Brits visiting Europe will have to give fingerprints under new post-Brexit rules

British tourists will have to give fingerprints and have face scans at European border crossings (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

British citizens travelling to Europe will have their fingerprints taken and faces scanned under strict new post-Brexit checks next year.

The drastic new measures are set to cause huge queues at border control when they’re introduced in the autumn of 2024.

All non-European Union passport holders will be forced to go through the extra steps as part of the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES).

It will replace the stamping of passports which was brought in when the UK became a ‘third country’ after the nation voted to leave the EU.

Every passenger’s name and biometric data will be checked when entering an EU country – each person will have to show a facial image and provide four fingerprints.

Personal data including first name, surname, date of birth, nationality, sex, travel document and the three-letter country code will all be required to pass through.

Only children under 12 will be exempt from the new system which is set to be introduced on October 6, 2024, despite fears it will add to already long queues at EU borders.

Travel routes between the UK and France in particular are likely to be affected with French officials carrying out EES checks at the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel in Folkestone and Eurostar at St Pancras International.

Port of Dover bosses expect long delays already caused by the extra checks required since Brexit are likely to be worsened.

‘Even at the busiest times right now, with new post-Brexit rules, passport checks are taking 45 to 90 seconds per car,’ the port’s chief Doug Bannister told The Sun.

‘With the pre-registration involved, a car with a family of four or five in it could take up to 10 minutes.

‘The Government should be urgently discussing with their French and EU counterparts how this is going to work.’

Meanwhile, Eurotunnel has warned that processing times for each car boarding its trains could take as long as six minutes extra.

Airports will also suffer from longer queues with the Slovenian government saying it will take ‘up to four times longer’ after dummy runs were carried out.

Austria warned processing times will ‘double’ compared to now and Croatia said border check will ‘certainly be significantly longer’.

Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which are non-EU member states in the Schengen Area, are also adopting the system.

Ireland and Cyprus are the only two EU countries which will not be implementing EES.

Despite the serious concerns about long delays EES will cause, the EU has claimed it will actually decrease waiting times.

‘The main advantage of EES is saving time,’ an EU spokesman said.

‘The EES replaces passport stamping and automates border control procedures, making travelling to European countries using the EES more efficient for the traveller.’

EES was in-fact supposed to be rolled out earlier this year but has been delayed multiple times.

A visa waiver system similar to the US Esta is also set to be introduced around six months after EES, called Etias.

It will cost around £6 per person and will be required by anyone entering the Schengen Area.