Australian travellers can now skip the passport control queues at the UK's largest airports – including Heathrow, Gatwick and London City, with Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Stansted to follow – thanks to an expansion of the scheme.
The program has dropped its initial invitation-only caveat and now extends to all nationals from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the USA and Canada.
Note that you still need to have travelled to the UK four or more times in the last 52 weeks.
Apply online at www.gov.uk/registered-traveller, punch in your credit card details to cover the application fee, and on your next trip to the UK – as well as the Eurostar terminals at Paris, Lille and Brussels – you'll be able to use the ePassport gates or UK/EU channels instead of joining that snaking slow-moving immigration line.
You also won’t need to fill out a landing card – simply present your passport for a quick check and you’re out the door.
The current application fee is a non-refundable £50, but from April 8 this increases to £70 – although £50 of this will be refunded if your application isn’t successful. There's also an annual £50 Registered Traveller membership fee.
Also from April 8 the Registered Traveller scheme will include Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Stansted, with other UK airports to be added throughout 2015.