Passports could become a thing of the past for those arriving in the UK thanks to the Home Office’s new plans to create “seamless travel” across the UK border.
New high-tech electronic gates will be installed at airports so advanced they will only allow entry into the country via facial recognition.
Authorities hope the new technology will align Britain’s borders with other countries, such as Dubai, which uses facial recognition for 50 countries, and Australia.
Testing of the new electronic gates will begin this year. Phil Douglas, Director General of the UK Border Force, stated that the aim was to create a “smart border” using “far simpler facial recognition than today”.
The UK has implemented electronic travel authorization (ETA) for foreigners arriving in the UK without requiring a visa. The system costs £10 per passenger.
Travelers must download the app, answer a series of questions, scan their passport and provide a photo. Only those given an ETA can board flights to the UK.
This system already applies to citizens of Qatar and in February will be extended to citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
The Home Office also wants to apply the ETA to all visitors to the UK who do not require a short-stay visa, including European citizens.
British and Irish travelers’ biometric data has been obtained as part of the current UK passport application process.
Testing of the new advanced technology is scheduled to begin at the airport later this year, before launching a full procurement process for the new gates.
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