Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each port, airport and Channel Tunnel service, and for each mode of transport where passengers leave the United Kingdom, what proportion of passengers have their travel documents checked, and when 100 per cent exit checks are expected to come into operation.

The Government introduced exit checks on all scheduled international commercial air, sea, and rail routes from the United Kingdom on 8 April 2015.

An exit check has two elements: the capture of an individual’s basic identity data, either from Advance Passenger Information they supply before their journey or by scanning their passport or other identity document at the point of departure; and verification on departure – a visual check that the travel document is not obviously forged, and matches the individual presenting it.

Limited transitional arrangements with some carriers concluded on 3 June. Journeys within the Common Travel Area, and General Aviation/General Maritime traffic, are not within the scope of exit checks. Organised coach parties of school groups where students are aged 16 or under are also excluded.

Given the immigration control and border security objectives of the policy, it would not be appropriate to comment on the detailed operation of exit checks at an individual port level.