UK allows Singaporean and South Korean ePassports for faster clearance at airports

Singaporean and South Korean nationals would now be able to check in through the ePassport gates at the immigration checkpoints. This decision by the UK government will be put into effect from the summer of next year. Currently, citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan can enter through the ePassports gates at the many airports in the United Kingdom.

ePassport gates to open to visitors from Singapore and South Korea from summer 2019.

Find out more: https://t.co/6J2oj3Ujhh pic.twitter.com/YoX1K9Ifix

— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) December 5, 2018

The ePassport gates also welcome EU nationals and allow passengers from certain countries to get processed at the airports securely and quickly. These entrances have cameras that scan the traveller’s face and compare it with the information and images provided by the ePassport embedded chip using facial recognition software. In total, 259 ePassport gates at fourteen ports of the country would be able to process the travellers from South Korea and Singapore.

As the number of ePassport users increases by another 6.5 million this year, it was a much-awaited decision of the UK government to allow travellers from more countries to go through immigration quickly. This new development comes at a moment when the UK is leaving the European Union and establishing its own immigration systems and rules. The rise of automation at immigration points and customs indicates that the ports are already running at maximum capacity and by incorporating technology, we can increase the throughput.

In the press release, Sajid Javid, the UK home secretary said, “I’m pleased to announce today that, in addition to Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the US, we will be letting passengers from South Korea and Singapore to use ePassport gates when they visit the UK – a transformational experience for the travellers involved.”

He further emphasised that

“The UK is absolutely open to the rest of the world for business and as part of that, we are enhancing the experience for passengers coming into the UK.”