Paper short abstract:

The paper explores the ‘strengthening’ of UK borders through the privatisation of border controls. It looks at the consequences of shifting activities relating to the management of visa applications out of state control, and raises concerns relating to transparency and accountability.

Paper long abstract:

Acts to 'strengthen' the UK border through, for example, increased policing and the collection of personal biometric data, is a topic of growing academic interest, especially in terms of the themes of surveillance and security. However, the exploration of such issues from the perspective of the privatisation of border controls is a subject that has received far less attention. What happens when a core state concern (border regulation) is privatised? My focus in this paper is on the privatisation of the visa application process in the UK. This means that British officials at British embassies in many sites around the world no longer carry out the activities relating to the checking and collection of application data. Instead the process is conducted by a US-based multinational corporation, on behalf of the UK Border Agency. In effect, the 'commercial partner' of the Border Agency acts as a gate-keeper to the British government, mediating and managing the process so that potential visitors/migrants never deal directly with British officials. Private sector management raises important questions relating to transparency and accountability. How is the process monitored? Can individuals' privacy and other rights be protected? Based on my own experiences of applying for a work permit for Britain, the paper explores some of the consequences of visa privatisation. I suggest that the nature of the object privatised raises particular concerns, ones that are significantly different from those involving the privatisation of other once publicly owned goods and services.