UK immigration: Britain to trial contactless digital border

UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has announced plans to trial a new, secure, contactless digital border as part of future plans for the UK Border. It’s understood that the Home Office is set to begin testing technologies that would allow some passengers to enter the UK and undergo automated border screening without using an eGate or speaking to a UK Border Force officer.

The so-called ‘digital border’ will be trialled as part of wider plans to speed up ‘legitimate’ journeys to the UK. Passengers will be pre-screened and identified at UK borders using the latest technologies and ensuring the security of UK borders and the British public. Pilot testing is expected to begin in 2024, the Home Office has confirmed.

The announcement forms part of the government’s New Plan for UK Immigration and its Migration and Border Control Strategy statement, in which Priti Patel also announced plans to pilot extending the minimum age of eGates from 12 to 10 years old.

Taking back control

In a statement published on the official UK government website, Patel said: “As Home Secretary I have been focused on taking back control of the UK immigration system through my New Plan for Immigration. This includes ensuring we have a border that is fit for the 21st century, which allows travellers to get a UK visa and pass through the border easily, while maintaining national security.”

“I am also committed to ensuring our fantastic Border Force are given access to the most up to date automation technologies so they can use their specialised skills on protecting our border from those who seek to harm the UK,” Patel added.

In addition to announcing plans for a new digital border, the Home Office has published a wide-ranging independent review of the UK Border Force, which Priti Patel commissioned former immigration minister for Australia, Alexander Downer to carry out in February 2022.

Downer’s review recommended that UK Border Force needs a distinct identity and voice with the Home Office, a new advisory board to consider the demands placed on Border Force, a single minister for Border Force, a refreshed learning strategy and improved career pathways and training for staff through a Border Force Academy.

Exceptional challenges

According to Downer, UK Border Force is dealing with ‘exceptional challenges’. He said: “Border Force is contending with the Channel migrant crisis, UK immigration abuse, illegal drugs, firearms, and organised crime all while protecting our national security.”

“Without a doubt everyone I met at Border Force, from the senior team to operation managers and frontline officers are absolutely committed to serving the UK and want the organisation to improve so they can continue being the best, countering current and emerging threats”, Downer added.

The former immigration minister for Australia claimed that the recommendations he has made for UK Border Force will ‘have a positive impact’, making the agency ‘more resilient to cope with future challenges while providing them with direction to create the improvements they need’.

The New Plan for UK Immigration Migration and Border Control Strategy outlines how the new digital border will streamline travel to the UK, improve security and position Britain as a ‘leader in legal migration’.

The UK border of the future will make it more difficult for those who pose a threat to enter Britain while making it easier for those who contribute to the economy. 

ETA scheme

A government statement said: “Our ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) scheme will mean that it is easier for our friends to come to and contribute to the UK, but harder for those we do not want to come here. Over the next few years, we will bring in more improvements to ensure we continue to have a world-leading border and legal migration system.”

“These range from visible changes such as improved customer service before customers apply and invisible changes such as better targeting at the border,” the statement added.

The new ETA system will allow more international visitors to the UK to use eGates, while Digital Customer Accounts will give customers applying for UK visas a more ‘streamlined’ process with clearer access to eVisas required for travel.

According to the Home Office, the new digital system will enable immigration authorities to understand more about people coming to the UK before they travel, helping to bolster security and reduce UK immigration queues.

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