Tourists outside the EU will be required to submit a photograph and fingerprints from May 2023 as part of the bloc’s bid to tighten entry rules. Non-EU travellers will be asked to submit photos and four fingerprints, which will be submitted in the form of biometric data.
This will also register the traveller’s name, travel documents and date and place of entry and exit.
The EU Commission’s spokesman said: “Stamping is time consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings and does not allow the detection of overstayers or address cases of loss or destruction of travelling documents.”
The EU’s long delayed Entry/Exit system (EES) will come into force in May, and will replace the stamping of passports. The “Etias” scheme was initiated before the UK’s vote to leave the Brussels bloc and mirrors the US “Esta” scheme.
Prospective visitors will be forced to complete an online form with details of health, education and any criminal convictions, and pay €7 (£6) for a three-year permit.
“There is no such thing as an e-gate for a car, and there is no such thing as an e-gate process for people travelling as a group. They’re all one-at-a-time processes.”
(for UK citizens note: Passport stamping has been a requirement for UK nationals entering and departing countries in the EU since Brexit.
Update:
The EU recently said that the introduction of the a new entry visa has been pushed back until the end of 2023. It comes as the introduction of a new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) from May 2023 has been put back until November.
Eurostar, Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover have expressed concern about the need for every traveller to be fingerprinted and provide a facial biometric. If every departing ferry or Eurotunnel passenger at Dover or Folkestone has to be checked in person, the present infrastructure could not cope.
However, the EU’s long-delayed Entry/Exit system (EES ) is still due to come into force in May and risks catching out summer tourists. The system requires the registration of non-EU travellers’ photos and fingerprints, which will be submitted in the form of biometric data. It will also register the name, travel documents and date and place of entry and exit.
The commission said the system would replace the stamping of passports.
