Fingerprint Comparison Officer

Home Office; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading government agency in the UK is seeking a motivated individual to join their Immigration Fingerprint Bureau team. This full-time role involves conducting fingerprint comparisons, investigating biometric queries, and managing office operations. The agency offers a supportive environment with opportunities for training and career advancement. Applicants must be committed to maintaining accuracy and integrity in their work. Benefits include a generous pension and annual leave.

Benefits

Civil Service pension with 28.97% employer contribution

25 days annual leave, rising with service

Annual Recruitment Retention Allowance of £1600

Qualifications

• Ability to conduct fingerprint comparisons using IABS.
• Willingness to investigate biometric queries and provide accurate results.
• Experience in office management and prioritizing workflow.

Responsibilities

• Conduct fingerprint comparisons.
• Assess and prioritize workflow in the Bureau.
• Provide witness statements at Immigration Tribunals.

Skills

Fingerprint comparisons

Investigating biometric queries

Office management

Providing witness statements

Facial matching checks

Job description

Overview

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter‑terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

The Customer Services Group brings together Asylum & Human Rights Operations, Asylum Support, Accommodation, Resettlement, and Asylum Returns & Transformation, Passports, Citizenship & Civil Registration, Customer Operations Support Services and Visa Status & Information. As a major operational arm of the Home Office, we play a vital role in supporting the economy and cultural life of the UK.

This is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated individual to join a business critical Home Office technical team supporting front‑line operations.

The Immigration Fingerprint Bureau (IFB) is a specialist unit within UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) providing an essential biometric checking service to UKVI, Border Force, and Immigration Enforcement and on occasions UK law enforcement. Its core responsibility is to: fix an identity to an individual at the earliest opportunity and identify those who are attempting to deceive and facilitate the legitimate travel of others.

IFB comprises a small team of highly motivated Fingerprint Experts and Technicians. It is the only non‑criminal fingerprint bureau in the UK and is accredited to ISO 9001:2015 standard.

Key Responsibilities

• Conducting Fingerprint comparisons using IABS.
• Investigating any biometric queries. You will be given training to interrogate Home Office databases to enable you to arrive at a conclusion, using both biometric evidence and case history.
• Performing the role of Office Manager: Assessing and prioritising the workflow coming into the Bureau, allocating resources accordingly, taking responsibility for meeting service level agreements.
• Providing witness statements and present fingerprint evidence at Immigration Tribunals.
• Completing other duties as reasonably necessary for the fulfilment of your role.

Training

• Completing facial matching checks on IABS (subject to training).
• There will be scope to undertake training to develop your skills in management, to enable you to line‑manage and mentor junior colleagues.

Working Pattern

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full‑time basis.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home‑based working. This is a non‑contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.

Application Process

1. Application – Submit CV, Personal Statement (maximum 1000 words) and Evidence of the Behaviour Making Effective Decisions (maximum 250 words) by 2 January 2026.

2. Sift – Held week commencing 5 January 2026. Candidates will be assessed on CV, Personal Statement and the Behaviour Making Effective Decisions. Successful candidates will progress to a full sift of the Behaviour Making Effective Decisions.

3. Interview – Week commencing 2 February 2026. Interview conducted via MS Teams and will cover listed behaviours and strength based questions.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application; however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified, applications may be withdrawn.

Problems during the application process

If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you've made a mistake on an initial application, please contact [e-mail], including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes.

Shift Working

Successful candidates will need to be able to attend for all shifts including early starts and late night finishes. The Bureau can operate between the hours of 06:00 – 21:00 hours Monday – Friday, and 09:00hrs – 17:00hrs weekends and Bank Holidays. You may be asked to work a shift between 06:00hrs – 23:00hrs on any day, including weekends and Bank Holidays if the business needs arise.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made. There is no guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check. Successful candidates must also complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

Nationality requirements

• UK nationals
• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• Nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre‑settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (or who have made a valid application for settled or pre‑settled status under the EUSS)
• Individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Benefits

• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one‑off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
• Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
• Annual Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA): £1600, reviewed annually, and Annualised Hours Allowance (AHA) of 19.2%.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. The Civil Service also offers a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria and a Redeployment Interview Scheme for civil servants who are at risk of redundancy and meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found.