The first UK identity card for more than 60 years will start to be issued in November, the Government announced today.

Jacqui Smith unveiled the card which is to be issued to people outside the European economic area renewing their permission to stay in the UK as students or on the basis of marriage.

Up to 60,000 cards will be handed out between November and March in the first large scale production of the 4.7bn identity card scheme.

The red and blue card bears the royal crest plus the shamrock, daffodil, thistle and rose as symbols representing the four countries making up the United Kingdom.

It bears the person’s picture, name, date of birth, their status in the UK and whether they have a right to work. On the back the card gives the person’s town and country of birth, gender and whether they have the right to UK state benefits.

The biometric details are the person’s two fingerprints.

Ms Smith, the Home Secretary, said the card, which will cost £30, will replace up to 50 paper documents. “ID cards for foreign nationals will replace old fashioned paper documents; make it easier for employers and sponsors to check entitlement to work and study and for the UK border agency to verify someone’s identity."

The card, which is compulsory for foreign nationals, will start to be issued on November 25 at offices in Croydon, Glasgow, Sheffield, Liverpool, Birmingham and Cardiff. Over the next three years up to one million will be issued to foreign nationals in Britain.

Ms Smith added: “Foreign nationals living and working here and studying here legally will be able to prove that easily and we will be able to prevent those here illegally from benefiting.”

Ms Smith said that next year identity cards will start to be issued to UK citizens working in sensitive areas including those employed airside at airports.

It is understood the issuing of these cards will be trialled first at a handful of airports and they will only be issued to new applicants for jobs rather than existing staff.

Under current plans identity cards will start to be issued on a voluntary basis to UK citizens from 2010 with the Government initially targeting youngsters over 16 who may wish to have them to help prove their identity and age.

From 2011/12 ministers hope to start rolling out the scheme throughout the UK with people able to apply for an identity card, passport or both at a cost of just under £100.

The card issued to UK citizens will differ in the information displayed from that given to foreign nationals.

It will include a picture, name, gender, place and date of birth, issue an expiry date of the card, national identity register number, nationality and two fingerprints but does not have details of a person’s right to work or access to benefits.

Although identity cards issued to foreign nationals are compulsory, UK citizens will not have to apply, or carry one. It will require further legislation to make it compulsory for every UK citizen aged 16 or over to have an ID card and require them to produce it when seeking employment or accessing public services.

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