The Independent Chief Inspector comments on the inspection report on refusals at the border following its publication.
A robust and consistent process for refusing entry at the border is essential to effective immigration control and to national security.
This inspection examined the current processes used by officials to assess whether an individual should be refused entry to the UK at the border. It was conducted at the full range of Border Force control points, including airports and seaports in the UK, as well as juxtaposed controls overseas.
The inspection also considered the extent of preparations for a digital, contactless border including the introduction of an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) requirement for most foreign nationals and the implications for existing border control processes.
Inspectors found that current arrangements for refusals at the border do not operate as a coherent national system. There is no overarching strategy to guide activity, priorities are not consistently defined, and operational practice varies across ports of entry. Data collection and assurance arrangements are insufficiently developed, limiting both effective performance assessment and strategic oversight at national level.
Although the inspection found no evidence of inappropriate refusals, the present model remains grounded in a historic, face-to-face approach to border control and has not yet been fully reconciled with the intended transition to a digitised border. It is therefore essential that the future purpose and role of refusals activity be clearly defined in order to support a coherent, proportionate, and sustainable approach.
This report contains two recommendations and was sent to the Home Secretary on 16 April 2026. I am pleased that both recommendations have been accepted in full and that work to implement these recommendations is under way.
John Tuckett, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration
25 June 2026
