E-passports and immigration whilst arriving into the UK

Out of sheer curiosity, my wife (who is currently on a spousal visa with BRP) is a US citizen and every-time she has travelled in and out of the UK, on arrival back into the UK she normally goes through the e-passport gates which now allow US citizens to scan their e-passports... I think the only time she ever came into the UK through actual immigration was during her first initial entry on her spousal visa... does it make any difference if you go through e-passport control when you have your BRP or do you actually need to present yourself to an immigration officer each time you come back into the UK?


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My husband uses the e-passport gates every time we come back into the UK he has his BRP with him but has not been asked for it. Just scan the passport and go.

Good question and very helpful answer!
On a related note - Should we go through the immigration desk after FLR(M) when using a new BRP for the first time?

Just bumping these questions to the top if anyone can respond :-)


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No, if you have a BRP you just go through the e-gates every time you enter the U.K.

The only time you go to the immigration desk is on your very first entry to the UK on your initial fiancé or spousal visa... so that there is a record of the date you moved to the UK and started your residency (for calculation of FLR and ILR dates). Even then though, they may just tell you to go through the e-gates.


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