Originally Posted by
NewbieRunner
I have found this
parliamentary briefing paper (ending with .parliament.uk rather than .gov.uk
) from November 2013 which states paper-based embarkation ('exit') controls were abolished at all sea ports and airports in 1998.
Really? That recent? That's odd... I remember exit controls in the 1970s and possibly the early 1980s (when I was travelling by ferry rather than by air), but I don't recall EVER going through exit controls at STN, NWI or CBG, airports that I started flying from in the mid/late 1980s.