| Border Force | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1 March 2012; 13 years ago (2012-03-01) |
| Preceding agency | |
| Employees | 10,000 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency (Operations jurisdiction) | United Kingdom |
| Operations jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Legal jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Specialist jurisdiction |
|
| Operational structure | |
| Overseen by | Independent Office for Police Conduct/His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services/Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Agency executives |
|
| Parent agency | Home Office |
| Facilities | |
| Cutters | |
| Website | |
www | |
Border Force (BF) is a British law enforcement command within theHome Office,[1] responsible for frontlineborder control operations at air, sea and rail ports in theUnited Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunctUK Border Agency from its establishment in 2008 untilHome SecretaryTheresa May demerged it in March 2012 after severe criticism of the senior management.[2]
Border Force was formed on 1 March 2012, becoming accountable directly to ministers. It is responsible for immigration and customs controls and the screening of passengers, freight and port staff at 140 rail, air and sea ports in the UK and western Europe, as well as thousands of smaller airstrips, ports and marinas.[3] The work of the Border Force is monitored by theIndependent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. In 2024, an additional Border Security Command was established, specifically to tackle organised immigration crime.
Border Force officers can hold the powers of both customs officers and immigration officers.[4] Their duties also include counter-terrorism, part of which is to detect and deter the illicit importation of radioactive and nuclear material by terrorists or criminals.
Aside from powers listed below in relation to immigration and customs, section 2 ofthe Borders Act 2007 also allows designated officers of the Border Force to detain anyone for anycriminal offence or arrest warrant at a port if the Border Officer thinks they would be liable to arrest by apolice constable. The power allows detention for three hours pending the arrival of a police constable. The power also applies to points of entry inBelgium andFrance where Border Officers work, whereby the Border Officer will turn the detained person over toBelgian orFrench police officers as appropriate.[5]
Prior to 2007 three agencies were responsible for border control in the UK:
As early as 2003, a single "border police force" had been proposed.[6]
In 2005,HMCE andInland Revenue merged to form HMRC, however HMRC was still responsible for customs control at the border until 2009. Throughout 2006 and 2007 there were suggestions for a merged border control department.[7]
Initially this plan was to turn the Immigration and Nationality Directorate into a uniformed body of Immigration officers at the border, theBorder and Immigration Agency.
The BIA was created on 1 April 2007. It was short lived and was replaced only a year later on 1 April 2008 by theUK Border Agency (UKBA). The UK Border Agency was a merger of the BIA, UKvisas and the port customs functions of HM Revenue and Customs. It created one of the largest law enforcement bodies in the UK.
On 5 November 2011, following various failings of the UKBA, then-Home SecretaryTheresa May said that an independent inquiry would be undertaken, led by theChief Inspector of the UK Border Agency John Vine.[8] UK Border Force became a separate organisation on 1 March 2012.[9]
The first Director General of Border Force was the former Chief Constable ofWiltshire PoliceBrian Moore, who was appointed on secondment on an interim basis to last until 31 August 2012 and was expected to apply for the position permanently, despite criticism of his management of passport queues.[10] On 10 July 2012, Immigration MinisterDamian Green confirmed that Moore had not applied for the post, despite Moore earlier telling theHome Affairs Select Committee that he would be applying.
Tony Smith was appointed as interim Director General of Border Force on 19 September 2012.[11] Smith was previously Gold Commander for the London 2012 Olympic Programme and Regional Director for London and the South East in theUK Border Agency and has spent forty years in border control and enforcement work.
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Montgomery was named as the new Director General on 25 January 2013.[12]
In June 2017 Montgomery left Border Force and Paul Lincoln (a civil servant from the MOD and Home office) was appointed as the new Director General.[13] Neither of the two had any previous experience of immigration or customs.
The stated responsibilities of theHome Office's Border Force are the following:[14][15]
Border Force is responsible for immigration and customs at 140 rail, air and sea ports in the UK and western Europe, as well as thousands of smaller airstrips, ports and marinas.
In July 2024, Home SecretaryYvette Cooper announced the creation of the Border Security Command, an appendant supervisory body of the Border Force that will be tasked with tackling organised immigration crime. The new unit will report to the Home Secretary directly and will direct theNational Crime Agency, intelligence agencies, and police on how to break up smuggling gangs.[16]
Border Force has six operational regions:
The regions have responsibility for securing the border 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at the UK’s ports, airports, postal depots and rail.
