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24 Apr, 2014

UK e-Borders programme unable to help track immigration – The Guardian

The UK Home Office’s £500m e-Borders programme, which is designed to check everybody coming in and out of Britain and has taken more than 10 years to develop, cannot be used to estimate immigration, ministers have admitted.

They told MPs on the public administration select committee (PAC) that data from the programme cannot be used to replace the existing methods of estimating net migration to Britain because it does not collect information about whether passengers are long-term migrants or just visitors or tourists.

In fact, the Home Office has said it would be illegal under European Union legislation on free movement to routinely ask passengers how long they intend to stay or their purpose in entering the UK.

Read the rest: UK e-Borders programme unable to help track immigration | UK news | The Guardian.