26th November, 2008

This week, the BBC reported the UK Government’s controversial ID card scheme is now live. The first people to receive the cards will be non-EU students and husbands, wives or partners of permanent residents who apply to extend their stay. Officials say these two categories are those who are most likely of abusing immigration rules. The cards will include the individual's name and picture, their nationality, immigration status and two fingerprints.

However, the new scheme has faced tough opposition with shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve who branded the ID cards “a gimmick with a price”. He has also been quoted saying the cards “won’t stop illegal immigration or terrorism but will land the tax payer with a multi-billion pound bill.”

It seems this may not be entirely true. Although the scheme is costly, extra charges will be incorporated in the already expensive visa application process meaning the scheme will actually be financed by foreigners not the taxpayer.

In addition to this, there are some very obvious benefits to employers. The new points based system places the responsibility of ensuring migrants are entitled to work on employers and hefty fines are imposed on those who employ illegal workers. The new ID cards will make it much easier as well as time and cost-efficient for employers to check work entitlement, as they clearly show the individual’s immigration status.

The week has also seen immigration minister, Phil Woolas resort to calling mayor of London, Borris Johnson, 'a nincompoop' over his decision to commission a study into the impact of an amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Mr Woolas may want to reconsider; Mr Johnson is proposing nothing more than a study into the impact of an amnesty. Such a study actually might have been a good idea before the current launch of the Tier 2 system for which many UK employers were not prepared.