UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s post-Brexit trade deal indicates that British passengers will be able to use passport e-Gates when travelling through European airports as early as October.
The announcement, which is part of a wide-ranging deal negotiated by the UK Prime Minister, follows six months of negotiations and was finalised ahead of a summit involving EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa in London on Monday.
However, the Minister for Industry, Sarah Jones, has warned that negotiations for e-Gate usage will now continue with individual countries directly.
Talking to Sky News, she said, “Of course, it will take time with each country, but we will go as fast as we can.”
Since the UK’s Brexit transition in 2020, British passport holders have for the most part had to queue to get their documents manually stamped by border control officers. A limited number of airports in Spain and Portugal have allowed British travellers to use their eGates as an exception. From October 2025, any passenger with a valid UK biometric passport will be widely eligible to use eGates at most European hubs in a move that will save time and reduce stress at border checks.
A statement from the UK Government reads: “British holidaymakers will be able to use more eGates in Europe, ending the dreaded queues at border control. Pets will also be able to travel more easily, with the introduction of ‘pet passports’ for UK cats and dogs.”
British travellers with a valid passport will be able to use the same automated gates already available to travellers from countries including the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The implementation of the change in October, will coincide with the upcoming launch of the European Entry/ Exit system (EES). This rollout of this system, which has been delayed on several occasions, updates how all non-EU travellers are processed at EU borders and which the European Commission says will be progressively introduced at airports from this Autumn
Since Brexit, passengers with EU passports arriving into the UK have continued to have access to eGates across UK airports.
