UK exit checks start tomorrow

TRAVELLERS leaving the UK face new exit checks from tomorrow that will see each person having to produce passport or identity cards.

The checks at ports and airports had been due to start on April 1 but were delayed to April 8 after protests that they would cause long delays over the Easter weekend.

Airlines already ask passengers to give passport information in advance of travel and ferry companies will now scan all passports.

The companies feared immense disruption at Dover, which sees up to 50 sailings a day and which handles 60% of UK continental ferry traffic.

Together with Eurotunnel and the UK Chamber of Shipping, they protested strongly about the measure, which they said could have led to 8km of queuing traffic on motorways approaching ports.

After admitting there could be “public order problems” on the roads, home secretary Theresa May decided last week to delay the start of the checks and to phase in their introduction.

Coach passengers were the major source of worry with several dozen people to be checked on each vehicle. From tomorrow all coach passengers' passports will be scanned but only verified in one in four coaches. The verification is the part of the procedure that takes most time.

This percentage will be increased to 50% after the initial four-week period and 100% of passports will be scanned and verified by the middle of June.

Eurotunnel has asked passengers to complete API data before their journey and to have their passports ready as they approach the checkpoints. It and the ferry companies say that arriving excessively early for travelling will not ease delays but that passengers should arrive at least 30 minutes before departure time.

Immigration minister James Brokenshire said the exit checks would give important information on whether people had overstayed visas or entered the UK illegally.

For further information from the Home Office, check this link.

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