Passport holders have been given a nine month warning about a new European Union wide set of policies that are poised to come into force.
From November tourists returning from Europe will no longer have their travel documents stamped, as British passport holders have had to since the UK left the EU.
The new process - which is designed to measure and control how long people from third countries, such as the UK, are allowed to stay in the Schengen Zone - is a move towards check-point digitisation, and has been dubbed Entry/Exit System (EES).
It includes the installation of passport-reading machines at external points of the Schengen Area that will replace manual passport stamping.
Travellers will need to scan their passports or other travel documents at an automated self-service kiosk prior to crossing the border.
European Commission’s department for Migration and Home Affairs said: "EES will replace the current system of manual stamping of passports, which is time consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings and does not allow a systematic detection of overstayers."
The system will log the following information for every traveller:
- Facial image
- Surname or family name
- First name or given names
- Date and place of birth
- Nationality or nationalities
- Gender
- Passport number, date and country of issuance as well as the expiry date
- Valid ETIAS or Schengen visa along with its duration and/or validity
- Travel information including the visitor’s points and dates of entries and exits, as well as overstays within the Schengen Zone
- Fingerprints
The 27 Schengen countries include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
It was originally due to launch in 2022, but was delayed until May 2023 and again until November.
Travellers with visa-free access to the Schengen Area - such as UK passport holders - will be required to obtain travel authorisation online through the broader European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS).
This will cost €7, however, travellers under the age of 18 or over the age of 70 will not need to pay the fee.
Once paid for, it will last for three years.
On the ETIAS website, the process travellers will go through when the system is live has been explained.
- Approach the EES device.
- Scan the first page of their biometric passport.
- Turn to face the camera when the automatic gate opens and the additional lights turn on.
- Stand still for the device to capture their photograph and compare it to their documents and data stored on the EES.
- Walk through the second gates as soon as they open.
The process will be familiar with anyone who has used a e-gate when going through airports including Heathrow.
France, Germany and Austria are planning to install self-service kiosks at airports where travellers can pre-register their biometric data and personal details.
Visitors arriving by car at France’s land and sea borders will be given tablet devices will be available to register your details, Euronews reports.
Italy is planning to increase the number of automated gates at its main airports as well as adding around 600 self-service kiosks, while Norway is opting to an “automated camera solutions” operated by the border guards.
