The EU’s new entry-exit system (EES) has been delayed in the UK until November for fears its original October launch would impact on half-term.
The check, which will take fingerprints and scan the faces of any travellers, including Britons, entering the EU was initially due to begin in 2022, then in 2023.
It has been delayed once more, with many smaller airports yet to have facilities in place, the European Commission has confirmed. A new start date of November 10 has been mooted.
France has previously requested the EES’s postponement due to worries it could delay fans heading across the Channel on the Eurostar to the Paris Olympics, which begin in July.
Eurostar has already invested in upgrading its security at London St Pancras International, which is set to add an extra layer of process to train travellers.
Here is what it all means.
What are the new rules?
Non-EU (including British) travellers heading to the EU will have their fingerprints checked and their faces scanned the first time they enter the zone. It will apply to all EU countries except Cyprus and Ireland. Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which are in the Schengen area but are not EU states, will also participate.
EES will register the person’s name, type of travel document, biometric data and the date and place of entry and exit.
The data will be erased three years after it is collected for data protection reasons.
Why are the checks being put in place?
The EU said the new system will help save time: “The EES replaces passport stamping and automates border-control procedures, making travelling to European countries using the EES more efficient for the traveller.”
However, there are concerns that the checks could cause delays at border checkpoints at the port of Dover and the Eurostar and Eurotunnel terminals in the UK.
In July, John Keefe, chief corporate and public affairs officer at Getlink, criticised the system for being designed for airports, “without any consideration for the nature of transport that happens across the Channel”.
What will I need to do before I travel to the EU?
British people travelling to the EU won’t need to do anything, the system will automatically be in place.
EES will work alongside the new ETIAS authorisation system, which is expected to come into force in 2024.
British travellers will need to apply for an ETIAS travel permit, which will cost £6 and is valid for three years.
What are biometrics?
Biometrics is a way of measuring or identifying people through biological characteristics, such as their fingerprints or scans of their eyes.
Biometrics is already in use in airports in other countries, and it is also used within law enforcement.
People use biometrics everyday to unlock their phones using their fingerprints or a facial scanner.
Elon Musk could potentially collect the biometric data of X users, after it updated its privacy policy to include the collection of what is known as “biometric data”.
