Pay a fee to skip the Passport Queue under new Home Office Plans

Pay a fee to skip the passport queue, under new Home Office plans

Ministers put forward proposals to extend "premium fast-track processing" for some travellers - at a cost







Members of the public have three weeks to give their views on the new borders proposals after the launch of a consultation paper Photo: REX







David Barrett
By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent

11:00PM GMT 12 Nov 2013



Comments41 Comments





British holidaymakers and business travellers who pay an extra fee to the Home Office will be allowed to skip the passport queue at the airport, under new plans outlined by the Home Office on Tuesday.


A consultation paper said ministers were drawing up plans to extend “premium fast-track processing” which is currently only available to some first and business class passengers at Heathrow.


The proposal is one of a number of new ideas being floated to cover more of the immigration service’s costs by raising more revenue from passengers.


There was no detail about how much passengers would pay to use the new schemes, but the document said: “We will set fees at a level that reflects the value of the product.”


It added: “We intend to expand the provision of dedicated VIP suites and premium fast-track processing through the border at certain ports, both of which are currently charged at a cost-recovery level.


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“As well as expanding the availability of these services, we also want to increase the charges above cost-recovery levels.

“The income will be used to help fund the immigration system, secure the border and invest in improving processes.

“Fees for some premium services will be charged to the airline or port rather than directly to the travellers, although the airline or port may decide to pass on some, or all, of the cost of those services to travellers.”

A Home Office spokesman said fast-track processing, which allows passengers to avoid the arrivals hall queue, would be broadened in scope and extended to other airports.

The consultation paper said a number of services are being planned which would allow the UK Border Force to “charge the customer directly” but the Home Office spokesman denied the proposals would lead to a twin track system at the border.

Although the new schemes would primarily be targeted at wealthy passengers and business travellers, the spokesman refused to rule out that they could be extended to ordinary holidaymakers at a later date.

Members of the public have three weeks to give their views on the new proposals after the launch of the consultation paper this week.

It comes after a “registered traveller” scheme was launched by Mark Harper, the immigration minister, in September which allows citizens of US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan to use the UK-EU channel at the border rather than the international arrivals queue if they are regular visitors who pass security checks in advance.

They will be required to pay an annual charge when the current pilot scheme becomes permanent in April.

The fast-track scheme for foreign travellers will initially be available at Heathrow and Gatwick airports before being rolled out to others.

The government are spending £1.75 billion on the immigration system this year, of which about half is recovered by fees from visa applications and other services.

The new consultation paper aims to increase the amount of money raised so that less of the cost has to be met through general taxation.

Visa fees for foreigners could also be increased, the paper said.

The Home Office spokeswoman added: “We think it’s right to recover some of costs of running the immigration system and border controls by making sure that those who benefit directly from it, contribute appropriately.

“This consultation is part of an ongoing process to ensure that we can maintain a world class, competitive visa system which serves the ever-changing needs of our customers.”

Passengers at Heathrow and other airports faced lengthy queues in the arrivals hall in 2012 leading to immigration officers being moved from other roles to help cut delays

How about stopping all immigration like Sweden and Australia have done?