The Foreign Office recently issued a warning to UK residents travelling to the EU from November 1 and it appears that the new scheme is forcing some Britons to alter their holiday plans and opt for destinations where extra paperwork is not required. From November 1 everyone entering the EU will have to get their photograph and fingerprints taken as part of the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES).
Officials have said that queues at borders are expected when the system starts. In the latest update the FCO states “From autumn this year, the EU will be introducing a new digital border system to strengthen the security of its external Schengen border. Seamus McCauley, Head of Public Affairs at Holiday Extras, has expressed concerns to Express.co.uk about the potential impact of the new ETIAS system on UK travellers’ plans: “Some British travellers have already changed their plans to avoid the EES coming on November 10”, reports the Express.
“More are likely to do the same when ETIAS comes in since there are plenty of alternative destinations that don’t demand the new paperwork - Ireland, Cyprus, Albania, Turkey, the Channel Isles, Montenegro, Georgia and anywhere in North Africa like Tunisia, Morocco or Egypt, just to name some of the places you can fly to direct in one to four hours that won’t be adopting the new system,” he said.
The new registration process – called the Entry/Exit System, or EES for short - will apply to those travelling to the Schengen area which encompasses all EU countries, except from Cyprus and Ireland. Additionally, the non-EU States Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are also part of the Schengen area.
This will require most citizens of countries outside the EU to create a digital record and register their biometric details, such as providing fingerprints and having their photo taken, when they enter the Schengen area. This should only take a few minutes for each person to do. British travellers will need to do this on their first visit to the EU after EES is introduced. Their record will be checked on point of entry into the Schengen area verifying either their fingerprint or photograph.
There may be increased wait times while EES registration is completed before passengers leave the UK.