Immigration checks cross the channel
UK Immigration checks are moving onto the French side of the Channel on Sunday, in an attempt to reduce illegal immigration. Passports of passengers travelling to Dover through Calais and Dunkirk will be checked before they leave France.
Passengers without the correct documentation will not be allowed to travel to the UK.
The reciprocal deal between the UK and French Governments is intended to intercept illegal immigrants before they arrive in Dover. French border police will also make checks on the UK side of the Channel.
The system has already been used on the Eurostar and Eurotunnel cross-channel services, and is claimed to have greatly reduced the number of people arriving without proper passports or visas.
Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes said: “We are effectively moving our borders across the Channel. UK immigration officers will be able to stop would-be illegal immigrants even before they set off for the UK.”
The government says the move is the latest stage in a “radical package” of measures designed to reduce the number of asylum seekers. Other measures have included closing the Sangatte refugee camp, tightening security at the Channel Tunnel and using scanning equipment that can find people hiding inside vehicles.
Ms Hughes also said there were intelligence-led efforts to tackle organised gangs of “people smugglers”.
