Fast Track for some at LHR

[Rollingthunder]

Visitors from low-risk countries such as Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Japan will soon be funneled through a separate, presumably quicker passport line at Heathrow, British immigration minister Damian Green told a parliamentary committee this week, But not in time for the Olympics.

Globe and Mail

[Shack37]

And will the aforementioned countries, especially the United States, have a reciprocal service for UK passport holders?

[ExXB]

Visitors from such countries? Or visitors holding passports issued by such countries. My Canadian passport was issued in Geneva, as I live in Switzerland. Will anyone behind the desk understand (or even care) about the distinction?

While I appreciate the thought, I haven't paid a cent (centime, penny, pence) while visa holders have paid (I think) £75 for their piece of paper. Shouldn't they be given priority? They paid for it.

[radeng]

US and Japan, and I think New Zealand and Canada, are visa waiver countries. No £75 there.

Why no fats track for EU, though? Or will the 'FastTrack' be as slow as the EU lines anyway?

[ExXB]

Sorry for being a Pedant, but I don't think there is anything called a Visa waiver scheme in the 'excited kingdom'.

The term comes from the Americans where all nationalities (save the Canadians) require visas to enter the 'excited states'. A large handful of Europeans and a smaller handful of Australasias have this requirement waived, under certain circumstances. i.e. coming as a tourist, knowing what moral turpitude is, promising not to be a member of a communist party.

For the UK there is a list of nationalities that require visas, everyone else does not require one.

I recall one of my first flights into Heathrow in the late '70s. Came in on Pan Am from Seattle (No BA flights then from YVR, AC less than daily) and was confronted with three queues; UK citizens, Commonwealth citizens and 'Others'. Since I had arrived from the US about half the pax went to the UK queue and nearly the other half went to the other queue. Only I went to the Commonwealth queue joining passengers off of Air India and PIA jumbos. Now that took over two hours too.

[LondonPax]

ExXB: surely the point is that your passport is Canadian, regardless of where it was issued. If place of issue was the criteria a person with, say, a Yemeni passport issued in the UK could go through the low-risk line, which is clearly nonsense.

Also, why should it matter whether you paid for a visa or not?

Shack37: dream on ...

[ExXB]

LondonPax, I was just being a pedant. Laziness of the media and of 'issuers of press releases'. They think they know what they are saying, but they don't think through the obvious.

Visitors from Canada could very well mean visitors who require visas, based on their nationality. And that too could exclude me, since I no longer live in lotus land.

I just wish they would take the time and think about what they are saying, perhaps show it to a colleague and ask their opinion.

After paying a tidy sum for a UK visa, why shouldn't they be given priority? Or perhaps I should say why should they be expected to queue longer than us white guys?

[lenhamlad]

After paying a tidy sum for a UK visa, why shouldn't they be given priority

As someone who worked in various visa sections around the world I can assure you that the British Govt make a whacking loss on visa operations. I would argue that as a taxpayer I am entitled to have as many UKBA staff on duty to deal with UK nationals returning to the UK. If that means a visa national has to queue for longer, so be it. When I visit foreign countries I am not afforded better treatment at immigration control than those holding passports for the country I am entering.

Will anyone behind the desk understand (or even care)

Yes, immigration officers do have a brain (although sometimes a minority don't show it occasionally) and can tell the difference.

[Metro man]

I would think "from" means nationals of these countries rather than passengers on flights which originate there.

This is well overdue, a middle aged Canadian couple are a far lower risk factor than an unemployed Nigerian single mother when it comes to overstaying.

Passengers would still have the same scrutiny but as most people in the low risk countries line could be waved through without detailed questioning or extensive checks, things would move a lot quicker. Average time spent in the arrival hall would fall. Immigration officers with the skills and experience to deal with the difficult cases could concentrate on the high risk countries line.

A Japanese business man wouldn't be stuck for an hour simply because his flight landed ten minutes after one from Pakistan.

[Gulfstreamaviator]

British fast track

Lets have a British Fast Track, for British Citizens entering British Land.....(sic).....

Glf

[ExXB]

Not while the UK is still an EU member state.

And even if it could be done, you would then find British nationals delegated to the 'other' queue at EU airports.

[Booglebox]

I use the Minority Report - style iris scanner booth in T5. Works a treat - love walking past enormous queues

[Tableview]

a middle aged Canadian couple are a far lower risk factor than an unemployed Nigerian single mother when it comes to overstaying.

Tut tut, naughty step for you! You can't go round saying things like that even if we all know it's true.

[Sean Dell]

The Iris scanners were good .....
But they have been removed

[lenhamlad]

I use the Minority Report - style iris scanner booth in T5. Works a treat - love walking past enormous queues

One of the reasons there are large queues is the number of IOs have been reduced by the govt who opined that iris scanners and other new technology would speed up processes and would reduce the need for a human interface. However as we all know you still need people to oversee the machines - pilots overseeing autopilots, even the dreaded self-checkouts at stores need someone to continually reset the machines. We need to increase the number of immigration officers not reduce them, so next time you are stuck in a line at UKBA, start googling the address of your MP and send him or her a photo of the queues, don't take it out on the poor sod who has sat there for five hours losing the will to live as his bosses count their bonuses for reducing their capital outlay.