The Immigration (Provision of Physical Data) Regulations 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are made under section 126 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (“the 2002 Act”) and make provision for a record of fingerprints to accompany an application for entry clearance in certain circumstances. These circumstances are where a person aged five or over applies for entry clearance at a British Diplomatic mission or a British Consular post in Sri Lanka (regulations 2 and 3) (“an applicant”). If the application for entry clearance is not accompanied by a record of the applicant’s fingerprints the application for entry clearance may be treated as invalid (regulation 5).

Where an applicant is under sixteen a record of fingerprints may only be provided in the presence of a person aged eighteen or over who is the applicant’s parent or guardian or a person who takes responsibility for the applicant (regulation 4(1)). With regard to the latter, such a person must not be an authorised person or any other officer of the Secretary of State who is not an authorised person (regulation 4(2)). In any event a record of fingerprints cannot be provided by an applicant aged under sixteen unless an authorised person has confirmed that the safeguards in regulation 4(1) and (2) are in place and that confirmation has been ratified by a person designated by the Secretary of State for the purpose (regulation 4(3)). These provisions will not apply where an authorised person reasonably believes that an applicant is aged sixteen or over (regulation 4(4). For the purposes of these Regulations, “authorised person” has the same meaning as given to it by section 126(9) of the 2002 Act.

Information, including copies of fingerprints, provided pursuant to these Regulations may, in particular, be supplied by the Secretary of State to any of the persons to whom, and for any of the purposes for which, he may supply information under section 21 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (regulation 6). The Regulations also require that any record of fingerprints and copies of fingerprints provided pursuant to these Regulations shall be destroyed by the Secretary of State at the end of ten years from the date on which they were provided (regulation 7). However, if a record of fingerprints are provided by a person who later proves that they are a British citizen or a Commonwealth citizen who has a right of abode in the United Kingdom as a result of section 2(1)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971 that record and any copies of fingerprints must be destroyed as soon as reasonably practicable (regulation 8). The Secretary of State must take all reasonably practicable steps to secure that fingerprint data held in electronic form which is subject to the obligation to be destroyed ten years after the date on which they were provided are in fact destroyed or erased and that any access to that data is blocked (regulation 9). A person whose fingerprint data is held by the Secretary of State is entitled, within three months of having made a written request, to a certificate issued by the Secretary of State to the effect that he has taken such reasonably practicable steps (regulations 10 and 11).