Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) EEA citizens, and (2) citizens of countries requiring visas to visit the UK, are permitted to enter the UK at a point on the coast which does not have a port or any form of border control.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
All passengers arriving in the UK at passport control are checked against Home Office databases. The majority of these are checked against our systems before they even travel, through the collection of advanced passenger information (API).
Border Force defines General Aviation (GA) and General Maritime (GM) as any arrival into the UK that is not operating to a specific and published schedule and departing at both small airports and marinas with no Border Force presence, and at major airports where Border Force officers are located. Both EU/EEA citizens (1) and visa nationals (2) may arrive at General Aviation or General Maritime ports
There is a requirement for advance passenger information to be submitted for General Aviation and General Maritime arrivals. When the relevant information is received, and there is a requirement to examine the passenger, Border Force Officers will be deployed.