Immigration data sharing - 'SRTP'

Dear Home Office,

I would like to make a request for information relating to the 'Secure Real Time Platform' data sharing arrangements with other Migration 5 countries.

1) What is the estimated implementation timeline for SRTP for each of the four partner countries?

2) What are the databases used by the UK for the purposes of outbound and inbound queries?

3) If available, please also provide the relevant databases for other M5 countries.

4) How would the UK share information from other databases with M5 countries?

5) What percentage of visa applicants to the UK will have their data shared by SRTP?

6) What percentage of visa applicants to each of the other M5 countries will have their data shared by SRTP?

Yours faithfully,

Oliver Palmer

Dear Home Office,

First of all thank you for your timely response. Please could you file my following questions either as a new request or part of the same request FOI 65915 as appropriate:

1. You stated that 'The SRTP is being used to check anonymised fingerprints for immigration purposes, therefore all outbound queries are generated from the database used to store fingerprints taken as part of an immigration application or encounter – for the UK this is the Immigration and Asylum Biometric System (IABS)'.

When the UK receives an incoming request will it use the same IABS database to look for a fingerprint match? Or will other fingerprint databases e.g. policing records be consulted as well?

2. You state 'the volume of checks is agreed bilaterally', can you give any details on the actual numbers?

3. I understand that when there is a fingerprint match, any relevant immigration and visa records will be shared. Can you confirm whether criminal or arrest records will also be shared as part of SRTP?

4. As the SRTP is not yet fully functional with any of the 4 partner countries, could you provide more details on the current immigration data sharing agreements? For example, what types of data from which databases are shared, whether there is a maximum limit per year etc.

Yours faithfully,

Oliver Palmer

Dear Home Office,

For my question about existing data sharing arrangements, you wrote that 'It is assumed you are seeking information about agreements with M5 partners for biometrically anchored information sharing of the type that will be achieved through the SRTP'.

Could you also provide information on any immigration/criminal data sharing arrangements with M5 countries that are not 'biometrically-anchored', e.g. cases where information is shared using other personal data such as name and nationality rather than fingerprints?

I would like the Home Office to include information on all of the databases included in the scope of these arrangements, situations where the UK (or its partners) might initiate such a query, as well as any annual limits that may apply.

If available please also disclose historical data regarding how many times data has been shared via these methods.

Yours faithfully,

Oliver Palmer

Dear Home Office,

Re. FOI 66674
I appreciate your explanation in the original response that you are unable to provide statistics regarding how many times data is shared between the countries, outside of the fingerprint-based sharing system mentioned in my previous requests.

Failing to provide a rough estimate or an educated guess for the statistics, would you be able to disclose the methods by which the data is shared, and confirm whether the entire process is manual or automated? E.g. email, dedicated server/centralised system, Interpol channels etc.

Yours faithfully,

Oliver Palmer