Britons must give fingerprints and queue 'four times' longer to enter Europe amid strict post-Brexit checks

Britons must give fingerprints and queue 'four times' longer to enter Europe amid strict post-Brexit checks

A travel industry expert discusses travel chaos for Britons

Sarra Gray

By Sarra Gray


Published: 19/12/2023

- 16:24

Updated: 19/12/2023

- 16:25

Britons will need to give their fingerprints if travelling to Europe from autumn 2024

Holidaymakers jetting off to European hotspots next year will be hit with new strict border controls.

Post-Brexit rules will include fingerprint checks and face scans.


Passengers will have their names and biometric data checked when entering an EU country.

This is part of the new EU Entry/Exit System that replaces stamping passports.

border control queues

Britons could face longer queues

GETTY

The new system will start to roll out on October 6, 2024, after being delayed.

It was originally meant to come into effect in 2023 but has been delayed a number of times.

This could cause more queues at EU borders and some countries have shared concerns about this.

The Slovenian government said it could take "up to four times longer" to get past the checks.

Austria added the processing time could "double" compared to current measures.

Europe has lots of holiday hotspots so Britons should be prepared for the checks.

Holidaymakers will need to give four fingerprints and personal data, including their name, date of birth, nationality and travel documents. Under-12s are exempt from the checks.

UK Passport

New checks will be introduced for Britons

PA

The measures will be enforced for Britons entering Europe by plane, car or train.

Holidaymakers travelling from the UK may have noticed longer queues at the borders when entering Europe since Brexit.

Currently, need to scan passports at self-service kiosks are get them checked by border control.

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