United Kingdom: Children Age 10 and 11 Can Now Use Passport E-Gates
July 24, 2023
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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.
- Passport e-gates digitally compare a passenger’s face against their passport photo without any human input, therefore streamlining immigration processing upon entry.
- Previously, only children 12 years or older could use e-gates.
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.
A closer look
- E-gate age reduced. Previously, only children 12 years or older could use passport e-gates.
- 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 (now 10 years or older), 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.
- Easier immigration processing for families. With over 400,000 children aged between 10 and 11 expected to use e-gates in 2023, this latest development is expected to ease the travel experience for thousands of families.
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.
Looking ahead
- UK digitization efforts. These developments are part of the UK government’s post-Brexit immigration digitization program (announced in 2021), which includes the introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme, scheduled to commence later this year.
- Pre-COVID travel volume. According to the UK government, UK traveler numbers in the 2023 summer are expected to return to 2019 levels - with some ports exceeding those volumes. Over 34 million air arrivals are expected over the coming months.
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].
