Frequently Asked Questions

The UK Immigration Service (UKIS) is the operational arm of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). It is made up of Immigration Officers (IOs), Chief Immigration Officers (CIOs) and Her Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) - all supported by Assistant Immigration Officers (AIOs).

Operational staff are split between those working in Border Control (staffing ports of entry into the UK ie. air and sea ports) and Enforcement and Removals (E&R) who are based at Local Enforcement Offices (LEOs) across the UK. A network of Assistant Directors (ADs) oversee operational staff at a local level and, in turn, report to Senior Directors based in Croydon.

The UK operates a firm but fair border control, with immigration officers working at ports across the UK and at juxtaposed locations on the Continent. The border controls are operated to allow people who are coming to the UK for genuine reasons to pass through quickly.

UK Immigration Service staff operate the passport control in UK ports and examine passports and any other relevant documents before admitting individuals into the UK. They may also ask travellers for more information about their visit to the UK including whether they want to stay more than 6 months and ascertain as to whether a visa or other type of entry clearance is required.

The e-Borders Programme will create a joined up modernised intelligence-led border control and security framework. Enhanced information about passengers and their movements, and its communication through the use of new technology, processes and procedures will allow Immigration Service and other agencies including Police, Customs and Excise, Security Services to work more closely together to maintain the integrity our border control, target activity against those who have no right to be in the UK and assist in the fight against terrorists and criminals.

It will allow us to introduce pre-boarding electronic checks of all persons flying to the UK, which will let us stop known security risks travelling. It will also collect information on when people arrive and whether they leave, which will help us stop people staying in the UK when they have no right to. Bona fide travellers will also gain from faster clearance at points of entry.

At post:

The e-Borders systems will collect both arrivals and departure information, together with immigration status and other related details. Staff who deal with visa applications overseas will be able to check applications against that database, for example to check the credibility of applicants or their sponsors. Supported by biometric visas, this will enhance the effectiveness of the entry clearance operation.

Pre-entry controls:

Carriers will provide advance passenger information (API) and passenger name
records (PNR) electronically. Passenger details (including names, dates of birth, nationality and travel document details) will be checked against multi-agency watchlists prior to boarding a flight. Under an authority to carry scheme the Immigration Service will be able to prevent specified categories of passenger from travelling to the UK (including where they are security risks or because we think they will abuse the immigration control) and require carriers to submit passenger details for a check against relevant Government databases before departure. Any carrier that fails to seek authority to carry or has been refused authority to carry a particular passenger, but nonetheless lets him/ her travel to the UK, will be subject to a penalty.

The provision of API and PNR data will allow the border agencies to identify persons of interest before they travel to the UK and to target further action in anticipation of their arrival in the UK. This might include deploying immigration officers from the intelligence unit to operate surveillance on a particular flight to help identify a suspected facilitator, or for police officers to immediately apprehend a passenger wanted for questioning.

In country:

Because both arrivals and departure information will be collected, as will the immigration conditions of entry, we will have a much clearer picture of passengers’ movements in and out of the country. This wealth of information will help border control, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and other Government departments to target their activity. In particular it will enable IND to measure compliance with entry conditions and make it easier to identify those who have no entitlement to be in the UK.

The database of information and increasing collection of biometric data will make it harder for people to conceal their identity to frustrate our controls and make it easier to remove those who have no right to be in the country.

e-Borders is initially being rolled out as Project Semaphore which will inform the design of, and allow us to identify and address risks for, the main e-Borders Programme. Semaphore will also provide operational benefit on routes of interest. Project Semaphore started in December 2004, with the capture of advance passenger information (API) on a limited number of the selected routes.

It will run for 39 months when it will be superceded by full e-Borders system implementation. Semaphore will: capture passenger information on ten routes to the UK (inbound and outbound) selected by multi-agency consensus covering 10 million passengers and match names against Watch lists from UKIS, Police and Customs and Excise, score PNR (Passenger Name Records) against risk profiles, provide alerts to Government agencies to take appropriate action, monitor movements into and out of the UK by passengers carried on selected airlines and routes, provide for closer working between different agencies through a Joint Border Operations Centre (JBOC) which will be staffed by representatives of the Police, Customs, the Immigration Service and UK Visas working on a co-operative basis, introduce the concept of “single window” for carriers (deliver data to Government agencies once only rather than separately to each requesting agency).

As part of the e-Borders programme, Project IRIS (Iris Recognition Immigration System) is being introduced to provide fast and secure automated clearance through the UK immigration control for certain categories of regular travellers using biometric technology. The system will store and verify the iris patterns
of qualifying travellers, giving watertight confirmation of their identity when they arrive in the UK. IRIS implementation will commence at Terminals 2 and 4 Heathrow, with the first enrolments from 28 February 2005. Roll out to Heathrow Terminals 1 and 3, Gatwick North and South Terminals, Birmingham, Manchester and Stansted will follow during the remainder of 2005. It is anticipated that, within five years, more than a million people will be registered to use the system.

To find out more about Project IRIS visit:  www.iris.gov.uk

All statistics on numbers and nationalities given leave to remain and all other immigration and asylum statistics can be found at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html