Home secretary Priti Patel has set out plans for secure “contactless” border crossings, to help travellers pass through airports and ports more quickly.
The Home Office is set to begin testing technologies that would allow some passengers to enter the UK and undergo automated border screening without going through an eGate or speaking to a Border Force officer, “helping to speed up legitimate journeys to the UK”.
The passengers would instead undergo pre-screening and be identified at the border using the latest facial recognition technology.
The Home Office aims to begin pilot testing in 2024.
The announcement forms part of the publication of the New Plan for Immigration: Migration and Border Control Strategy statement, in which the Home Secretary also announced plans to pilot extending the minimum age of eGates from 12 to 10 years old.
The move would reduce journey times for British families.
Patel said the New Plan for Immigration includes “ensuring we have a border that is fit for the 21st century which allows travellers to get a visa and pass through the border easily, while maintaining national security”.
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