I arrived back at Heathrow this evening at 8:45 PM, Terminal 3. My plane was an hour early.
The regular passport control line snaked through the entire immigration hall, up the ramp and almost as far back as the nearest gate.
Fortunately, I could use the e-gates and from the time I entered the immigration hall until the time I cleared the gates was about 2 minutes.
If ETIAS means I can use the electronic gates at more airports, bring it on.
Considering the number of countries whose citizens can use the e-gate option, that’s a lot of worldwide folks travelling through Heathrow.
What is an e-gate?
What is an e-gate?
You place your passport on a reader which reads the chip in your passport and uses facial recognition to validate your identity. If you pass, the gate opens.
With an egate, there is no need to speak to an immigration officer. It's much faster.
We used this successfully with our US passports issued in 2015.
With an egate, there is no need to speak to an immigration officer. It's much faster.
If they know what line to put you in !!
I am sure Heathrow has this down pat. However they started this in Paris late last year and the contractors don't even know what line to direct you to, so you spend some time snaking up in one line, then get to a certain point where the contractor at the next line tells you you are in the WRONG line, then you switch again, and maybe again. And then everyone in line for the gates is going S-L-O-W-L-Y, painfully slowly. My return a month ago wasn’t any better.
I dream of the days when they finally are able to take advantage of the advantages of e-gates at CDG !! So far, they've been no help at all in speeding things up.
How do you know if you have the ability to take advantage of egates or not?
From the U.K. Government. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coming-to-the-uk/faster-travel-through-the-uk-border
You can normally use eGates if you:
have a biometric symbol on the cover of your passport
are aged 10+ (10 to 17 year olds must be accompanied by an adult)
are either:
a British citizen
a national of an EU country, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the USA
a member of the Registered Traveller Service
Our passports issued in 2013 worked just fine in the e-gates this June. However, I'd say about 5% of the people trying to use the gates were redirected to an immigration officer, and I could see they had US passports. No idea why this was, but a friend wondered if they originally left from a US airport that didn't have e-gates. Any idea if this is the problem?
May 2022 I flew into heathrow and was able to use the e gates. It was quick and easy. San Francisco airport did not have facial recognition at security checkpoints or at the gates. Pretty sure they have not added it since then.
I'd say about 5% of the people trying to use the gates were redirected to an immigration officer, and I could see they had US passports. No idea why this was, but a friend wondered if they originally left from a US airport that didn't have e-gates. Any idea if this is the problem?
No, until I got my new passport earlier this year. I had problems at the egates. The agent told me it was because the machine couldn't read the computer chip in my passport. I've entered the UK three times, including two days ago, since getting my new passport and have had no problems at the egates.
If they know what line to put you in !!
Fortunately at Heathrow they have staff positioned at the entrance of the immigration hall who directs everyone to the appropriate location. It's a bit shouty and direct but it works, if you're not sure where to go then you'll quickly find out.
Interesting. We arrived the same day you did, Frank, at 11am, and breezed through the e-gates in under a minute (no line; just walked up to a kiosk), and the 'regular' immigration line was quite short – maybe a few dozen people at most. It definitely depends on how many planes arrive at the same time yours does. Last June the e-gate line snaked all the way down the hall, for a similar morning arrival time ...
I've flown into SFO internationally several times over the past year (Canada, Korea, UK 3x) and haven't even had to pull out my passport ... the kiosks just scan your face. Didn't even get a slip of paper the last few times; somehow it sends the info to the immigration officers.
I miss the old days when my passport was chock full o' stamps ... Being a nerd, I've asked for a stamp a few times (at both LHR and SFO), but that seems to make them suspicious, so I've stopped ... :-)
I think México still stamps passports yay
