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Home Office Universal Permission to Travel; Submit a General Aviation Report (sGAR), Future Border & Immigration System |
In August 2023 the Home Office produced this information pack to provide more information on the Home Office’s new Universal Permission to Travel (UPT) scheme, along with further information regarding the UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), Electronic Visas (eVisas), Carriers’ Liability Scheme and the Common Travel Area (CTA), alongside how it will effect the Submit a General Aviation Report (sGAR) interface. The current Roadmap wil see the introduction of some elements towards the end of 2023.
sGAR is for all general aviation pilots, operators and agents making international journeys or travelling within the Common Travel Area, to advise UK authorities of their expected journey in advance of travel. It enables users to submit digitised data about the aircraft, the flight and persons and goods on board.
It includes the following sections:
1. Future Border and Immigration System
2. Digital-only Immigration Products: Electronic Travel Authorisation
3. Digital-only Immigration Products: eVisa
4. Common Travel Area and Carriers' Liability Scheme
5. UPT and Health-Related Responses
6. Delivery Roadmap and Next Steps
The UK Government is committed to strengthening the UK’s borders by ensuring that everyone travelling to the UK (except British and Irish citizens) seek permission in advance of travel – this is our Universal Permission to Travel (UPT) requirement. It is our ambition for those operating services across all modes– including General Aviation - to use a Home Office system to check each person’s permission to travel prior to check-in and boarding.
A pilot, operator or agent will be able to use the Home Office’s sGAR interface to check whether an individual has a valid permission. When a person’s information is submitted via sGAR, we will return a response confirming whether a person has met the security and immigration (and, when applicable, health requirements) to travel to the UK.
The Home Office is:
- Moving from physical immigration documents to digital-only immigration products (e.g. eVisas).
- Introducing the Universal Permission to Travel (UPT) scheme which will require everyone travelling to the UK (except
- British and Irish citizens) to hold an immigration permission before they travel.
- Introducing a new digital-only immigration product for non-visa nationals, Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
- Updating the Carriers’ Liability Scheme to require pilots, operators and agents to check immigration permissions for non-visa nationals (as well as visa nationals).
To support the move to digital-only immigration products and the introduction of the UPT scheme, the Home Office is updating the sGAR web user interface so that when users submit passenger information we can return a response confirming whether or not a passenger has a valid immigration permission.
Impact on Pilots, Operators and Agents:
- Pilots, operators and agents will be responsible for confirming each passenger is the rightful holder of the travel document presented and that the document is genuine and unaltered.
- Where a pilot, operator or agent has not complied with this requirement, they will be liable to a penalty.
- Where the Home Office has confirmed a passenger has a valid permission, pilots, operators or agents will not need to check for physical permission.
- There will be some limited exceptions for those who we cannot require to hold a permission – e.g. diplomats.
Change to Submit a General Aviation Report:
- Submit a General Aviation Report (sGAR) already exists and is being used by General Aviation. However currently this only provides pilots, operators and agents with an API submission receipt confirmation.
- UPT will build on this interface by sending back responses relating to each passenger’s permission to travel.
- The responses will provide the pilot, operator or agent with information on whether the passenger has a valid permission to travel to the UK, or whether any additional manual checks should be carried out.
Benefits to Pilots, Operators and Agents:
- With the full implementation of UPT, in the majority of cases, pilots, operators or agents will receive a response from the Home Office to confirm whether a passenger has met the travel requirements rather than having to determine it for themselves.
- Where we can confirm a digital permission, pilots, operators and agents will not have to check physical immigration permissions (e.g. visa, vignette, BRP) but will still need to perform a document identity check at boarding
- Pilots, Operators and Agents can rely on the message from the Home Office to confirm permission – reducing liability/risk of error
- Pilots, Operators and Agents are provided with confirmation of whether a passenger has met requirements in advance of travel, or what action they need to take
- Introduced the ability for Pilots, Operators and Agents to detect fraudulent permissions
Next Steps:
- General Aviation Engagement Event – Autumn 2023
- sGAR Testing Begins – October 2023
- sGAR Go Live with UPT functionality – November 2023
The Home Office will be holding our next series of UPT engagement in Autumn 2023 and will provide further information on the changes being introduced to sGAR. Pilots, operators and agents will have the opportunity to ask any further questions they may have prior and during the engagements sessions
Registration will be free for the General Aviation event. Details on how to register through Eventbrite will be published.
These changes will clearly impact flights to and from the UK, with Pilots, Operators and Agents being responsible for compliance. AOPA would encourage any Pilot who does travel abroad and will be affected to attend any engagement event offered. We would also like to hear any members views on these changes - email