According to a report by The Times, in future passengers will not need to present their passports when they arrive at the UK border.
Airports plan to install smart electronic gates equipped with advanced facial recognition from this year, meaning passengers will be admitted into the UK simply by looking at a camera. Similar technology is already being implemented in places like Dubai and Australia.
Phil Douglas, director general of the Border Force, said The times who wants to create a “smart border” with “much more fluid facial recognition than what we currently have.”
The tests of this new technology will be followed by the “launch of a complete process for acquiring new doors,” according to the newspaper.
There are currently over 270 eGates installed across 15 UK rail and air ports, which will require an upgrade to the new technology. They can be used by passengers over 10 years of age who are British citizens or nationals of an EU country, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States.
This news comes after the European Union announced that British travelers will be required to have their fingerprints scanned and image captured when they enter the European Union next autumn.
The EU will require facial and fingerprint biometrics from Britons in 2024
These new rules are part of the upcoming entry/exit system (EES), which applies to non-EU passport holders and is scheduled to launch on October 6, 2024, after being postponed from the initial date May 2023.
The EES will also be followed by a new visa exemption system, the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), which is expected to launch in mid-2025, after several delays. The system is designed for travelers from “third countries” who want to enter Europe’s Schengen area. For more information, see:
What is the ETIAS?
