Keeping an eye on travel

Dear Mr Bassie,

I am going to be working in the UK and travelling back and forth to Jamaica over the next few months.

My travel agent has advised me to enrol in the iris recognition immigration system (IRIS). Would you please explain what IRIS is and whether I can enrol in this programme?

L.F.

Dear L.F.,

The iris recognition immigration system (IRIS) is a means of border control that allows passengers who are registered in the system to enter the UK quickly through automated barriers at certain airports. The system makes use of the fact that the pattern of the iris in each person's eye is unique. As a result, by looking into a special camera, the passenger can be easily identified. The authorities state that iris recognition is a fast, secure and fraud-resistant way to check a person's identity.

When entering the UK, if you are registered with the IRIS system, a digital photograph of the iris pattern of your eye is taken and compared with others stored in a secure database. If the digital image-captured iris pattern matches the corresponding one on the database and, providing that your registration is still valid, you will be allowed to enter the UK by passing through the IRIS barrier in the immigration arrival hall. The authorities advise that it usually takes between five and 10 minutes to register for IRIS, and that a registered traveller entering the UK can cross an IRIS barrier in approximately 20 seconds.The IRIS system is in operation at all five Heathrow terminals - Gatwick North and South terminals; Manchester Terminals 1 and 2; and Birmingham Terminal 1.

In order to be eligible to register for the iris recognition immigration system, you will have to fall into one of the following categories and meet the requirements.

You will have to be over the age of 18 and be a permanent resident of the UK, or be exempt from immigration control. This means that you should have no restrictions on your ability to enter and leave the UK or on how long you are allowed to stay there. You may also register if you are a British citizen or if you have the right to live and work (that is, you have the right of abode) in the UK.

possible registration

You may register if you have been granted permission to enter or stay in the UK (also referred to as 'leave to enter or remain') for more than six months and that permission will continue to be valid for more than two months at the time of registration. Also, you may enrol if you hold a current visa or permission to enter the UK (known as entry clearance) which will continue to be valid for more than two months at the time of registration; or if you are a short-term visitor to the United Kingdom and you can show you have been given permission to enter the country as a visitor at least twice in the last six months, or four times in the last 12 months at the time of registration.

However, if you are unable to meet one of the previously mentioned requirements, then you will not be able to register for IRIS. Nevertheless, you will still be able to enter the UK through the normal border controls by showing your passport to the border-control officer upon arrival.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises in Jamaica. He is a Supreme Court-appointed mediator and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com or editor@gleanerjm.com.