Exit checks begin at UK borders

New rules to check the details of all travellers leaving the UK were brought in under the Immigration Act 2014

Data on all passengers leaving the UK is to be collected and handed to the Home Office under a scheme being phased in at ports and border crossings.

Transport staff will record details of all travellers leaving by commercial air, sea and rail transport.

The exit checks will particularly affect travellers on cross-channel ferries and the Channel Tunnel.

The government said they were needed to combat illegal immigration and would cause the "least possible disruption".

For the first month all passports will be scanned but only 25% of the passport holders will have their details verified to ensure they are genuine, in a bid to minimise disruption.

After a month, there will be a move to 50% verification and by the middle of June 100% verification will be introduced.

What are exit checks?

Data will be collected on all passengers as they leave the UK on scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes.

The government says exit checks are "predominately an immigration and data tool", giving a "comprehensive picture" of whether people leave the UK when they are supposed to.

It says the data - gathered by airline, rail or ferry operator staff - will "improve our ability to identify and further tighten the immigration routes and visas that are most vulnerable to abuse".

It will also help security services "track the movements of known or suspected criminals and terrorists".

John Keefe, director of Public Affairs for Eurotunnel UK, which manages and operates the Channel Tunnel, said "an awful lot" had been done to prepare for the change over the past two years since the government announced the plan.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme some £2.5m had been spent on measures including refurbishing its terminal and opening new buildings to make coach halls and control points, and that 50 new staff had been recruited.

Asked what the effect on passengers was likely to be, he said: "No, they shouldn't expect longer queues. The investments we have made have been specifically made in the interests of customer service."

A spokesman for P&O Ferries said the company was "hoping for a fairly seamless transition to the new system".

"They have picked a quiet day for the introduction of the checks. The actual scanning of passports is quick, it's the verification that takes longer," he said.

'Vital information'

John Vine, former independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, said the measure would help provide useful information.

He told BBC Breakfast: "It will enable the government, for the first time in a long time, to have an idea of who's left in Britain, because up until recently it's not been possible for the government to know who's overstayed their visa and who's remained in the country, and they've not known who's here and who's left."

Immigration minister James Brokenshire said: "Exit checks will provide us with vital information that confirms a person's exit from the UK.

"Port and travel operators are experts in their business and know their customers best, which is why we've supported them to design and trial the systems for collecting data in a way that will minimise the impact on customers."

The new rules were brought in under the Immigration Act 2014.

The Advance Passenger Information system, introduced in 2004, gives the government information on passengers flying in and out of the UK - and exit checks mean information will now be gathered on people leaving by any commercial transport.

People arriving in the UK remain subject to passport checks.

Are you travelling today? Has your journey been affected by the changes? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories.

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