The European Union’s new Entry-Exit System (EES) commences on 12 October. It applies to British Nationals entering the block (as, thank you Brexit) we are now, in EU jargon, third party nationals. As previously reported, the first time you enter into the EU following this coming into effect you will need to provide fingerprints and facial biometrics.
And that is not going to be quick.
So expect delays at passport control for the next few weeks – as almost everyone arriving from the UK will need to provide these scans. After a while, it will ease as more people will be on a second visit to the EU, but until then? Well, it’s not going to be fun, and for what it’s worth my money is on the ports and possibly the Eurostar being the worst affected.
Officials from the UK confirm that they are expecting elays and longer waiting times at airports due to the introduction of these new biometric checks.
Frontex has developed an app, ‘Travel to Europe’, which allows travellers to pre-register their travel document data and facial image up to 72 hours before arrival to potentially reduce border processing times.
Despite the app’s availability to member states for a year, only Sweden has confirmed it will initially offer the pre-registration option for airline passengers from 12 October.
The pre-registration app aims to streamline border procedures and make them more comfortable, especially for vulnerable groups, but it does not replace the full border control process.
Government guidance on the EES system can be found here