Fingerprint and face checks at EU border to take British travellers ‘up to four times longer’

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy European nations have warned that new fingerprint and face checks on arriving in the EU could take “up to four times longer” than the present system – with the processing time increased by up to two minutes per person. The Slovenian government modelled the effect of the EES and reported: “It takes up to four times longer to do the new process – border check + enrolment + verification.” Austria’s authorities said: “We expect process times to double compared to the current situation.” Poland’s government estimates: “The time for border control of a single passenger will increase by 30-120 seconds, but only in the case of the so-called ‘happy flow’.” The term “happy flow” refers to the smooth progress of properly documented travellers through the frontier post. France says it will use new technology at airports: “We will set up so-called ‘self-service’ systems, supervised remotely via video means by a border guard.” But that will not help at the three “hard EU frontiers” that the UK asked to be established after Brexit: at the port of Dover and the Folkestone Eurotunnel terminal in Kent, and at London St Pancras International – hub for Eurostar trains to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. We are working closely with port authorities, operators and the French government to make sure passengers are prepared and do not experience unnecessary delays at the border due to new entry and exit system checks being introduced next year.” The EES is the system that will underpin the new Etias scheme – an online “eurovisa” that will cost €7 and require pre-registration.