United Kingdom: Children Can Now Use Passport E-Gates
May 14, 2026
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At a Glance
- Effective July 24, 2023, children age 10 and 11 can now use passport e-gates at 15 UK airports and railports, including Heathrow and Gatwick airports and the Eurostar railways terminals in Brussels and Paris.
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- Update May 14, 2026: Starting July 8, 2026, children age eight and nine, who are at least 120cm (3 feet 11 inches) tall and accompanied by an adult, will become eligible for using E-Gates.
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- Passport e-gates digitally compare a passenger’s face against their passport photo without any human input, therefore streamlining immigration processing upon entry.
The situation
Effective July 24, 2023, children age 10 and 11 can now use passport e-gates at 15 United Kingdom airports and railports, including Heathrow and Gatwick airports and the Eurostar railways terminals in Brussels and Paris.
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- Update May 14, 2026: Starting July 8, 2026, children age eight and nine, who are at least 120cm (3 feet 11 inches) tall and accompanied by an adult, will become eligible for using E-Gates.
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A closer look
- E-gates at 15 locations. A total of 293 passport e-gates are present at 13 airports in the United Kingdom (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City, Luton, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle) and at the Eurostar railway terminals in Brussels and Paris.
- Use of e-gates. Travelers can use passport e-gates if they have a biometric passport, are the eligible age, and are either:
- a British citizen;
- a national of an EU country, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the United States; or
- a member of the Registered Traveller Service, a program offering faster entry through UK borders.
Impact
- Faster processing. Passport e-gates digitally compare a passenger’s face against their passport photo without any human input, and therefore streamline immigration processing.
Background
- Successful trials. This expansion of e-gate services follows successful trials at major ports, including Gatwick, Stansted, and Heathrow. That said, the e-gate system has faced difficulties in the past, including in late May 2023, when e-gates in England and Scotland stopped working for a short period.
- High rate of e-gate usage in the United Kingdom. According to the UK government, more travelers use passport e-gates in the United Kingdom than in any other country in the world, with usage rates rising year-on-year over the last 10 years. These numbers are expected to grow.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
