answer text |
<p>All applicants to the EU Settlement Scheme will be able to submit their biometric
photograph via their online application. There is no charge for this.</p><p>Family
members who are not EEA or Swiss nationals and do not already hold a Biometric Residence
Card will also need to enrol a biometric photograph and fingerprints, excluding children
who are 4 years old and under - they do not need to enrol fingerprints. The Home Of-fice
estimates that only a small cohort (less than 5%) of the overall EU Settlement Scheme
co-hort will need to submit their biometrics fingerprints.</p><p>When required, biometric
fingerprint enrolment will take place at one of 57 UK Visa and Citizenship Application
Service (UKVCAS) centres across the UK, run by Sopra Steria, our commercial partner.
Six of the locations can be used without any appointment charge being incurred. The
remaining locations attract an appointment charge of £60 at an enhanced service point
or £200 for the premium lounge in London. Additional charges also apply at each of
the 57 sites for out of hours appointments It is a matter for the customer to decide
which location to attend.</p><p>Our commercial partner, Sopra Steria, undertook market
research to identify service locations; their research included the impact on customers
of travel time, cost and accessibility. The 6 core service centres that offer free
appointments have been sized and located based on projected customer footfall information,
providing coverage for customers across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The majority of the service point locations are situated in town and city centres
and close to transport links and 62% of customers will, on average, have to travel
less than 25 miles to visit a core service centre, with 78% travelling less than 50
miles</p>
|
|