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How does e-Borders work?

This page explains what our e-Borders programme aims to achieve and how it will do so.

The aim of e-Borders is to electronically collect and analyse information from carriers (including airlines, ferries and rail companies) about everyone who intends to travel to or from the United Kingdom before they travel. This will ensure that we can:

  • keep a comprehensive record of everyone who crosses our border;
  • strengthen the security of those who live in and visit our country;
  • make it easier for those who are travelling and trading legitimately; and
  • maintain tight control of our border.

This comprehensive record of passenger movements will:

  • significantly strengthen the security of the United Kingdom by:
  • identifying in advance passengers who are a potential risk;
  • telling us who plans to cross our border;
  • checking travellers against lists of people known to pose a threat;
    • provide background checks to other agencies; and
    • compile a profile of suspect passengers and their travel patterns and networks;
      • enable us to focus staff resources better to:
        • stop passengers most likely to pose a risk; and
        • allow the vast majority of passengers to pass through our border more quickly; and
  • improve our ability to arrest criminals and people who break our immigration rules, and prevent them from returning to the United Kingdom;
  • automate processes to enable us to deal with the forecast 50% increase in passenger numbers over the next 10 years;
  • help identify those who avoid paying tax by claiming to be resident outside the United Kingdom; and
  • provide more accurate information on migration to and from the United Kingdom, allowing us to plan public services more efficiently.

Information we will collect

We will collect the biographical information contained in the section of a passport that can be read by machine. We will also collect details of the service on which a passenger is travelling, for example the flight number. This information is sometimes known as advance passenger information.

We will also collect other passenger information, for example details of reservations and payment.

This information will be collected from the carrier not from the passenger. The carrier will be legally required to collect this information and provide it to us as part of the check-in process. Passengers who do not provide the information are unlikely to be allowed to travel.

A number of other countries already collect this type of information, including the United States, Canada, Spain and Australia.

The information will be kept for no more than 10 years. It will be protected in keeping with the Data Protection Act and appropriate security controls will ensure it is not used or accessed incorrectly. It will be given only to organisations that are legally authorised to receive it and that need it to carry out their official duties.

Further information on how data acquired under e-Borders will be shared in practice can be found in the Code of Practice at Section 3.6.

Biometrics

Biometric information uses a person's unique physical characteristics to identify that person. These include fingerprints, DNA, the iris patterns of the eye, and face recognition. United Kingdom passports will soon start to include biometric information, which will enable us to produce automated barriers at points of entry into the United Kingdom.

The iris recognition immigration system (IRIS) already uses one aspect of biometrics to provide automated entry for pre-registered passengers. See IRIS for more information. IRIS will eventually be replaced by new automated systems that use the biometric information contained in passports.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How are you delivering the technology required?

    The contract for delivering the requirements for e-Borders was awarded in November 2007 to the Trusted Borders consortium led by Raytheon Systems Limited.

  • What is the legal basis for collecting personal information?

    Legal provisions for requesting passenger information from carriers are contained in:

    the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006;
    the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;
    the Immigration (Passenger Information) Order 2000;
    the Revenue and Customs Commissioners' Directions; and
    Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 (Information) Order 2002.