Biometric e-gates

How e-gates work

EU law defines a self-service system as an automated system which performs all or some of the border checks that apply to a person ¹. It defines an e-gate as infrastructure operated by electronic means where a border is actually crossed ¹.

Australian Border Force says SmartGates use facial recognition technology and your passport to check your identity and process you through Passport Control ³.

E-gates read the chip in an ePassport. ICAO says the chip holds a digital signature that lets a verifier detect whether the data was altered ⁴.

UK ePassport eGates

Border Force published its guide to faster travel through the UK border, last updated on 20 October 2026 ². It says there are over 290 eGates at 15 air and rail ports ².

• Travellers need a biometric symbol on the cover of their passport ².
• Users must be 8 or over. Children aged 8 to 17 must be accompanied by an adult ².
• British and Irish citizens can use them ².
• Others need valid immigration status and must be nationals of an EU country, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the USA ².
• Members of the Registered Traveller Service are eligible ².
• Those travelling with ID cards cannot use the eGates ².

Australian SmartGates

Australian Border Force says travellers can both arrive in and depart from Australia through a SmartGate ³. Its page was last updated on 1 October 2026 ³. The page read for this entry does not list eligible airports, ages or nationalities ³.

EU rules under the Entry/Exit System

Regulation (EU) 2017/2225 of 30 November 2017 amended the Schengen Borders Code for the Entry/Exit System ¹.

Under Article 8a, people subject to EES registration may pre-enrol their data at a self-service system. The chip must be authenticated and the live face or fingerprints must match the travel document ¹.

Under Article 8b, travellers may use a self-service system if they are already enrolled or pre-enrolled in the EES. They may then be authorised to use an e-gate ¹. Self-service systems and e-gates work under border guard supervision to detect inappropriate, fraudulent or abnormal use ¹.

Article 8d lets Member States run national facilitation programmes for pre-vetted third-country nationals. Initial access lasts up to one year and may be extended by up to five more years ¹.

Biometrics and the UN Security Council

UN Security Council resolution 2396 (2017), paragraph 15, decides that Member States shall develop and implement systems to collect biometric data, in line with domestic and international human rights law ⁵.