The Government has recently announced an expedited entry programme for nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the USA who regularly fly in to Heathrow or Gatwick airports. The plan is to roll it out to other ports in 2015.
You can only join if you have an invitation code. The Home Office has provided codes to Redfern Legal to allocate to clients. Please contact us should you want to take advantage of this expedited entry programme. The codes are also being issued to regular travellers on major airlines and by Border Force officers.
The way it works is you apply to join the Registered Traveller Service. You will not need to fill in a landing card. There are conditions to be met:
- You must have visited the UK four times or more in the previous 52 weeks;
- You must be 18 or over;
- You must be a visitor or have a UK work permit under Tier 1 or Tier 2 or have Indefinite Leave to remain.
The government fee is £50 to apply. This is non-refundable, even if your application is unsuccessful.
You will get a decision on your application within 10 working days.
Enrolment as a full member happens at the border the next time you visit the UK.
If successful, you can use the service for 12 months. You’ll be able to renew after that.
At Heathrow and Gatwick passport control, you will be able to:
- use the ePassport gates (if you have a biometric passport)
- use the UK/EU channel (Heathrow) or the Registered Traveller lane (Gatwick).
Tom Redfern