This includes theEurostar fromBrussels andParis toSt Pancras International and theEurotunnel from Coquelles toFolkestone.
There are approximately 10,000 people who work in Border Force, according to the UK Government website.[17]
The regions' work includes stopping 100 percent of passengers arriving at ports or airports for immigration controls.
Officers also conduct risk-led interceptions for controlled drugs, cash, tobacco, alcohol, firearms, offensive weapons, prohibited goods, counterfeit goods and clandestine entrants.
They do this at passenger and freight controls, covering passengers travelling on foot, by car, coaches, freight vehicles, as well as air freight and sea containers.
Members of the BF are known as "Border Force officers" and arecivil servants, part ofHM's Civil Service.
Staff hold a mixture of powers granted to them by their status as immigration officers and designated customs officials.[18][19]
Immigration officers have powers of arrest and detention conferred on them by theImmigration Act 1971 and subsequent Immigration Acts, when both at ports and inland. In practice, non-arrest trained Border Force immigration officers exercise powers under Schedule 2 of the Immigration Act 1971, while inland immigration officers work under S28A-H of the Immigration Act 1971 and paragraph 17 of Schedule 2 of the same Act, as do arrest-trained Border Force immigration officers at the frontier.
Historically, port and inland immigration officers received different training to reflect these different approaches to immigration enforcement, which is now reinforced by inland officers working forImmigration Enforcement, a separate Home Office Command.
"Designated Immigration Officers" are Border Force immigration officers who have been designated with additional detention powers, under Sections 1 to 4 of the UK Borders Act 2007, where a person at a port or airport is suspected of being liable to arrest by a police officer for non-border offences.
Border Force officers designated as customs officials under the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 have wide-ranging powers of entry, search, seizure and arrest. They hold the same customs and excise powers as officers ofHM Revenue and Customs, but cannot use HMRC powers for non-border matters, such as Income Tax and VAT. Amongst their powers is the ability to arrest anyone who has committed, or whom the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect has committed, any offence under the Customs and Excise Acts. They may also seize prohibited and restricted goods, such as controlled drugs and firearms, as well as ensuring that imported goods bear the correct taxes and duties.[20]
Uniformed Border Force officers have their rank displayed on shoulder epaulettes, attached to their shirt, jumper or jacket. Warranted officers below Senior Officer rank may also have their identification number displayed.[22]
| BF Rank | Epaulette Insignia | Personal Number Displayed |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative Assistant (Civil Service Grade: AA) | Plain[22] | Yes |
| Assistant Officer (Civil Service Grade: AO) | Single Chevron[22] | Yes |
| Officer (Civil Service Grade: EO) | Single Bath Star 'Pip'[22] | Yes |
| Higher Officer (Civil Service Grade: HEO) | 2 Bath Star 'Pips'[22] | Yes |
| Senior Officer (Civil Service Grade: SEO) | 3 Bath Star 'Pips'[22] | No |
| Assistant Director (Civil Service Grade: Grade 7) | St Edward's Crown[22] | No |
| Deputy Director (Civil Service Grade: Grade 6) | St Edward's Crown above a Single Bath Star 'Pip'[22] | No |
| Director (Civil Service Grade: SCS1) | Single Bath Star 'Pip' above a Laurel wrapped Portcullis[22] | No |
| Senior Director (Civil Service Grade: SCS2) | St Edward's Crown above a Laurel wrapped Portcullis[22] | No |
| Director General (Civil Service Grade: SCS3) | St Edward's Crown above 2 Bath Star 'Pips' above a Laurel wrapped Portcullis[22] | No |
All BF officers wear a dark blue uniform (without headgear).
BF officers always wear their rank and personal number on an epaulette (see above).
