As part of the “post-Brexit reset deal” between the UK government and the European Union, ministers are talking up the prospect of speeding up passport formalities for British travellers at EU airports.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, European Union Relations minister, says it would give British travellers “more time to spend on holiday or work trips… doing what you want, not being stuck in queues”.
But how could this work and when might it happen? Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, has had plenty of time to contemplate the subject while waiting in long queues at EU airports.
What are the rules for UK passport holders travelling to and from the EU?
After the 2016 vote to leave the European Union, the UK negotiated for British travellers to be “visa-exempt third-country nationals” – the same as dozens of other nationalities from Australia to Venezuela.
Despite some newspaper claims that “Brussels is forcing Brits to queue”, we actually demanded the right to wait in line for longer – surrendering the right to fast-track lanes.
While citizens of the EU and the wider Schengen area (including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) speed through frontier formalities, British passport holders join the “other nations” queue.
What does this mean in practice?
If you fly into a European airport just after an Airbus A380 arrives from Dubai with over 500 people on board, you’ll know that you’re going to be waiting for some time.
Queuing for an hour or more for British travellers are not unusual at busy airports such as Amsterdam Schiphol, Milan Malpensa and Paris Charles de Gaulle, while holders of EU passports or identity cards speed through.
UK travellers also face problems when travelling home, because of the need to be checked on the way out of the EU. Some airline passengers have missed flights because the exit queues for passport control are so slow.
Why do passport queues move so slowly?
EU frontier officials are required to check:
- The traveller has “sufficient means of subsistence” during the planned visit
- They will not breach the maximum stay limit of 90 days in Europe in the past 180 days
- They have “the means to return to the country of origin” (ie a ticket out of the EU)
In addition, the border guard must stamp the passport.
What’s different for EU citizens?
The Schengen Border Code of the European Union, which is the Bible of frontier rules, stipulates “separate lanes, indicated by uniform signs … in international airports” in order “to reduce the waiting times of persons enjoying the Union right of free movement”.
Those separate lanes move quickly because the only check that is made for EU citizens is that their travel document is valid and that it belongs to them. This check is easily made by e-gates which match the traveller’s face with the biometric information on the travel document.
Will British travellers be given access to the EU fast track queue?
That seems implausible, because of two obstacles:
- The legal requirement for British traveller to be checked to ensure they meet the conditions of entry to the EU
- Unhappiness among Europeans if the British, who voted to surrender the benefits of membership of the European Union, are allowed to swerve into their lane and slow things down
So how could the passport process for UK travellers be improved?
The solution is to accelerate process using e-gates – which is already being done. There are two options: special “third-country national” e-gates, speeding up the face check; or allowing UK passport holders to use the e-gates for EU citizens, and British travellers are then flagged to see a border guard.
Using e-gates is a win for the host country as well as for British travellers, because it allows the authorities to process routine passengers more swiftly.
The reason the UK allows EU citizens to use our e-gates is not because we are being super-nice, but because it is far more efficient. Facial recognition is now so sophisticated that matching the traveller against their passport is a task that e-gates can do easily and quickly, leaving officers to concentrate on “persons of interest”.
When could we start using e-gates in the EU?
Spoiler alert: we already are, in some EU countries. Each nation makes its own decisions about how to organise border controls.
Rome has special “third-country national” e-gates. At Amsterdam Schiphol and Lisbon airports, British passport holders – as well as people from the US, Canada and other “safe” countries – are already able to use the e-gates, followed by a check by an officer.
What exactly are UK ministers hoping for?
That the European Commission in Brussels will throw its weight behind individual nations upgrading their border systems more enthusiastically. The roll-out of e-gates to British travellers is happening anyway, because it helps the authorities process us more efficiently, but that process could accelerate.
Is this anything to do with the EU ‘entry-exit system’?
No, though the EES is under discussion between the UK and European Union. The much-delayed entry-exit system is due to begin being rolled out in October.
The plan involves every EU external border being connected with a central database, with comings and goings registered digitally rather than through stamps in passports. The aim is to keep tabs on arriving and departing travellers and detect over-stayers more easily.
The EES will require third-country nationals such as British visitors providing facial biometrics and fingerprints, with estimates that processing a planeful of passengers at Palma could take four times as long as currently – and even longer at Dover and Folkestone for motorists heading across to France.
One hope among ministers and transport companies that EU officials will accept that the latest facial recognition technology is so accurate that fingerprinting isn’t necessary – which would accelerate the whole process.
I have an Irish passport. What does this mean for me?
Nothing changes: you are still able to use the fast track, and the EU border officer is allowed only to check that your passport is valid and that it belongs to you.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
