7 Uniform format for visas and residence
permits for third country nationals
| (24918)
13044/03
COM(03) 558
| (a) Draft Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No. 1683/95 laying down a uniform format for visas.
(b) Draft Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third country nationals.
|
| Legal base | (a) Article 62(2)(b)(iii) EC; consultation; QMV of the participating States
(b) Article 63(3)(a) EC; consultation; unanimity of the participating States
|
| Document originated | 24 September 2003
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 2 October 2003
|
| Department | Home Office |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 20 October 2003
|
| Previous Committee Report | None
|
| To be discussed in Council | No date set
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
|
Background
7.1 In July 2001 and January 2002, we reported on proposals for
the amendment of the Council Regulation which requires Member
States to adopt a uniform format for visas and for a new Regulation
requiring a uniform format for residence permits for third country
nationals.[10] Those
Regulations were a development of the Schengen acquis.[11]
The UK has opted into both Regulations in accordance with the
Protocol on the position of the UK and Ireland annexed to the
EC Treaty and the Treaty on European Union.
The document
7.2 At an informal meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers
in March 2003, Member States invited the Commission to come forward
with a proposal to integrate biometric identifiers into the uniform
format for visas and residence permits for third country nationals.
Accordingly, the Commission has produced two draft Regulations.
One deals with visas and provides that they must include two
biometric identifiers: a photograph and fingerprint. It also brings
forward from 2007 to 2005 the date by which photographs must be
included in visas. The other draft deals with residence permits
for third country nationals and requires them, too, to include
photographs and fingerprints. The technical specifications for
photographs and fingerprints are to be established by a Committee
set up under Article 6 of Regulation 1683/95.
The Government's view
7.3 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office
(Caroline Flint) tells us that the Government has not yet decided
whether to opt into the proposed Regulations. However, it strongly
supports the inclusion of biometrics as a reliable means to confirm
the identity of individuals and to combat fraud and illegal immigration.
For example, the Government is already testing the fingerprinting
of visa applicants in Sri Lanka.
7.4 The Minister says that it is likely that, by
the end of 2004, all visas issued by the UK will include a photograph.
However, unless the process is speeded up, it is unlikely that
all UK Residence Permits will include a photograph by 2005.
7.5 The proposal that the biometric identifiers
should be a photograph and fingerprint ties in with the work of
the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
7.6 The Minister says that there would be financial
implications for the UK if it were to opt into the Regulations
but an accurate assessment of the costs cannot be made until
more details about the proposed requirements are known.
Conclusion
7.7 The proposal to use fingerprints as a one
of the biometric identifiers for visas and residence permits is
of potentially wider importance. These draft Regulations are at
an early stage of negotiation. We ask to be kept informed of progress
and, in particular, to be told the Government's decision on whether
to opt into the Regulations. Meanwhile, we shall keep the document
under scrutiny.
10 (22291) 7633/01; see HC 152-i (2001-02), paragraph
9 (18 July 2001) and HC 152-xii (2001-02), paragraph 14 (16 January
2002). Back
11
The Schengen acquis is the collective term for the body of rules
governing the Schengen free movement area. Back
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