page_title: Automated border control system
section_title: Locations
hierarchical_section_title: Automated border control system / Hong Kong / Locations
caption_attribution_description: KCR Lok Ma Chau Immigration Counter
context_page_description: Automated border control systems or eGates are automated self-service barriers which use the data stored in the chip in biometric passports to verify the user's identity. Travellers undergo biometric verification using face, fingerprint, iris recognition or a combination of modalities. After the identification process is complete, a physical barrier such as a gate or turnstile opens to permit passage. E-gates came about in the mid-2000s as an automated method of reading the newly ICAO mandated e-passports.
  All eGate systems require an e-passport that's machine readable. Some countries permit only specific nationalities to use the automated border crossing systems, e.g. EU/EEA/Swiss/UK citizens or USA/CAN/JPN passport bearers, etc. For all other nationalities, citizens must go to immigration officers to be questioned and then have their passport stamped. They come in different configurations, including a gate, kiosk and gate, or mantrap kiosk.
context_section_description: First made available on 16 December 2004 in Lo Wu Control Point, over the past several years the locations have expanded to include:
  Hong Kong International Airport (T1 & T2)
  Lo Wu
  Hung Hom
  Lok Ma Chau Spur Line
  Lok Ma Chau
  Man Kam To
  Sha Tau Kok
  Shenzhen Bay
  Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal
  Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal
  Kai Tak Cruise Terminal
  Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal
  By allowing registered users to use the self-service kiosks to pass through Hong Kong immigration, processing time averages around 12 seconds making E-channels far more efficient than traditional immigration counters.
caption: e-Channel machines at Lok Ma Chau Station
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