The UK Home Office will run a third live-facial-recognition (LFR) test at Holyhead port—gateway for the Dublin-Holyhead ferry corridor—during the week commencing 23 February 2026. Internal Home Office papers seen by The Irish Times reveal that immigration-enforcement officers will compare passengers’ faces against watch-lists in real time to identify individuals breaching deportation orders or wanted for serious offences. (irishtimes.com)
Holyhead was selected because intelligence suggested some deported individuals were exploiting minimal CTA checks to re-enter the UK. Previous short pilots in November 2025 scanned 7,512 faces over six days, generating two alerts and one arrest. Officials say the latest trial will collect more data on system accuracy in low-light maritime environments and assess public-perception risks.
Although LFR use is lawful in the UK, civil-liberties groups on both sides of the Irish Sea warn that the technology could normalise mass surveillance on a route traditionally free of routine border checks. Dr Elizabeth Farries of UCD’s Centre for Digital Policy argues that “mission creep” is a real danger and calls for Irish authorities to set clear red lines before similar systems appear in Irish ports or airports. (irishtimes.com)
![UK Facial-Recognition Pilot at Holyhead Will Scan Thousands of Irish Travellers This Week]()
If you decide to reroute staff or need clarity on documentation for alternative crossings, VisaHQ’s Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) can quickly check visa or eTA requirements, issue travel alerts, and handle paperwork for multiple destinations—saving time while the biometric trials play out.
For Irish businesses, the immediate impact is minimal—facial scans will occur after passengers disembark and should not delay sailings. However, travel managers should brief staff that biometric data may be captured and stored when entering the UK via Holyhead. Companies whose employees have heightened privacy concerns or sensitive roles (e.g., pharmaceutical R&D, legal) may wish to route through Liverpool or use air services until the pilot concludes.
Data-protection professionals highlight that, because the scans occur on UK soil, Irish travellers cannot exercise GDPR rights over the images; instead, UK data-protection law applies. Organisations collecting employee biometrics under UK border-security exemptions are not required to notify data subjects individually, so awareness campaigns will rely on signage in the terminal and ferry announcements.
Holyhead was selected because intelligence suggested some deported individuals were exploiting minimal CTA checks to re-enter the UK. Previous short pilots in November 2025 scanned 7,512 faces over six days, generating two alerts and one arrest. Officials say the latest trial will collect more data on system accuracy in low-light maritime environments and assess public-perception risks.
Although LFR use is lawful in the UK, civil-liberties groups on both sides of the Irish Sea warn that the technology could normalise mass surveillance on a route traditionally free of routine border checks. Dr Elizabeth Farries of UCD’s Centre for Digital Policy argues that “mission creep” is a real danger and calls for Irish authorities to set clear red lines before similar systems appear in Irish ports or airports. (irishtimes.com)
If you decide to reroute staff or need clarity on documentation for alternative crossings, VisaHQ’s Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) can quickly check visa or eTA requirements, issue travel alerts, and handle paperwork for multiple destinations—saving time while the biometric trials play out.
For Irish businesses, the immediate impact is minimal—facial scans will occur after passengers disembark and should not delay sailings. However, travel managers should brief staff that biometric data may be captured and stored when entering the UK via Holyhead. Companies whose employees have heightened privacy concerns or sensitive roles (e.g., pharmaceutical R&D, legal) may wish to route through Liverpool or use air services until the pilot concludes.
Data-protection professionals highlight that, because the scans occur on UK soil, Irish travellers cannot exercise GDPR rights over the images; instead, UK data-protection law applies. Organisations collecting employee biometrics under UK border-security exemptions are not required to notify data subjects individually, so awareness campaigns will rely on signage in the terminal and ferry announcements.
