The government is to expand its system of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) in a fresh bid to help tackle immigration abuse and illegal working, the Home Office has announced.
Immigration Minister Damian Green said the new powers would see the number of foreign nationals issued with compulsory BRPs, designed to verify a person's right to be in the country, double to 400,000 a year.
The widening of the system to incorporate refugees and those given the right to live here permanently will mean that all non-EEA nationals applying to remain in the UK for more than six months will now be covered by the compulsory permits.
BRPs hold a person's fingerprints and photograph on a secure chip, enabling the checking of an individual's work and benefits entitlements.
Employers will be able to access an online Employers Checking Service (ECS) for BRPs from June, with public authorities later in the year, to verify whether individuals are eligible to work or access services in the UK.
Green said: "This will help ensure only those with the right to be here can take a job legally in the UK and enjoy the services to which they are entitled.
"The new measures are a deterrent to all foreign nationals who are looking to exploit the UK for personal gain by breaking the law."
The Post Office Ltd will assist the expansion in BRP applications through a nationwide network of biometric enrolment sites - 17 sites already enable foreign nationals to have fingerprints and photographs taken, with an 87 additional Post Offices due to offer the service by mid-April.
More than 650,000 BRPs have been issued since they were introduced in 2008.