UK warns of border delays as new EU border system comes into effect

(July 29): Travellers to the UK should expect long queues at the border during peak times when a new European Union (EU) system requiring Britons to share their biometric data is introduced in October, the government has warned.

Tourists and business people arriving from non-EU countries, including the UK, will have to register details including their fingerprints and photos at the border when the bloc rolls out its new system later this year. The rollout is expected to lead to longer queues at airports, ports and the Eurostar rail line, and EU diplomats believe it will be an early test of the UK’s relationship with the EU under Labour.

The Home Office will increase the presence of French border officials at the port of Dover to reduce the risk of delays and will work with the French government to adapt border control arrangements and streamline checks, the government said in a statement on Monday. The newly elected Labour government says the previous administration did not do enough to prepare for the new system.

“The checks will be a major change at the EU border, so the public should prepare for some queues at peak times when they are first introduced,” said Seema Malhotra, the minister for immigration and citizenship. “We have reviewed the preparations that have been made so far and… previous home ministers have simply not done enough to limit the impact. We are now working quickly to minimise the risk of excessive queues as much as possible.”

The system is designed to automate the registration of non-EU nationals travelling to the bloc for short stays and is intended to reduce longer-term delays as border guards will no longer have to manually check and stamp passports. The Port of Dover will have 24 kiosks where passengers can complete the new checks, while Eurostar will have almost 50 desks and Eurotunnel more than 100, the government said. The government estimates the new system will add just over five minutes to journey times.

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