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New visa regimes and changes to IRIS accounts for passport holders of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho
11 May 2009
The UK Border Agency has announced new visa regimes and changes to the iris recognition immigration system (IRIS) enrolment criteria for passport holders of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho.
If you are a South African passport holder with business visitor or visitor status on IRIS, these changes will come into effect on Sunday 17 May 2009.
The changes will come into effect on Wednesday 1 July 2009 for all passport holders of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho (see below).
South African passport holders with business visitor or visitor status on IRIS - effective from 17 May 2009
From Sunday 17 May, IRIS accounts for all South African passport holders currently registered on IRIS in the category of business visitor (BV) or visitor (V) will be invalid. These passengers will not be able to use the IRIS barrier to enter the United Kingdom, and will need to present themselves to an officer at immigration passport control.
If you want to check whether you are registered in one of these two categories, please email irisinfo@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. We will send you a reply confirming your current enrolment status.
If you are enrolled in the BV or V category and you want to continue using the IRIS facility, you will need to re-enrol at one of our designated IRIS enrolment rooms on or after 18 May 2009. You will need to have a visa valid for travel to the United Kingdom before you can re-enrol.
When you re-enrol, you will need to present:
- your valid passport or travel document;
- a valid United Kingdom visa which confirms your immigration status in the United Kingdom; and
- your boarding card.
On 1 July 2009, all IRIS accounts for South African passport holders will become invalid, irrespective of the category of visa they hold (see below). Even if you have re-enrolled on IRIS before 30 June 2009, you will need to re-enrol again on or after 1 July if you want to continue using IRIS.
All South African passport holders - effective from 1 July 2009
From 1 July 2009, all existing IRIS accounts for South African passport holders will be invalid, irrespective of the category of visa they hold. These passengers will not be able to use the IRIS barrier to enter the United Kingdom, and will need to present themselves to an officer at immigration passport control.
If you want to continue using the IRIS facility, you will need to re-enrol at one of our designated IRIS enrolment rooms on or after 1 July 2009. You will need to have a visa valid for travel to the United Kingdom before you can re-enrol.
When you re-enrol, you will need to present:
- your valid passport or travel document;
- a valid United Kingdom visa which confirms your immigration status in the United Kingdom; and
- your boarding card.
The new visa regime for South Africa was announced last month, after the country failed to pass the United Kingdom's strict new Visa Waiver Test.
Swaziland and Lesotho passport holders - effective from 1 July 2009
From 1 July 2009, all existing IRIS accounts for Swaziland and Lesotho passport holders will be invalid. These passengers will not be able to use the IRIS barrier to enter the United Kingdom, and will need to present themselves to an officer at immigration passport control.
If you want to continue using the IRIS facility, you will need to re-enrol at one of our designated IRIS enrolment rooms on or after 1 July 2009. You will need to have a visa valid for travel to the United Kingdom before you can re-enrol.
When you re-enrol, you will need to present:
- your valid passport or travel document;
- a valid United Kingdom visa which confirms your immigration status in the United Kingdom; and
- your boarding card.
For more information about the new visa regimes for Swaziland and Lesotho passport holders, visit our visa services website.
The new visa regimes were announced last month, after both countries failed to pass the United Kingdom's strict new Visa Waiver Test.