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Border security strengthened by fingerprint technology

HOME OFFICE News Release (133/2007) issued by The Government News Network on 8 August 2007

Over half a million sets of fingerprints - equivalent to a set checked every 30 seconds 24 hours a day - have been taken from visa applicants since the roll-out programme began last year, it was announced today as UKvisas published its annual report.

Compulsory fingerprinting is now part of the UK visa application process in just under half of the countries of the world. Through the introduction of this measure, designed to strengthen border control, over 6,000 sets of prints have been quickly and successfully matched to individuals who are of concern.

Fingerprints are taken as part of the visa application process and are then checked against UK Government records to identify if the individual is already known to the UK immigration authorities. Once in the UK the authorities can use the same data to check if someone is eligible to work, or to help reissue travel documents if they are lost or destroyed.

Home Office Minister Liam Byrne said:

"New fingerprint visas are fast becoming our first line of defense against illegal immigration. By collecting fingerprint information on foreign nationals coming to the UK in advance of their journey, we are building a new overseas border control which is flushing out the false visa applicants"

Foreign & Commonwealth Office Minister Dr Kim Howells said:
"Recording biometric information allows us to fix an individual's identity at the earliest point practicable and track their future dealings with the UK. In the past year, we have started to introduce biometric data collection technology to the visa application process. This is a key part of our objective of strengthening our borders."

There is international interest in the use of biometrics such as fingerprints for a range of purposes including border control. UKvisas is collaborating with a number of European countries in pilots on joint biometric capture. UKvisas biometric implementation is well advanced in comparison with other countries and at the present time probably second only to the USA.

Notes to Editor:
1. By April 2008 UKvisas will have completed the global roll-out of biometric data collection technology to all of our overseas missions in 135 countries and to 111 visa application centres in 53 countries. The roll-out programme, which began in September 2006, will cover around three quarters of the world's population once finished. This means collecting biometric data (ten fingerscans and a digital photograph) from all visa applicants, irrespective of nationality, wherever in the world they apply.

2. Fixing a person's identity through biometrics helps to:

- prevent unlawful travel to the UK;
- reduce abuse of the UK's immigration and asylum systems;
- combat visa fraud;
- reduce unfounded asylum claims;
- improve the smooth running of the visa service; and
- protect an individual's identity.

3. A copy of the annual report will be available from 9.30am on Wednesday 8 August at http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

4. Top statistics on biometrics:

* Biometric data collected from all visa applicants in 93 countries
* Over 1/2 million sets of prints had been collected as at 9 July 2007
* Over 6,000 of these prints had matched prints held in the UK
* Now collecting at a rate of 100,000 prints per month

5. Three case studies of recent UKvisas successes

Sudan: A Sudanese businessman applied for a visa to come to the UK. He had a history of world travel outside the EEA, sufficient funds and a new wife. He claimed he wanted to go to the UK for shopping and tourism. He seemed to be well established outside the UK and likely to be issued with a visa. He declared that he had not travelled to the UK before or ever been deported.
A biometric check showed a failed asylum claim in 2004 in a different identity. The visa application was refused.

Albania: An Albanian applicant applied for a visit visa to the UK, claiming never to have been to the UK before. Biometrics revealed that he had previously claimed asylum in the UK under a different identity, date of birth and nationality. The visa application was refused.

Amsterdam: An applicant who was refused a visa in Amsterdam later claimed asylum in the UK. The routine biometric check for asylum applicants produced a match against the data collected in Amsterdam. The applicant had sought to claim asylum under a different identity (supported by a travel document) from the one used as a resident in the Netherlands. The applicant was arrested in the UK, prosecuted for deception, and sentenced to eight months imprisonment and deportation on completion of sentence.