Last updated: 25 June 2023
If you’ve been following Roaming Required for some time you’ll know we like to get around. Jetsetting around Europe to all the weird and wacky places sounds easy peasy, but when you fly on a non-EU passport it can be a bit of pain. We frequently field questions from Immigration border agents about our intentions, length of stay including showing your return ticket and lots and lots of queuing.
The UK now offers a similar program to the “Global Entry” program in the US. The Registered Traveller service is set up for foreigners from specific countries and meet certain criteria.
Post Updated: June 2019
The Registered Traveller program was piloted in 2013 and was designed to improve the way in which regular travellers enter the UK. For us as expats regularly flying in and out of the UK it was a ticket to freedom, a ticket to the European Union (EU) immigration queue.
Some Context
Citizens of EU countries have free movement of persons which in a nutshell means they can move freely within the territory of the EU member countries. An example of this would be a French citizen arriving in Sweden on a French passport has the right to enter just as a Swede on a Swedish passport would.
While a member of the EU, the UK sits outside the Schengen region which means border controls are in place for entry and exit from the UK. For anyone coming in or out, they must produce a passport or national identity card (unlike open borders like between Estonia & France or any of the other Schengen regions where you can simply walk across the border with no checkpoints).
Why join the Registered Traveller service?
At entry points into the UK there are two main queues at immigration: “EU” & “All Passports”.
The EU queue is then split into ePassport Gates (also known as electronic biometric gates or Smart gates) and a queue for families with children under 12.
As of May 2019, the ePassport Gates have been opened up to travellers with passports from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the USA so these nationalities have been removed from the Registered Traveller eligibility.
Read More: Using ePassport Gates in the UK
The “All Passports” queue encompasses everyone else. Here you’re relying on the organisation of others and the fact that their visit is legitimate. Foreign (non-EU) passports are more heavily scrutinised by Border Agency officials and thus can take longer to process. Visitors in this category used to be required to complete a Landing Card. There’s a silver lining, as of May 2019, all visitors (regardless of their nationality or the passport they carry) are no longer need to submit a landing card! WOOHOO!
While abolishing the landing cards is a great start, the “All Passports” queue is tedious and quite often a long wait. As we travel in and out of the UK frequently, I spent a lot of time in that queue.
Along came the Registered Traveller programme which became my ticket out of the “All Passports” queue at immigration and into the significantly faster, EU queue.
Read More: Work Full Time & Travel 15x Per Year!
Using the Program
I was a member of the Registered Traveller programme for about two years. In that time I could flash my Registered Traveller membership card and jump in the fast moving EU queue and flit through UK immigration in a matter of minutes. Happily avoiding the lengthy “All Passports” queue at busy airports.
The Registered Traveller Service Isn’t Fool Proof
In those two years, I updated my passport and had several queries with border agents regarding my multiple passports (one is valid for travel, and the old passport contains my UK residency visa). It should be as simple as using the ePassport gates, having a computer scan your face and walking through, but it’s not. I’d often get denied entry via the ePassport gates and find myself queuing again for the border agents. Ugh!
You might be reading this and thinking, it sounds like it’s not worth it, however there’s no doubt that the being a Registered Traveller is significantly quicker than the “All Passports” queue. A queue of just ten people in the “All Passports” line can mean waiting in line for over an hour as each person has their fingerprints taken, the agent flips through their passport. If the agent asks for further information about a visa or proof of funds then you’ll be stuck there for eons. Average processing time is about 5-7 minutes per person.
By comparison, in the EU line, the exercise will take less than five minutes to process the same amount of people.
Fees
The initial application fee is £70. Should your application be denied, you will be refunded £50. However there are a few other conditions. Should your application be approved, there’s an annual fee of £50 to keep your membership. If you change your passport you have to pay another fee of £20 to have your records updated.
For comparison, the US based Global Entry program is $100 for 5 years.
