Since the UK left the EU, there have been a number of significant changes for travellers, including additional validity requirements for passports and restrictions on the number of days you can visit EU member states without needing a visa. To enforce the latter, the EU plans to introduce the Entry/Exit System (EES), an automated IT system that will track border crossings. This should make entering and leaving the EU much easier and quicker for Brits, as it replaces the cumbersome manual checks. It’s now slated to be in operation by October 6, 2024, after the Paris Olympics. Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Entry/Exit System (EES)?
Under EES passengers will have to submit biometric data including fingerprints
GETTY IMAGES
The EES is an automated IT system designed to track travellers from third countries, such as the UK, entering and leaving EU member states. It was due to launch in 2022, but was delayed until May 2023. The new launch date is October 6, 2024, after the Paris Olympics.
Since Brexit, UK passport holders are only permitted to stay in EU countries for a cumulative total of 90 days in a 180-day period without a visa or other permit. The EES will tally up this number each time a passport is used at border crossing and detect those who have exceeded their allowance; a refusal of entry is also detected.
To make this possible, the system will distinguish between short-stay visa holders and visa-exempt visitors through their travel document, and collate information such as name, type of travel document, biometric data (fingerprint and photographs) and the date and place of entry and exit. It will also work in conjunction with the Etias (the visa waiver required to travel to Europe) in future.
Where is the EES required?
The EES will be in place for 25 of the 27 EU member states — Ireland and Cyprus will continue with manual checks — as well as Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein, as they’re part of the border-free Schengen Area. Where EES is in place, you’ll just need to scan your passport at the automated gates, as you would when entering the UK.
Within the UK, EES gates will also be installed at the Port of Dover, and Eurostar and Eurotunnel terminals where passports are checked prior to travel.
What does EES mean for my travel?
Passengers should have more space in their passports when stamps become unnecessary
ALAMY
In theory, it should speed things up at border crossings and make entry into and exit from EU countries much easier. For regular travellers, it should also mean more space in their passports as it won’t be stamped each time they make a border crossing.
However, the first time you use the EES, you will be required to supply your fingerprint and have your photo taken at the crossing, which will cause extra delays. This will then be kept on file for three years so you won’t need to do this extra step each time. If you refuse to supply this information, you’ll be denied entry.
Where might the worst delays be when EES launches?
The border checks at Port of Dover, and Eurostar and Eurotunnel terminals have the biggest potential for delays — an issue raised by operators based at these locations, based on the time it takes to process cars. The chief executive of the Port of Dover has warned that it could take up to ten minutes to process one car when the measures are implemented.
Passengers on Eurostar will need to arrive at the St Pancras station at least two hours before travel, in order to register fingerprints for the first time. At the moment, it advises arriving up to 90 minutes beforehand. Work is underway to install 49 entry-exits kiosks.
Once introduced, however, the EES shouldn’t be any more arduous than the passport checks that currently exist.
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