Australians holding an electronic passport will soon be able to enter the UK using the e-passport gates.
Australians will soon be able to enter the UK without a face-to-face interview. Picture: Shutterstock
Chancellor to the Exchequer Philip Hammond made the surprise announcement in the House of Commons this week.
“We’ll open the use of e-passport gates at Heathrow and other airports, currently only available to EEA (European Economic Area) nationals, to include visitors from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan,” Mr Hammond said.
The news means Australians will no longer have to queue up for face-to-face interviews. The electronic gates have previously only been open to residents of UK, European Union, European Economic Area or Swiss citizens with biometric passports.
Our ?? High Commissioner George Brandis warmly welcomes the #Budget2018 announcement by @hmtreasury @PhilipHammondUK that Aussie passport holders will soon be able to use UK ePassport gates – we’ve been working towards this for some time so it is great to see it announced. ✈️ pic.twitter.com/o6Ivj5dfct
— Aus. High Commission (@AusHouseLondon) October 29, 2018
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Travel allows you to get outside your bubble. It makes you realise there are other ways to do things, and that’s OK. Plus, I am a huge fan of skiing and for the best powder – you need to head overseas.