Policy paper

Response to a report on an inspection of Border Force refusals and cancellations of permission to enter the UK: September 2025 – February 2026

Published 25 June 2026

The Home Office thanks the Independent Chief Inspector for this report. The inspection covered the period from September 2025 to February 2026, focusing on Border Force’s approach to refusing passengers permission to enter and cancelling permission to enter and stay at the border.

The Home Office welcomes the ICIBI’s finding that the current refusals system is not broken and that there is no evidence of inappropriate refusal decisions, with inspectors identifying professional practice and commitment among Border Force officers.

While refusals at the border are not an overarching objective in themselves, they arise from effective border security and decision making, and from the Home Office’s primary aim of protecting the border by identifying risk, applying the law consistently and intervening where necessary.

This activity sits within a wider programme of work to digitise and transform the UK border, moving towards a more risk-based and intelligence-led system. As automation increases, clearer operating models, better use of data and stronger assurance will be essential to ensure consistent decision making and effective intervention at the physical border.

The Home Office recognises the Inspector’s assessment that current refusal activity does not operate as a fully coherent national system, and that clearer strategic direction and stronger assurance are required to address current variation and ensure refusal activity operates consistently as part of a national system as the border continues to digitise. Work is already underway to strengthen national oversight, data quality, capability and future operating arrangements, ensuring that refusals continue to play an effective role within a transformed, risk-based border focused on identifying and intervening against higher risk passengers.

The ICIBI has identified several areas for improvement and made two recommendations, one of which contains five elements that have been individually addressed. The Home Office has accepted all recommendations in full.

Recommendation 1

Border Force should expedite existing work to develop an operating model for a digitised contactless border which clarifies what interactions may be needed at the physical border so that those who do not qualify for entry to the country are identified and refused entry. This can then be the basis for evolving and improving the current system.

Accepted

The Home Office recognises the need to deliver a clear operating model for a digitised, contactless border. Border Force is developing an operating model at pace that sets out how the border will function in practice. It will provide clarity for officers on their roles and responsibilities, and the skills required to keep the border secure, while ensuring human effort is focused where it adds most value. This approach will drive the people aspects of the transformation, which are key to how the border will operate and be managed in the future.

The operating model will combine automated risk-based processes with targeted officer intervention at the physical border. Low-risk passengers will increasingly be processed through digital systems, while Border Force officers will focus on identifying and intervening where risk is indicated. This will include intelligence-led interventions, behaviour-based detection, and face-to-face engagement where necessary to assess credibility and intent and, where appropriate, refuse entry.

The operating model is built around two core components, which together define how data, systems and officer activity will work in practice at the border:

a. An intelligent border system that uses data and risk-based technology to support decisions on entry. It will play a central role in identifying risk and informing where human intervention adds the greatest value. It will draw on data held across the wider border and immigration system, including compliance and entry and exit information, to support proportionate and risk-based decisions at the border.

b. An Aviation Concept of Operations (CONOPS), setting out how digital processes and officer activity work together at the physical border. It will maximise the impact of the Border Force threat response and clarify how and when human intervention is required to manage risk at the physical border. This includes establishing a mobile behaviour-based detection capability, including a Mobile Detection Officer role, to identify threats, abuse and safeguarding concerns and other risks that may not be fully mitigated through automated processes alone.

The operating model is being developed through a phased and iterative approach, aligned to the rollout of digital border technologies. This will provide a clear and consistent framework for how and when interaction at the physical border takes place, ensuring effective control as automation increases.

Date of implementation: February 2027

Recommendation 2a

Assuming some form of face-to-face interaction at the physical border is part of any future model, the current model of refusals at the border needs a complete overhaul that defines:

a. A clear aim with measurable success factors

Accepted

The Home Office acknowledges the need to improve clarity in this area and will define a clear aim for refusal activity at UK border controls, setting out what success looks like and how it will be measured. This will focus on lawful, consistent and proportionate decision making that supports border security while enabling legitimate travel. Work will build on existing operational direction and assurance activity, drawing together current expectations into a single, coherent statement of intent.

