Leicester gets new biometric unit for registration of foreigners

Leicester now has a fully functioning facial recognition system in one of its post offices. Biometric technology is often one of the fastest and most reliable means to verify a person’s identity and in this case, will be used to keep track of foreign nationals in the city.

With the new technology within easy reach, foreign nationals working or even just visiting the city for a few months can register at the post office without needing to drive all the way to Nottingham.

The first biometric readers and scanners were initially launched in 2008 and were used mainly to document the applicants who were queuing to get their Biometric Residence Permit. These were capable of not only reading the fingerprints of foreign visitors but also for analyzing against a database as well. The new scanners and readers installed at the Leicester post office are equipped with a facial recognition system along with a standard fingerprint reader.

A Biometric Residence Permit is usually issued to European immigrants who are staying within the United Kingdom for a considerable amount of time. The temporary residence permit allows these foreign nationals to find work and also entitles them to certain services. To make getting the permits easier, over 100,000 units have been installed all over the United Kingdom inside designated post offices.

With the new biometric facility, people who live within the outskirts of Leicester need not travel far to obtain a Biometric Residence Permit.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  border security  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  immigration control  |  software  |  technology