The UK's first biometric immigration controls will go live at Heathrow airport this spring, following successful trials.

As part of the government's Project IRIS (Iris Recognition Immigration System), registered travellers returning to the UK will be able to bypass queues at Terminals 2 and 4 by using automatic gates equipped with iris-scanning technology.

The voluntary scheme will be rolled out to other UK airports over the summer, and forms the first live element of the ambitious eBorders programme.

Project IRIS is aimed at foreign passport-holders who frequently enter the UK, such as students, businesspeople or returning residents, says the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), part of the Home Office.

Participating travellers will need to register with an immigration official before leaving the UK. Passport and identity details will be stored on an IND database along with photographs of the traveller's iris patterns, which the IND says will initially take no more than 10 minutes to scan.

Returning to the UK, the traveller will look into the scanner at the immigration gate, which will open if the iris matches.

Once the systems are live, the scheme will be extended to other Heathrow terminals and to Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Stansted airports.

'Over 90 million people pass through UK immigration every year, and that figure is rising,' said a Home Office spokesman.

'We are deploying cutting-edge technology to ensure that our border controls are robust, efficient and secure.'

The eBorders programme includes plans to link government agencies with terminals and travel operators, allowing authorities to log, cross-check and authorise passengers travelling into the UK at the point of departure.

The £15m contract for the first phase of eBorders, Project Semaphore, was signed with IBM last year. It will initially target six million people travelling on 10 international routes including Washington, Karachi and Riyadh.