Queuing time at French border will ‘double’ with new fingerprint scheme
France has ordered 544 special ‘data kiosks’ to record millions of people’s biometric data
Queuing times for UK passengers at the border with France will at least double when EU digital border checks are introduced, an official report has warned.
France has ordered 544 special “data kiosks” for travellers and 250 tablets for ferry passengers in cars in preparation for the launch of the checks.
It hopes this will reduce queues at ports, stations and airports when the Entry/Exit System (EES) begins and photos and fingerprints of millions of people need to be taken.
UK passengers entering from outside the Schengen area for the first time under the new system will need to have data recorded including fingerprints and photographs to be entered into an EU-wide database.
They will only need to scan their passports or travel documents at a kiosk, which replaces the current manual stamping of passports.
However, a report by France’s public finance watchdog the Cour des Comptes estimated the initial registration will at least double the queuing time.
The same passengers will be required to pass in front of a border official’s booth to ensure they are the person on the passport.
Tests suggest it could add two minutes to the process of passing through border checkpoints whether travelling by ferry or plane to France.
More travellers may be driven to go by plane because of delays likely to be encountered on the train, the report suggests.
“Even though the average check time has increased since Brexit for Eurostar, doubling or even tripling waiting time could drive some travellers to opt for a plane,” it said.
‘Getting into EU needs to be seamless’
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: “Getting into Europe needs to be more seamless, not more cumbersome.
“The processing of passengers whether at our ferry ports, at St Pancras or on arrival at a European airport, will have to be much faster otherwise peak periods will become unbearable for those stuck in ever-longer queues.”
Once travellers’ biometric data is entered into EES it will be stored for three years and subsequent border crossings should be faster. After three years, the data is needed again.
“Smart borders” to fight irregular migration were proposed by the EU in 2015, and EES was formally adopted by the Commission in April 2016.
However, delays mean that it is unlikely to come into effect before 2025, after the Paris Olympics next year.
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Queuing time at French border will ‘double’ with new fingerprint scheme France has ordered 544 special ‘data kiosks’ to record millions of people’s biometric data
Queuing times for UK passengers at the border with France will at least double when EU digital border checks are introduced, an official report has warned.
France has ordered 544 special “data kiosks” for travellers and 250 tablets for ferry passengers in cars in preparation for the launch of the checks.
It hopes this will reduce queues at ports, stations and airports when the Entry/Exit System (EES) begins and photos and fingerprints of millions of people need to be taken.
UK passengers entering from outside the Schengen area for the first time under the new system will need to have data recorded including fingerprints and photographs to be entered into an EU-wide database.
They will only need to scan their passports or travel documents at a kiosk, which replaces the current manual stamping of passports.
However, a report by France’s public finance watchdog the Cour des Comptes estimated the initial registration will at least double the queuing time.
The same passengers will be required to pass in front of a border official’s booth to ensure they are the person on the passport.
Tests suggest it could add two minutes to the process of passing through border checkpoints whether travelling by ferry or plane to France.
More travellers may be driven to go by plane because of delays likely to be encountered on the train, the report suggests.
“Even though the average check time has increased since Brexit for Eurostar, doubling or even tripling waiting time could drive some travellers to opt for a plane,” it said.
‘Getting into EU needs to be seamless’ Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: “Getting into Europe needs to be more seamless, not more cumbersome.
“The processing of passengers whether at our ferry ports, at St Pancras or on arrival at a European airport, will have to be much faster otherwise peak periods will become unbearable for those stuck in ever-longer queues.”
Once travellers’ biometric data is entered into EES it will be stored for three years and subsequent border crossings should be faster. After three years, the data is needed again.
“Smart borders” to fight irregular migration were proposed by the EU in 2015, and EES was formally adopted by the Commission in April 2016.
However, delays mean that it is unlikely to come into effect before 2025, after the Paris Olympics next year.