Measurable success factors will be developed as part of this work, with an initial focus on defining the precise indicators that will be used to assess performance. These are likely to include measures of the quality and consistency of decision making, the timeliness and efficiency of decisions at the border, and the effective use of data and assurance findings to identify and address variation. Collectively, these will support oversight, accountability and continuous improvement, informed by data already collected and existing assurance findings.

Date of implementation: December 2026

Recommendation 2b

Assuming some form of face-to-face interaction at the physical border is part of any future model, the current model of refusals at the border needs a complete overhaul that defines:

a. UK-wide leadership and governance arrangements to define standards and consistency across all ports

Accepted

The Home Office undertakes to strengthen UK-wide leadership and governance for refusal activity to ensure clear accountability, consistent standards and effective oversight across all ports. This will include identifying and assigning a Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) and clearly defining wider strategic ownership, roles, and responsibilities within existing governance structures. This will address where current arrangements have not consistently driven uniform standards across ports, rather than creating additional layers. Existing forums and assurance mechanisms will be used to drive consistency, monitor performance and address emerging risks, ensuring that refusal activity is aligned with wider operational priorities.

Date of implementation: March 2027

Recommendation 2c

Assuming some form of face-to-face interaction at the physical border is part of any future model, the current model of refusals at the border needs a complete overhaul that defines:

c. The priority of this activity in relation to other activities at entry ports to enable robust resource planning

Accepted

The Home Office recognises the need to clarify the priority of refusal activity at entry ports within the context of wider operational demands, supporting effective decision-making and realistic resource planning. The Home Office commits to setting clearer expectations for how refusal activity is balanced alongside other border functions, informed by evidence and operational insight. The aim is to ensure that refusal decision making is appropriately prioritised and resourced, while maintaining flexibility to respond to changing risk and demand at the border.

Date of implementation: March 2027

Recommendation 2d

Assuming some form of face-to-face interaction at the physical border is part of any future model, the current model of refusals at the border needs a complete overhaul that defines:

d. Training and mentoring programmes to ensure appropriate skills are developed and maintained

Accepted

The Home Office is committed to providing the learning and development needed to ensure all our officers have the knowledge, skills, and capabilities required for their roles. If the refusals at the border model or processes change, the Home Office will build upon existing learning provisions by assessing the learning requirements and develop learning and development products to address any identified gaps in knowledge, skills, or capability. This includes upskilling any specialist caseworkers recruited into new casework hubs enabling Border Force to more easily provide mentoring and shadowing opportunities for frontline officers.

Date of implementation: March 2027

Recommendation 2e

Assuming some form of face-to-face interaction at the physical border is part of any future model, the current model of refusals at the border needs a complete overhaul that defines:

1. Data requirements and standards are defined to enable effective performance management and meaningful longer-term planning

Accepted

The Home Office recognises that high-quality data is essential to effective performance management and longer-term planning.

Targeted steps are being taken to strengthen data quality. Recent assurance activity has provided improved insight into the quality of casework data across regions, identifying areas for further improvement. In addition, an immigration casework data working group has been established to align activity across key enablers and improve oversight of data quality issues, including prioritising issues based on operational impact. While this activity has improved insight and oversight, further work is required to embed consistent data standards across all refusal activity.

Work to standardise immigration casework, including the standardisation of regional casework hubs, will establish clearer national expectations for what information must be recorded and the standards data must meet. This provides a stronger foundation for reliable and auditable management information across complex casework and refusals activity. Furthermore, system enhancements, including recent improvements to the border caseworking system, will further support more consistent workflows and improved data capture quality.

Border Force’s first line assurance arrangements provide ongoing oversight of record keeping and decision-making standards for refusals activity. As part of continuous improvement, assurance mapping is being used to assess whether current requirements remain sufficiently focused on data capture and record keeping. It will also inform refinements to ensure assurance continues to support reliable management information and effective oversight as border operating models evolve.

In parallel, the Home Office will review mandatory performance management goals to reinforce individual responsibility for accurate recording, supported by existing mandatory data security and data protection training.

Taken together, these actions are intended to move refusal activity from a series of effective local practices to a more consistent, transparent and nationally coherent system.

Date of implementation: April 2027