There is now, there's a system where you use a webcam to do a live facial-recognition check to verify your identity - with a for profit business (because that's

There is now, there's a system where you use a webcam to do a live facial-recognition check to verify your identity - with a for profit business (because that's what Tories do, make ordinary parts of government into a way to pay out private profits). That only confirms the person sitting at the computer is the person in the uploaded photo though. When you first get a passport you have to have your identity confirmed by a professional person with community standing, teacher, policeman, doctor, someone like that. They do background checks, it seems quite rigorous. Once you have a passport/driving license they allow you to reuse a recently verified picture in your application to get the other document.