ALKHOBAR, 22 May 2007 — Biometrics is a term that most people will be encountering more and more frequently as the world goes digital. Biometrics is the science of using biological properties, whether physical or behavioral, to identify individuals. Examples include palm prints, retinal scans, voice recognition and gait recognition. The oldest form of biometrics, fingerprints, have been a part of forensic science for more than a century.
Biometrics are used for verification, identification and screening by numerous organizations. Rather than handing out office keys, many businesses now have doors fitted with biometric locks, which allow entry based on permissions in a fingerprint database. Schools use fingerprints not only for access control, but also to verify the identity of exam takers. Hospitals sometimes match mothers with their babies by using biometric information and in fact, DNA is the most specific, although not easily utilized, form of biometric data.
Many organizations use biometrics for verification and identification because it is convenient. With biometrics, there’s no door key to lose or PIN code to remember and services and access are provided only to approved individuals. Biometrics can allow someone entry to a nation or to Disney World. Yes, that’s right, since 2005 Walt Disney World admission passes were linked with the purchasing customer through finger scans.
This week, the UK announced that in September, Saudi Arabia would be joining the program of biometric data collection for visa applicants. This program is a global one and biometric data is already collected from all visa applicants in more than 60 countries, irrespective of nationality, when they apply for a UK visa. Applicants who refuse to provide biometrics cannot be issued a visa.
“The British government has made a promise that by early 2008, biometrics will be brought to all visa applicants, wherever in the world we issue visas. While we are now in the process of introducing biometrics to the Gulf countries, I want to emphasize that this is actually a worldwide initiative,” said Consul Brian Hefford of the British Embassy in Riyadh.
The biometric data collection is part of the UK government’s five-year Strategy for Asylum and Immigration titled “Controlling Our Borders: Making Migration Work for Britain,” which was published in 2005. In that document it was announced that the organization “UKvisas” would be collecting biometrics data from all visa applicants, irrespective of nationality. In the foreword to the strategy Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote:
“We will fingerprint visitors who need visas, and those planning longer stays, before they arrive.”
By the end of 2007 all applicants, with few exceptions — Heads of State and children under five years old for example — will be required to supply ten digit finger scans and a digital photograph at the time of applying for a UK visa.
First of all, it should be explained that the organization, UKvisas, is a joint Directorate of the UK’s Home Office and Foreign & Commonwealth Office. UKvisas manages the UK’s entry clearance (visa) operation from its visa offices at UK Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates abroad, collectively known as UK missions. Entry Clearance Officers (ECOs) based in these visa offices overseas decide visa or entry clearance applications. UKvisas works closely with the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) of the UK’s Home Office, the government department responsible for immigration policy.
According to its website, the goal of UKvisas is to “deliver a world class visa operation by balancing effective control of UK borders with a quality service to our customers. We use biometrics, an intelligence-led risk assessment process and enhanced training and supervision to improve the quality of decisions made by ECOs.”
In the Kingdom, by September, UKvisas will be setting up three Visa Application Centers, one each in Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar, to facilitate the submission of UK visa applications and the collection of biometric data. Swiss-headquartered Kuoni Travel Holdings Ltd. won a Visa Facilitation Service contract for this region from UKvisas to set up these Visa Application Centers (VACs) and it is anticipated that they will subcontract a portion of the VAC set-up in the Kingdom to a local partner.
The visa application, visa requirements, visa fees charged and actual visa decisions are all however determined only by UKvisa officers. There will not be additional fees for the biometric procedures required for UK visas because the British High Commission recently announced an increase in visa fees for various categories of visas. The increased fees took all requirements of the UK visa procedures into account. The British government did emphasize that it does not make a profit from issuing visas, its fees only cover the costs of producing the entry documents.
What will be required once the biometric procedures are introduced in September? Applicants for a UK visa in Saudi Arabia will go to any of the three VACs and submit the required visa application, pay the required visa fee and supply two standard passport photos. Then, they will place their fingers on a fingerprint scanner and their fingerprints will be digitally scanned. A digital photograph will be taken at the same time. The purpose of the digital photograph is to link the fingerprints to the face of the visa applicant.
