Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to review its policy on access to UK e-gates by foreign nationals; and whether consideration has been given to limiting access to nationals of countries that do not offer equivalent facilities to UK passport holders.

The Government operates the UK border solely in the best interests of the UK, not the principle of reciprocity as this could undermine our security and ability to respond to emerging border pressures or threats.

We recommend all eligible nationals make use of eGates where possible, as they provide a safe, secure and efficient method of entering the UK, however, we continue to keep eGate eligibility under review to ensure we are balancing border security and passenger flow

In May 2025, we published the Immigration White Paper, which stated we are moving to the next phase of our vision to transform the UK border, by using technology to increase the use of automation and make visible changes to security, flow and the passenger experience.