Phil Douglas, director-general of the UK Border Force, told how new hi-tech gates at airports will use advanced facial recognition technology for people arriving into Britain.
The border chief said the goal is to create an “intelligent border” that used “much more frictionless facial recognition than we currently do”.
Government officials hope the new technology will bring Britain’s border up to the standard developed elsewhere, like Dubai, which uses facial recognition for 50 nationalities.
Dubai Airports claims the smart gates allow passengers to get through immigration procedures “in as little as five seconds.”
Chaos has erupted at Border crossings in the UK in recent years because of a string of failures.
Tens of thousands of passengers queued for up to four hours at airports when a systems upgrade failed over the late May bank holiday weekend in 2023.
Meanwhile Mr Douglas shared how he has been “really impressed” by the use of next-generation e-gates on a recent trip to Australia.
The Home Office intends the ETA to be implemented for all visitors to the UK who do not need a visa for short stays, including European nationals.
Mr Douglas said: “We will know a lot more information about people upfront. We will know if they’ve been in the UK before.
“We’ll know what their compliance with immigration laws is. And we’ll know if there’s any records of them on our security systems. So there will be some people who won’t be getting on the plane.”
Meanwhile ministers are considering closing what it describes as a “major loophole” that allows people to easily change their sex in official documents with a doctor’s note.
Hundreds of people each year are using the procedure, instead of getting a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch is understood to be “keenly aware” of the issue.
A Government source said: “’This is a major loophole that is made more problematic by the fact that passports and driving licences are frequently used as evidence when applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).”
“It is imperative that the Home Office and Department for Transport start looking seriously at this issue.”
