Pollyana

For those of us who travel home regularly..........

Passport exit checks begin at UK ports and borders

Data on all passengers leaving the UK is being collected and handed to the Home Office under a scheme being phased in at ports and border crossings.
Transport staff are recording details of all travellers leaving by commercial air, sea and rail transport.
The government said they were needed to combat illegal immigration and would cause the "least possible disruption".
For the first month all passports will be scanned but only 25% of the passport holders will have their details verified to ensure they are genuine, in a bid to minimise disruption. After a month, there will be a move to 50% verification and by the middle of June 100% verification will be introduced.

Data is being collected on all passengers as they leave the UK on scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes. The government says exit checks are "predominately an immigration and data tool", giving a "comprehensive picture" of whether people leave the UK when they are supposed to.

koalakim

I've always found it strange that once checked in I don't need to show my passport again or record me leaving!

So, I'm guessing that when I check in I show Aussie passport to get on the flight and then if another passport check show UK one as I'll be going in on that one? Otherwise they'll wonder how this Aussie is leaving without being checked coming in!

Pollyana

Doesn't matter which one you show to check in, its the ne you show to enter the UK that will matter - they'll then expect you to exit through UK Immigration on the same one

koalakim

Okey dokey, I'll add another half an hour on to get through to the other side then, it's bound to be bedlam.....ha ha!

renth

Talk about shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Beoz

There's actually a small positive to this for the individual. When I moved to Australia on my Australian citizenship the medicare or private health people tried to sting me for the full fee saying I'd never paid for private health care over the age of 30. To prove I never lived in the country in this time I needed to prove that I had entered and exited Oz in this time. Immigration were able to pull all my records of entering and exiting Oz. Done deal.

So if you ever need to prove when you exited and entered the UK, it will be on file. Small grace I know but there is a positive

Wol

Can't quite see how phasing it in changes the disruption effects except marginally as they get used to it - 100% causes a certain amount whether it's in the first or twelvth month, surely?

spouse of scouse

I'm sure there's method in the madness, but it's not going to help to apprehend those staying in the country illegally - they're hardly likely to front up at an airport with passport in hand.

Still, more stats for the Tories to hammer people with, I suppose

Beoz

Does this come with form filling? Happy to have a quick scan of the passport but form filling drives me nuts when I fly OS from Sydney.

Rhubarb65

No, just a passport scan from what I can make out.

mikelincs

From what has been on UK TV, it's a simple passport scan and check of the database, really they are looking for people who have overstayed their visa and people using dodgy passports as the dodgy ones will not be in the database.

Beoz

Thank your lucky stars. In Oz we need to fill out a boring form. Tedious stuff.