The Pros
- Access to ePassport Gates
- Use of the EU/EEA queue at UK borders and Eurostar terminals in Paris, Lille and Brussels
The Cons
- Initial cost plus the annual fee
- Additional fees for a new passport and some changes
- The eligibility criteria of:
- Have visited the UK at least 4 times in the last 24 months
- Hold a valid UK Visa or entry clearance
- Hold a passport on the approved list:
- Africa: Botswana, Namibia, Seychelles
- Asia: Brunei, Hong Kong , Macao Special Administrative Region, Malaysia, Maldives
Hong Kong – Special Administrative Region passports only
Taiwan – only if your passport has a personal ID number on the photo page - Europe: Andorra, Monaco, Vatican City State
- Middle East: Israel
- North America: Bahamas, Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Oceania: Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga
- South and Central America: Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay
- It’s a relatively new system so there’s bound to be teething issues. Misinformed border agents receiving mixed information on process and handling can make a less than smooth process. The longer the process is in effect, the smoother it will surely become.
What About Brexit?
It’s entirely possible that Registered Traveller will be impacted by Britain leaving the EU in March October 2019. To date, there has been no communication or advice put forward about any changes, I will endeavour to update this post when information comes to light.
The Verdict
The best time to become a Registered Traveller is when you have regular travel in/out of the UK planned, a visa valid for several years and no passport renewal insight to avoid additional costs.
While the membership is noticeably more expensive than Global Entry, one must weigh up the time it takes to be processed through the “All Passports” queue. It’s my opinion that the Registered Traveller service is gold for anyone travelling to the UK regularly. However the system does have some kinks that need to be ironed out.
More Information about Registered Traveller
- Registered Traveller Service – UK Government
- Free Movement of Persons – link to the European Union
- What is the Schengen region?
Hi Roma, you left out Hong Kong on the list of Asian countries – that’s also eligible for Registered Traveller 🙂
Thank you JP, I have amended the post and added Special Administrative Region passports only for Hong Kong.
help! I would love to get Registered Traveller but i have a slight challenge. almost 40 years ago, I was arrested and have a criminal record because of it…it was petty. However when I answer yes, i am no longer eligible. I would love to discuss this with the agency however I can\’t find any email or website that would connect me to someone and I have been attempting for days and hours…As well, I have global entry and nexxus in the US, with them knowing about the arrest. Any suggestions of where to go next. I am coming into the UK regularly and it would make a big difference…thank you
Hi Carla, I would look at the Registered Traveller page on the .gov.uk website for more information. They do have a self-assessment tool which checks your eligibility, from your comment it seems as though you’ve already gone through that and don’t qualify. I’m not sure what your next steps are from here. Try this UK Government website https://www.gov.uk/registered-traveller or your local UK Consulate/Embassy for further discussion?
Hey guys, I’m an Aussie living in UK for 8 years now and have a residence permit for the UK. The fact you have a residence permit from home office allows you to use EU passports lane at anytime without the need to fill out landing cards. I haven’t filled out a landing card for many years and have used my Aussie passport in EU passport line. I personally find the EU line very quick and wizz through in no time. I’m not sure smart traveller/registered traveller is worth the £50 annual fee as my visa gives me access to the EU lane just not the electronic gates – which look like they would take longer anyway.
Great information Paul thanks very much. So you have indefinite leave to remain? – I don’t know officially if you can use the EU line if you’re on a visa, I was under the impression that you could not. Also the introduction of those horrendous e-Gates makes life even harder. Recommend anyone on a non-EU passport simply sees a real person rather than attempt the e-Gates.
Hello! Just a quick question – after your renewed your RT membership, do you still need to fill in landing card the next time you enter the UK?
Yes Wan I believe I did. There’s not a lot of FAQs on the scheme so if I recall correctly, I joined the EU queue and was then sent to the Non-EU queue to submit a landing card. A frustrating experience so after that I carried a spare blank landing card with me just in case.