The Home Office is to extend the French border control zone at Dover in an attempt to reduce congestion when the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) is introduced.
According to reports in The Telegraph and on the BBC, Home Office minister Seema Malhotra will introduce legislation on Monday to enable French officials to carry out checks in an expanded area of the port.
The introduction of the EES has been repeatedly delayed, most recently from October to November amid fears that it could severely impact October half-term travel.
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The reports said Malhotra will warn travellers to expect delays when the system is first introduced.
Under the EES, all passengers without EU passports will be required to have their fingerprints registered and their pictures taken on arrival. The new system will add two to three minutes processing time per passenger, up from the present 45 seconds.
A recent report in the Times said a “grace period” would be introduced after the introduction of the system to allow border staff to spare some travellers biometric registration if checkpoints become overcrowded.
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