Registered Traveller

Hi there!
I applied for the Registered Traveller scheme back in March and it's been great - no landing cards and breezing through immigration. The only issue is this: the e-gates have never worked for me. Ever. I travel abroad a lot and haven't had any luck with the e-gates.

Last month I was returning from a trip and the nice IO at Gatwick told me that the gates never work, and are especially designed not to work for Registered Travellers. He advised to keep trying the e-gates because otherwise, I'd be in the rest of the world queue (when I'm not with my UKC husband).

Every trip abroad before that, the IO never said anything. Yesterday I returned from Italy and there was so much confusion at Heathrow. Like, I can't even...

My UKC husband and I went toward the gates and the Heathrow employee (the ones with the purple blazers) stopped me because he saw my US passport in my hand. I explained I was a Registered Traveller and showed him my card. He told me to join the rest of the world lane, and I went to the e-gates anyway. The e-gates didn't work and he came over and said how he told me not to, etc, etc, and then my husband re-iterated that I could because I'm a Registered Traveller and the Heathrow employee shrugged. We joined the queue with other people whose passports wouldn't work at the e-gates.

In the past, this has gone smoothly, but yesterday the IO just could not understand how and why I was a Registered Traveller, but that my UKC husband was not. My husband explained three different ways to the IO that he was a British Citizen (passport in hand, plus a strong English accent!) and the IO just looked at me and said, "Your passport isn't working because it's not biometric." I pointed out to him that it was (it has the symbol) and he just looked at me with a blank stare and said, "Oh, then it's broken." He shoved our passports back at us and was just really odd.

If anyone else is a Registered Traveller, have you had similar experiences? Or maybe your passport actually works at the e-gates? I do have a theory that mine doesn't work because I have the 52-page book with additional pages, but it's overall in good condition.

Thanks!

How interesting. Since joining, I've only entered through non-included airports. I will be entering through Heathrow next month. Sounds like I need to keep the card and the email explaining permissions handy! I will let you know how it goes!

I've gone through the Heathrow e-gates a number of times as a Registered Traveller without any problems. My partner (UKC), however, always has a heck of a time getting the e-gates to work with his UK passport. It usually takes multiple scans - both by him and with the assistance of the border staff - before the gate will open.

I think it's because his passport photo isn't a great likeness but since it works eventually it could be the chip (the passport is pretty battered). My guess is that you have a passport photo/chip problem rather than a Registered Traveller problem!

I've gone through the Heathrow e-gates a number of times as a Registered Traveller without any problems. My partner (UKC), however, always has a heck of a time getting the e-gates to work with his UK passport. It usually takes multiple scans - both by him and with the assistance of the border staff - before the gate will open.

I think it's because his passport photo isn't a great likeness but since it works eventually it could be the chip (the passport is pretty battered). My guess is that you have a passport photo/chip problem rather than a Registered Traveller problem!

I have awful problems getting my UK passport to scan through the electronic gates... I couldn’t get it to work at all when I flew to Germany in September - I had to get one of the Frankfurt airport staff to help me, and he joked that the machine didn’t like my passport because of Brexit .


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My guess is that you have a passport photo/chip problem rather than a Registered Traveller problem!

Haha! I think next week when I fly back I'll make sure I replicate my passport photo exactly! Or maybe I'm not even looking at the right thing (thus my eyes "don't match.") It tells me to seek assistance after three attempts, so it's trying to read something!

Just returned from the US yesterday and at the Heathrow the gates didn't work for me (what a surprise!). This time, the IO said she couldn't see why the gates "rejected" me. There was another American there having issues, too. So weird...