“No ink or mess is required with this fingerprinting process,” said Hefford. “The entire biometric process takes just five minutes and if the visa is issued for ten years, then the fingerprint scan is good for ten years.”
Hefford emphasized that the data from the fingerprint scan is encrypted instantly and then it is sent through a broadband connection immediately to the UK. There, it is held in a UK government database for ten years and then destroyed. The biometric data is not shared with any agency or person outside of specific British government authorities, and its use and handling is regulated by the UK’s Data Protection Act.
“We know security is a concern for everyone and we have teams of people protecting the information in those secure databases,” said Hefford. “In the UK a lot of time, effort and resources have been put into making these systems secure and we are quite confident in the work that has been done, which is constantly under review, to ensure the security of the collected biometric data.”
The biometric data once in the UK will be compared against other UK databases, in part to prevent undesirable individuals from gaining entry to Britain. The data is never sent back to Saudi Arabia, only the results of the biometric checks are returned to the UK’s Embassy in Riyadh.
“Collection of biometrics will actually make the visa application process much easier because it will eliminate the issue of similar names causing confusion. Fingerprints are unique identifiers. Fingerprints can confirm that you are a trusted traveler and then you won’t be confused with someone who is not as trusted,” Hefford remarked. “It also should be understood that by 2009, even British nationals will be giving their fingerprints to the UK government for identification. So we believe that this is the natural progress of modernization of our visa process.”
It must be noted that a visa is required for each person desiring entry to the UK. This means that if a woman and her children are all on the same Saudi passport, then a visa must be issued for each one of them who is coming to the UK. The VAC centers may be used by anyone in the Kingdom who is applying for a UK visa, not only Saudis. The hope is that the opening of the VACs will greatly enhance the UK’s visas application process.
“The VACs will be open eight hours daily. They will also be allowed to offer premium services for a fee. They will be required to take all sensibilities in regards to Muslim women into account and every visa application will be individually packaged and securely handled throughout the process. We also are delighted that by establishing these centers, for the first time individuals in the Eastern Province will be able to apply for a UK visa with minimal inconvenience,” said Hefford.
He advised that the “last thing the UK government wants to do is make the visa application process difficult or stressful for our Saudi friends.” Under the new system, in Riyadh and Jeddah a passport can be stamped with a UK visa and be returned within 24 hours. For those in the Eastern Province it will take longer, probably up to three days, only due to the logistics of sending the passport back and forth to UKvisa officers in Riyadh.
Every visa application will be given a unique tracking number and an online system will enable the progress of the visa to be tracked. Hefford also thought that perhaps the VAC would be able to SMS the visa applicant whenever the passport had been returned to the center for collection.
“Last year we issued 60,700 visas to the UK from Saudi Arabia, the majority of them within 24 hours after the application was submitted,” the consul said. “We want to see an enhancement in the relationship between the Kingdom and the UK and that is a major reason for offering this new program. We would like to offer Saudis a ten-year visa to come to the UK. There is one glitch in that plan in that the Saudi passport is only good for five years. We are looking into being able to transfer the ten-year visa from old passport to new passport, at no extra fee, and hope to have a decision soon on that issue.”
He continued, “We are also aware of the situation in regards to the Saudi government regulation that guardians accompany female students who want to attend university abroad. Currently the only option in regards to that situation is to issue the guardians with a visitor’s visa of a duration of three to six months. We are investigating how we can facilitate these students, but as of yet, we have no other options than the visitor’s visa.”
UKvisas is currently involved in the logistics of setting up the three VACs. While the new visa system itself has been extensively tried and tested in different geographies, the Saudi environment presents its own challenges. The required digital infrastructure in the Kingdom has only recently matured to the point where UKvisas now feels confident that connectivity will be adequate for the successful implementation of the program here.
There has also been some concern that the Saudi public has had limited experience with biometric data collection. With that in mind, UKvisas has launched a massive awareness drive called, “Ribat” or Link, which focuses on the strong connections between Saudi Arabia and the UK and the British government’s desire to strengthen those links through a modern visa program. A new website has been set up, www.uk-ok.info, which gives details on obtaining visas to the UK and provides information, in English and Arabic, on the biometric aspect of the process.
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