Dear Mr Tregenza

Thank you for your e-mail of 25 September in which you have requested information relating to the identity card for foreign nationals. This falls to be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I have listed your questions below for reference.

1) How many card holders a year will need new cards because of

changes in their immigration status, visa entitlements and benefit

entitlement?

2) How much will the card holder be charged for the new card? Or if

the card is provided freely, what will be the cost to the tax

payer?

3) How long, after a change in status, will it take for a new card

to be issued?

We are now in a position to offer a full reply.

1) Our roll out strategy for foreign national identity cards can be found on the UKBA website at http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/compulsoryidcards/

Within 3 years all those coming to the UK for more than 6 months on a visa or extending their stay in the UK will have a card. It is estimated that by the end of 2014/15 about 90% of all foreign nationals will be issued with an identity card.

Identity cards for foreign nationals will be issued in response to applications. We estimate that around 50,000 cards will be issued between November 2008 and April 2009. We expect in the region of 50,000-60,000 cards to be issued in the period to the end of March 2009. Over next the next two years this will be extended to other high risk categories and extend to those coming in to the UK on visas for more than six months. Within three years we expect to be issuing over 1 million ID cards a year to foreign nationals.

2) On January 30 we announced that the proposed fee for an application for a foreign national identity card made separately from an immigration application (e.g. for damaged or lost cards) for foreign nationals would be £30 for 2008/9 and in 2008/2009 there would be no additional charge for a foreign national identity card issued as part of an immigration application. The cost of making an immigration application to enter the UK varies from category to category. The costs of the scheme are recoverable through fees.

We review all fees for Nationality and Immigration application and services on an annual basis and we have not made any decisions about what the fee will be or how we will charge for ID cards from April 2009.

3) Applicants will receive their new card within 4 working days (via secure delivery) of the day they are notified that their application has been granted.

If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may request an independent internal review of our handling of your request by submitting your complaint, within two months, quoting reference 10324 to:

UK Border Agency,

Central Freedom of Information Team,

40 Wellesley Road

11th Floor, West Wing

Block 'C'

Whitgift Centre

Wellesley Road

Croydon

CR9 1AT

During the independent review the department's handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.

I hope that you find this information of interest, and would like to assure you that you have been supplied with all relevant information that the Home Office holds.

Yours sincerely

Policy Project Manager (Biometrics)

Identity Management Policy & Strategy

UK Border Agency

5 Floor East

Whitgift Centre C

15 Wellesley Road

Croydon

CR9 1AT