British passport holders who are travelling into the European Union could be allowed to use e-gates when travelling through airports. Rules could be eased with British diplomats raising the issue informally, according to Bloomberg News.
In June Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, are due to attend a meeting in Japan where a discussion about the rule was foreseen on the sidelines.
It would mean that the rules would relax passport queues at the airports, however, those who are cross-Channel travellers would still have to face the border crossing checks.
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As North Wales Live reports, French police at the Port of Dover and at Eurotunnel in Folkestone will still need to physically check stamps on passports to ensure compliance with post-Brexit limits on the number of days British tourists are eligible to stay in EU countries.
Concerns have been raised for the Eurotunnel and ports about the introduction of new rules in Europe which will require facial scanning of passport holders, already used in many airports.
They worry that this will cause queuing traffic on the roads in Kent, due to the fact that drivers and passengers will have to get out of their car to be scanned.
Most of the car-based traffic is controlled manually, with only a handful of e-gates available in coach halls and no room to expand, a source at Eurotunnel reportedly said.
Under EU plans due to be implemented in 2024, citizens from the UK and other “third-country” nationals could have their biometric data taken to obtain a visa waiver.
But the UK government is worried this will not end delays and is looking for full access to the bloc’s e-gates, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The EU plans to introduce two separate but related entry systems later this year and in 2024. The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) is due to be introduced at the end of the year and will involve automatic registration of visitors from non-EU countries each time they cross a border.
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