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Registered Traveller Scheme - easier entry for regular visitors to the UK

Old Sep 24, 2013, 7:39 am
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Last edit by: BotB
The Registered Traveller Scheme is intended to allow easier entry for regular visitors to the UK.

The scheme is available for regular travelers to the UK who have a passport issued by

Africa
Botswana, Namibia, Seychelles.

Asia
Brunei, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region passports only), Japan, Macao Special Administrative Region, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan (if your passport has a personal ID number on the photo page)

Europe
Andorra, Monaco, Vatican City State.

Middle East
Israel.

North America
Bahamas, Canada, Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, USA.

Oceania
Australia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga.

South and Central America
Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay.

* Visited the UK 4 times in the previous 24 months as a Business visitor, General visitor, Member of a diplomatic mission, Academic visitor, Entertainment or sports visitor, In transit - passing through the UK, Parent of a child in a UK school or Medical visitor. This generally includes tourists.

* Hold a valid visa in the categories Tiers 1, 2, 4 or 5 (excluding Creative/Sporting concession), Indefinite Leave to Remain, Naturalisation, UK Ancestry, Family member or spouse/partner. Note that EEA family permits, discretionary leave and leave outside the rules are excluded.

The application cost is 70 of which 50 is refunded if the application is rejected. Renewal costs 50 each year and changes of document details cost 20.

Registered Travellers are able to use the faster entry lanes (generally EU lines) when going through the UK Border at Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick (special registered traveller line), Glasgow, Heathrow, London City, Luton, Manchester, Southend and Stansted airports (or, alternatively, the ePassport gates if they have a biometric passport; while the ePassport gates at LHR T3 & T4 are being renovated the FastTrak lines can be used or the EU lines can be used). You will not have to fill in a landing card. (you do still need to carry your visa or BRP (biometric residence permit))

In addition, Registered Travellers are able to go through the UK Border at the Brussels, Lille and Paris Eurostar terminals without having to fill in a landing card.

Registered Travellers who hold a UK visa will not have their fingerprints checked at the UK Border.

Registration link: https://www.gov.uk/registered-traveller
Some extra information from Gatwick Airport is here.
Older terms and conditions of the initial trial are recorded in post 78.
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Registered Traveller Scheme - easier entry for regular visitors to the UK

Old Sep 16, 2013, 6:18 am
  #1  
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Registered Traveller Scheme - easier entry for regular visitors to the UK

With hat tips to Microwave and rwoman, I think this had better have its own thread since after several weeks of interesting announcements, this is perhaps the most significant.

Current text of the UK Border Agency website:

Registered traveller scheme
The registered traveller scheme launches 24 September 2013 and will improve the way regular visitors can pass through the UK border. It will initially be available at Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Passengers can apply for the scheme if they:
  • previously registered to use IRIS; and
  • are from the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia or New Zealand; and
  • have completed at least 4 trips to the UK in the last 52 weeks; and
  • are a short term visitor to the UK aged over 18.
Eligible travellers will be able to apply and register online. More information will be available from 24 September on this webpage.

Current URL is:
Registered Traveller Scheme

And many thanks for the budget cuts in the USA, which indirectly pushed this scheme on to the civil service fast track!

EDIT 17/9/13: The quoted URL has been revised since this item was originally posted. It originally had an "or" after "52 weeks;" and it now says "and". See posts below for more context.

EDIT 22/9/13: As indicated in posts below, there have been further changes to the wording, with extra "and"s added. The current wording suggests, therefore, only IRIS registered travellers from a very limited number of countries can use the scheme, which I personally very much doubt. Let's see what happens on 24 September.....

EDIT 24/9/13: See post 73 for registration details.

Last edited by corporate-wage-slave; Sep 24, 2013 at 7:36 am Reason: See last paragraphs....
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 6:22 am
  #2  
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Worse for everyone, at least initially.

As you need to be a member of IRIS to sign up for this, it means a lot of people are excluded (haven't the IRIS enrollment centres been closed for quite a while?)

It's no good for UK travellers or any of those that aren't from the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia or New Zealand.

Even those that do qualify will have to go through new enrollment and suffer the teething troubles of the new system.

Couldn't they have run this alongside IRIS for a while?
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 6:22 am
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*grumble* What about British Citizens? *grumble*
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 6:26 am
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Originally Posted by layz
It's no good for UK travellers or any of those that aren't from the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia or New Zealand.
My interpretation of the semi colons and final Or statement means that it's either / or all the way down. That's usually how it works, at least. I understand that UK citizens cannot use this, since they have access to e-passports (which is fast everywhere but T5, but apparently some more gates are on their way).
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 6:28 am
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Originally Posted by Dave_C
*grumble* What about British Citizens? *grumble*
UK citizens currently registered for IRIS and those who have completed 4 entries to the UK in the last 12 months (also an IRIS stipulation) seem to meet the test.

Anyone else should not be registered for a frequent traveller scheme anyway.
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 6:33 am
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I read all the statements as "ands" meaning you have to meet all four tests to be eligible?

Edited to add, except for the final one which is an "or"
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 6:35 am
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Originally Posted by Dave_C
I read all the statements as "ands" meaning you have to meet all four tests to be eligible?

Edited to add, except for the final one which is an "or"
So you read it as A and B and C, or otherwise just D, or you don't qualify? I read them as distinct, but either I suppose could be correct (knowing who wrote the content)... Generally if there's a list with "or" between the final two options, doesn't that imply that they are all or?
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 6:42 am
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I know what the political intent is/was, what the civil service and Border Agency comes up with may be different:

- for regular business visitors
- for low risk travellers
- for very frequent visitors to the UK.

This came from a briefing from the PM's office in May 2012 (old news). Global Entry also required the UK to offer reciprocal treatment. The original name of this was "trusted traveller scheme".

So make of that what you will, I don't know much more than this.
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 6:53 am
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UK Government and Service writing convention is that a : introduces a list, items within which are separated by ; and the final item is preceded by a qualifier (and/or).

So it's any one of the 4 bulleted circumstances.
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 7:05 am
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If you visit the UKBA site it says this:

Alternatives to IRIS

Alternatives are available to IRIS users who:
- possess an EEA or UK biometric passport, via self service e-passport gates located at all terminals where IRIS was used;
- are non EU Travellers and eligible to use the registered traveller scheme.

Thus the UKBA are absolutely clear that the Registered Travellers Scheme is only applicable to non-EU travellers.

So well said Dave_C "what about British citizens?" Well, you (and me) get to pay the taxes for the system, but only get to use the e-passport gates along with everyone else on their way back from two weeks in Marbella.

Thanks very much, yet another ill-thought through government initiative

Edited to add: Also very poorly worded. If "or" is meant to apply between each phrase then the registered traveller scheme is open to all former IRIS users and the entire population of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, any one who has been in and out of the UK at least four times in a year and anyone on a short stay such as a holiday. To put it another way, everyone except those who are actually resident in the UK for any length of time (unless they are a former IRIS user, frequent traveller or citizen of a preferred foreign country). Really? Seems unique to me.

Last edited by FrancisA; Sep 16, 2013 at 7:29 am
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 7:37 am
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IRIS was only avaialble technically to those who retuend to the country 4 times or more per year even as UK citizens. This is no different to the IRIS requirement.
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 8:09 am
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Okay, well even if the OR only applies to the last two criteria, as an IRIS registered Australian settled in the UK I might have some hope.

This is good, because the I can't use the ePassport gates.
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 8:18 am
  #13  
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http://www.internationallawoffice.co...b-b9ac53181922

Although not yet finalised, it is understood that, on entry into the United Kingdom, applicants accepted on the scheme should show the email notification of their acceptance to the Border Control officers at the border checking stage. They will then be directed to use the fast lane at the appropriate border control.
Just sounds like a way of filtering "pre-approved" or "fast to process" passengers who are not UK/EU nationals in to the existing fast track queue (many of whom will already have access to it).
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 8:24 am
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Strange that it doesn't mention people with GE being eligible.
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Old Sep 16, 2013, 8:28 am
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
Strange that it doesn't mention people with GE being eligible.
That's probably the next phase, as that'd involve linking up with the GE database to see who's eligible. At the moment it just seems standalone, not connected to similar worldwide schemes.
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