§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which states oblige air and sea carriers to check the validity of the passports and visas of incoming passengers; and, in each case whether fines are levied for passengers with incorrect documents. [HL570]
§ Lord Williams of MostynThe following 50 countries are known to impose liability on carriers who bring inadequately documented passengers into their jurisdiction:
Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea Bissau, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Korea, Liberia, Macau, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, the United States of America, Venezuela, the Yemen Republic.
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have examined the Canadian performance-related system of carriers' liability for airlines: and if not, why not. [HL571]
§ Lord Williams of MostynYes.
The United Kingdom system, administered under the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987, is much simpler, incorporates a discretion to waive charges in individual cases, and provides an attractive incentive 155WA known as the Approved Gate Check (AGC) scheme. Under this scheme, where a carrier's performance in checking documents at individual ports of embarkation is shown to be secure, that carrier will not normally incur charges in respect of passengers who nevertheless arrive in the United Kingdom from those ports of embarkation with no travel documents in their possession.