Home secretary Jacqui Smith with a sample identity card

London, Nov. 25: Indian students already in the UK but wanting to extend their stay either to further their studies or to have work experience will have to apply for a new home office identity card as of today.

An Indian already in the country but wishing to stay on to marry a British national will also have to apply for an identity card.

Shami Chakrabarti, the director of the human rights campaign group Liberty, said: “Picking on foreigners first in order to soften up the public is the most unpleasant type of politics. ID cards do as little credit to the government’s commitment to privacy and race equality as they do to the national bank balance.”

Each card will store biometric information such as fingerprints and an electronic impression of the holder’s face. The name, date of birth, nationality and details of an individual’s right to work or study and stay in the country will be printed on the face of the card.

Although this is not entirely clear, Indian students and others coming to the UK for more than six months in the future will probably have the cards issued by the high commission offices in India, a home office spokesperson said.

“The cost of the card, about £30, will be included in the cost of the visa,” he added.

The scheme will be “rolled out” over the next few years so that by 2014 all foreigners, including Indian nationals who have been settled in the UK for 50 years, will have to possess a card, the home office said.

Applicants will have their fingerprints and photographs taken at six ID card centres in Croydon in south London, Sheffield, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham and Cardiff.

Companies will have to keep records of the migrants they have sponsored, including their contact details and a copy of their identity card. For any employer who breaks the rules and employs foreign nationals who have no right to work in the UK, the outcome is clear — huge fines are already being handed out by the UK border agency.

Home secretary Jacqui Smith defended the introduction of the cards. “In time, identity cards for foreign nationals will replace paper documents and give employers a safe and secure way of checking a migrant’s right to work and study in the UK,” she said. “The first identity cards for foreign nationals along with the launch of tiers 2 and 5 of the points system demonstrate our commitment to preventing immigration abuse and protecting the prosperity of the UK. The Australian-style points system will ensure only those we need — and no more — can come here.”

But the Tory shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said: “This is a gimmick but it’s a gimmick with a price. While these ID cards won’t stop illegal immigration or terrorism, they will land the taxpayer with a multi-billion pound bill. At a time of economic hardship this is the last thing a taxpayer needs.”

Also from today, a new law to stop women being forced into marriage and to protect those already married against their will came into force. The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act, 2007, will give courts the power to stop forced marriages.

The problem is one that has occurred mainly in orthodox sections of the Muslim community in Britain, although some Indian Punjabis have been involved as well.

Justice minister Bridget Prentice said: “This new law is a powerful tool that will help ensure that no one is forced into marriage against their will and those already in such marriages will receive protection. Our policies reinforce that hope and send a clear message that we are committed to providing support and help to victims and that violence of any kind will not be tolerated.”

Under the act, a forced marriage protection order can be made to protect people at risk of being forced into a marriage. Courts will be able to order people to hand over passports, reveal the whereabouts of a person thought to be at risk and stop someone from being taken abroad. Anyone failing to comply could face jail.