Officers carry batons, handcuffs, radios and may wear a stab vest, or equipment vest.[23] BF also has a dog unit and dog handlers.[24]
Immigration control within the United Kingdom is managed within a widerCommon Travel Area (CTA). The CTA is an intergovernmental agreement that allows freedom of movement within an area that encompasses the UK, Isle of Man, Channel Islands (Guernsey, Jersey, Sark and Alderney) and the Republic of Ireland. Authorised entry to any of the above essentially allows entry to all the others but it is the responsibility of the person entering to ensure that they are properly documented for entry to other parts of the CTA. Despite the CTA it is still possible to be deported from the UK to the Republic of Ireland and vice versa, although as of 2019, the Home Office had a policy to only deport Irish nationals in exceptional circumstances.[25]
Entry to the UK via theChannel Tunnel from France, Belgium or the Netherlands, or by ferry fromCalais andDunkirk in France is controlled byjuxtaposed immigration controls. Travellers clear UK passport control in France, Belgium or the Netherlands, while those travelling from the UK to France, Belgium or the Netherlands clear entry border checks to theSchengen Area while in the UK. Belgium and the Netherlands do not maintain controls in the UK as the first Schengen country entered is France. UK Border Force checkpoints in France are operated at thePort of Calais, the Port ofDunkirk, theEurotunnel Calais Terminal,Calais-Fréthun station (suspended in 2020),Lille Europe station andParis Gare du Nord station. For passengers arriving by the Eurostar Disney train fromMarne-la-Vallée Chessy station, UK border control took place at the arrival stations in the UK but Eurostar ceased Disney services in June 2023.[26] A checkpoint operated atBoulogne-sur-Mer until the port closed in August 2010.
UK Border Force Checkpoints inBelgium operate atBrussels-South railway station.
UK Border Force checkpoints in theNetherlands operate fromAmsterdam Centraal andRotterdam Centraal stations. These began operating on 26 October 2020.[27]
United States border preclearance is an equivalent system operated by that country'sequivalent to the UKBF at some airports outside the US.
All vessels of the Border Force bear theship prefix "HMC"—His Majesty'sCutter. Between May and October 2015 two of the vessels, HMCProtector andHMCSeeker, were deployed in theMediterranean conducting search and rescue operations. The Border Force also has a recently chartered vessel namedMVVOS Grace.[28]
In 2022 it was reported that additional boats and crews had been chartered (for up to six months at a time) from companies linked to the offshore wind industry.[29]
In 2024 it was announced that a “new team” would be setup by the new Labour Government’s Home Office, to tackle smugglers who try to bring illegal substances into the country by sea: “The new Maritime Directorate will work closely with other enforcement agencies to improve intelligence and cooperation with other countries”.[30] In March 2025 The BBC reported a successful operation to disrupt a £58M plot to smuggle cocaine into the UK, the first public announcement attributing success to this new “Directorate” of Border Force.[31]
| Ship | Class | Entered service | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMCSeeker | UKBF 42m Customs Cutter | 2001 | 257 tonnes | Cutter | ||
| HMCSearcher | UKBF 42m Customs Cutter | 2002 | 257 tonnes | Cutter | ||
| HMCVigilant | UKBF 42m Customs Cutter | 2003 | 257 tonnes | Cutter | ||
| HMCValiant | UKBF 42m Customs Cutter | 2004 | 257 tonnes | Cutter | ||
| HMCProtector | Telkkä-class | 2014 | 434 tonnes | Cutter | Portsmouth[32] | [33] |
| HMCActive | 20m RIB | 2016 | 31 tonnes | Coastal Patrol Vessel | [34][35][36] | |
| HMCAlert | 20m RIB | 2016 | 31 tonnes | Coastal Patrol Vessel | [34][35][36] | |
| HMCEagle | 20m RIB | 2016 | 31 tonnes | Coastal Patrol Vessel | [34][35][36] | |
| HMCNimrod | 20m RIB | 2016 | 31 tonnes | Coastal Patrol Vessel | [34][35][36] | |
| HMCHunter | 20m RIB | 2018 | 31 tonnes | Coastal Patrol Vessel | [37] | |
| HMCSpeedwell | 20m RIB | 2018 | 31 tonnes | Coastal Patrol Vessel | [37][38] |
On 30 October 2022, the new Immigration Centre in Dover Harbour was attacked with firebombs thrown from a car.[39] Two members of staff were injured. The suspect, Andrew Leak from High Wycombe, was found dead in a vehicle. Responsibility for investigation was passed to the Counter Terrorism Policing South East.[40] Leak's online activities had included far-right content and conspiracy theories.[41] On 5 November 2022, the police stated that the attack "was motivated by a terrorist ideology".[42]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
| Africa | |
|---|---|
| Asia |
|
| Europe | |
| North America | |
| Oceania | |
| South America | |
