U.K. Plans To Use More Facial Recognition Cameras To Catch Immigration Offenders

(Facial recognition Camera. Photo Credit: The Guadian)

The UK. government wants to widen its use of live facial recognition technology to crack down on immigration rule breaches.

The Home Office is developing the plan, which could place cameras at transport hubs and public events.

The aim is to help immigration officers spot people who have overstayed their visas, entered the country illegally or broken the conditions of their stay.

Policy documents published in October, and seen on Thursday, show the plan could go further.

It may cover general immigration enforcement, including civil violations that are not crimes.

The move fits with plans from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to step up immigration enforcement.

That includes more funding, more staff and bigger deportation operations.

Home Office says the technology would help officers find people who are facing removal and those trying to re-enter the UK illegally.

The documents also suggest it could cut down on repeat visits to homes and workplaces.

The technology has already been tested three times at Holyhead port in north Wales, between November 2025 and February 2026.

The trials looked for people coming from Ireland who had deportation orders or were wanted over immigration-related crimes.

The programme is now moving into its formal delivery phase, and officials are looking at wider use at transport hubs and large gatherings.

A Home Office spokesperson said more trials are being considered while the government weighs the benefits and effects of the technology.

Mahmood said facial recognition has been a big step forward in catching criminals, helping police take thousands of dangerous offenders off the streets.

She said the benefits are clear but its use must be fair, safe and proportionate.

She also said the government needs clear laws so the public can trust the technology is used responsibly.

Still, civil liberties groups and migrant rights advocates have raised concerns about privacy, surveillance and the chance of wrong identifications.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants called the plan a major increase in immigration enforcement powers.

The Open Rights Group questioned how open the plans are, whether the public has been asked for consent and why there is no full law covering facial recognition.

Critics also warn that the technology could hit people of colour harder because of accuracy problems.

Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner William Webster has asked whether current rules are strong enough to oversee the growing use of facial recognition across government.

Under the proposal, people under 18 would not be placed on facial recognition watchlists.