify the process for employers

06 December 2011

It will soon be much easier for employers to carry out checks to let them know whether foreign nationals have the right to work in the UK, Immigration Minister Damian Green announced today.

From spring 2012, firms will be able to go online to verify that the details contained on a foreign employee's biometric residence permit (BRP) are correct.

Damian Green said:

'It is vital that we work with employers to give them the tools they need to meet their obligations.

'Our new online checking service will also turn up the pressure on those who wish to live and work here illegally. The message is clear - the UK is no longer a soft touch for illegal workers.'

It was also announced that from 29 February 2012 BRPs will be issued to more categories of foreign nationals, including refugees and those granted permission to settle in the UK.

BRPs, which hold a person's fingerprints and photograph on a secure chip, are issued to non-EEA nationals with permission to remain in the UK for more than 6 months. They are an important step forward in the fight against immigration abuse and illegal working.

BRPs are simplifying the process of checking an individual's right to work by replacing the wide range of documents currently in use. The new online checking service for employers will enable quick and easy real-time checks on permits and their holder's identity and right to work in the UK.

Around 600,000 BRPs have been issued since November 2008. From next year they will cover all those applying from inside the UK to remain here for more than 6 months.

To meet increased demand and provide foreign nationals with more locations around the UK where fingerprints and photographs can be taken, the immigration minister has today announced that a contract for the collection of this information has been awarded to the Post Office Ltd.

The contract will run for 4 years and Post Office Ltd will offer a network of around 100 locations from spring 2012.


Source:-
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...-online-checks

[Bluebirdjones]

Perhaps I've missed something here, but when you apply for the ILR, you have to send your biometrics ID card (issued to you as part of the FLR process) back to the UKBA.

.... and then you get a stamp in your passport saying "Indefinite Leave to Remain", but you don't get the biometrics card back.

This article seems to imply that if your wife has been granted ILR, but has not proceeded down the British Citizenship route, then in March 2012 she'll get a new biometrics ID card as one of "those granted permission to settle in the UK".

Am I reading this correctly ??

[Terpe]

Personally I don't see it as being implicit in that sense.
Let's see.