when passports get scanned by USA/Canada airports

[claire-B]

Does anyone know exactly what details are shown up when passports are scanned and if there are any details of a persons criminal record or if a police fixed penalty notice will show up? Do USA get access to the police national computer?

[Buenchico]

EU privacy laws prevent the UK from making such information available, on a carte blanche' basis to any overseas authorities. Only specific information (relating mainly to cross-border crimes, such as drug-trafficking, people smuggling, 'child-sex tourism' and terrorism) can be passed on for inclusion in the 'watch lists' used by overseas immigration services. The only country to directly share its criminal records with the USA is Canada.

However a great deal of information is almost certainly passed on under the guise of 'counter terrorism', even though much of that information will not actually have much to do with with any real terrorist threat.

Incidentally, a fixed penalty notice is not the same as a conviction. Unless it was preceded by an arrest it does not bar an individual from travelling to the USA under the Visa Waiver Program.

Chris

[jno]

As far as I know, the only information that shows up when a passport is scanned is what you can already see in writing (but in a computer-readable form).

[dzug]

<As far as I know, the only information that shows up when a passport is scanned is what you can already see in writing (but in a computer-readable form). >

Whilst true, that's not exactly the point.

Once scanned, your name, dob, passport number, etc, can be automatically run against their 'watch list', possibly several different ones. It certainly gets flagged up that you have (or don't have) an ESTA.

What causes you to be in that watch list is the real question - and I don't know the answer. Chris has listed some highly likely reasons

Do the USA get access to the Police National Computer? Directly, I doubt it - and certainly not the guy on the desk processing you. But I am sure that if they ask the right questions through the right channels they can be given any information in it about you that they need.