The Government has unveiled mandatory identity cards for incoming non-EU students as a precursor to introducing them to all students in the UK.

From November, certain students applying to study or extend their stay in the UK will have to buy a £30 biometric visa card from the Home Office.

The plans have received criticism from opposition parties and civil liberties campaigners. Concerns were also raised as to whether the scheme would deter foreigners from applying to UK universities, taking their much-needed tuition fees elsewhere.

The card will come in addition to the Home Office charge for processing student visas, which is between £295 and £500. It will replace some paper documentation and work alongside the government’s tough new points based system for managing migration.

Six centres have been set up around the country to collect biometric data from foreign nationals for use in the new identity cards.

Liberty director Shami Chakrabati said: "This week the Prime Minister said he doesn’t do PR but clearly the Home Secretary wasn’t listening. The public will yawn at yet another re-launch of this scheme and if the card came with loyalty points, we still wouldn’t buy it. Picking on foreigners first is divisive politics; as costly to our race relations as our purses."

Scottish student leaders called on the Scottish Government to block the scheme. EUSA President Adam Ramsay Said: "Forcing international students to have an ID card smacks of xenophobic authoritarianism. This comes at the same time as discussions about forcing
the university to inform the home office if an international student fails
to go to a tutorial two weeks in a row.

"If international students feel that the UK Government is discriminating against them, that’s because it is. It’s crucial that the Scottish Government stands up to Westminster and doesn’t let ridiculous, dangerous and discriminatory proposals like this damage Scotland’s universities."

University umbrella group Universities UK said they were still in discussions about the scheme, and were willing to see how it worked in practice. They noted there may be some issues with where the centres were located and how the biometric information is collected, but that the ‘jury is still out’.

The scheme was defended by Home Secretary Jaqui Smith, who said the government was committed to protecting identity.

She said: "ID cards will help protect against identity fraud and illegal working, reduce the use of multiple identities in organised crime and terrorism, crack down on those trying to abuse positions of trust, and make it easier for people to prove they are who they say they are.

"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. This will provide identity protection to the many here legally who contribute to the prosperity of the UK, while helping prevent abuse."

Under a different parliamentary Act, the Government plans to offer identity cards to young Britons in 2010, with the scheme eventually encompassing the entire population over the next few years.