Brits are being warned to prepare for long queues at the border during peak periods as a new European Union system is introduced.
The Government issued an urgent warning that tourists and businessmen and women entering the bloc from the UK and other non-EU countries will have to register details, including fingerprints and a photo, at the border.
The new system is due to launch in October with longer lines expected at UK ports, airports, and on Eurostar.
French border official numbers will be boosted at the Port of Dover in a bid to reduce delays by the Home Office, which has said it will work with counterparts in France to streamline checks.
Seema Malhotra, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, said in a statement: “[The] checks will be a major change to the EU border so the public should prepare for some queues during peak times when they are first introduced.”
She added Home Office officials are “working swiftly” to minimize the risk of excessive queue times “as much as possible”.
The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is an automated system for registering travellers from the UK and other non-EU countries each time they cross an external border of the bloc.
It was scheduled to be introduced in 2022, then May 2023 and then the end of last year. It is now scheduled to be introduced in early October. This last delay follows a request from France that its implementation should be put back until after the Paris Olympics.
The new scheme will replace the current manual stamping of passports for visitors to the Schengen area who aren’t nationals of EU countries or the bloc’s Schengen zone.
It will register your name, type of travel document, biometric data as well as the date and place of entry and exit.
According to the House of Commons Library, it is likely non-EU citizens who don’t require a visa to enter the bloc will have their fingerprints and facial images taken the first time they cross a border into the EU.
This data will normally be erased three years after the last trip to a country using the system.
Nationals from countries requiring a visa to enter the EU will not have their fingerprints taken as they will already have provided fingerprints as part of their visa application. Children under the age of 12 won’t have to give their fingerprints.
According to the European Commission, the system will apply when entering 25 EU countries – all member states apart from Cyprus and Ireland.
Four non-EU countries – Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein – that form part of the border-free Schengen area along with most EU member states will also adopt the system.
European countries using the new system are:
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland