Britons will be able to skip passport queues and breeze through border controls under new 'contactless corridor' plans using facial recognition technology.
Sound like an excellent idea. I mean, who wouldn't want to get off their plane and walk straight through to get their bags, unhindered, no long queues and make their way home?
Well, I guess the answer to that question is this, "what are you willing to give/up in exchange for that privilege?"
Why not let the UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel explain to you how it's going to work.
Priti Patel has announced plans to begin the rollout of 'contactless' border crossings, which will force overseas visitors to pass criminal record checks, submit photos and pay £18 under US-style checks.
Foreigners will have to apply for permission to enter the UK before starting their journey by obtaining a new electronic travel authorisation (ETA).
The ETA will make it harder for those who pose a threat to enter the UK while allowing travellers 'to get a visa and pass through the border easily'.
Visitors being forced to submit their biographic, biometric and contact details to be automatically checked against watch-lists and criminal databases.
[How does one end up on a watch-list or criminal database? Refuse to bow, to worship a man-made system, as per Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Daniel 3:8-12 - Perhaps, you end up on such lists because you'll worship the religion of God in His Bible, as per Daniel? Daniel 6:11-13 - Or maybe you end up on these lists because like Jesus, your words, although true, will rub people up the wrong way? Luke 20:19-20 ]
Passengers would instead undergo pre-screening and be identified at the border using the latest technology – ensuring the security of the border and the UK.
Travellers boarding without British or Irish passports will be told to apply for an ETA or e-visa from next year, The Times reports.
The Home Office would also be able to bar visitors if they have a jail sentence of more than a year, are persistent offenders, pose a risk of serious harm or where it would not be conducive to the public good.
[What does that mean, "not conducive to the public good" or may I say, common good? Wasn't that Hamaan's argument to the state against Mordecai? Esther 3:8 - And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them.]
Airlines will be required to check passengers have permission to travel before boarding, similar to systems implemented in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Foreigners travelling to the US must complete an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) application - a system that was introduced after the 9/11 terror attacks - to enter the country, which lasts two years and costs around £11.
The plans are set phased in and trials are expected to begin in airports in 2024.
Speaking about the 'contactless border', Ms Patel said on Wednesday: 'As Home Secretary I have been focused of taking back control of our immigration system through my New Plan for Immigration.
'This includes ensuring we have a border that is fit for the 21st century which allows travellers to get a visa and pass through the border easily, while maintaining national security.
'I am also committed to ensuring our fantastic Border Force are given access to the most up to date automation technologies so they can use their specialised skills on protecting our border from those who seek to harm the UK.'
By 2025, it is expected visitors entering the UK with the new ETAs will be able to use e-gates currently restricted to UK passport holders and nationals from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the US. The gates will be extended next year to students with visas.
Let us use this time that we have now to build, develop and strengthen a loving, obedient relationship with our friend, brother and "great God" Jesus Christ.
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Maranatha
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