Late on 14 September the Guardian reported that France, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Malta, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium have formally asked Brussels for more time to implement the new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES). The scheme, which became legally operational across the Schengen area in April, requires every non-EU national to provide four fingerprints and a facial scan the first time they cross an external Schengen border. Although most member states are already collecting the data at major airports and ferry ports, the nine governments say smaller regional airports and land crossings still lack the booths, network capacity and trained staff needed to avoid holiday-season grid-lock. The EU has so far registered about 200 million travellers and blocked 70 000 attempted entries—including thousands of Britons who overstayed the post-Brexit 90/180-day limit—but Brussels confirmed to the Guardian that it will not start infringement action against the laggards while they “work in good faith” to catch up. For UK business travellers the delay cuts both ways. Fewer airports capturing biometrics now means less congestion in the short term, but it also extends the period of uncertainty over when and where travellers will be asked to enrol. Eurostar terminals in Brussels are already enrolling passengers, while Dover and several French Channel ports are not. Employers arranging last-minute trips are therefore advised to warn staff that fingerprinting may be required on the outbound leg even if it was not on the previous journey, and to build in extra connection time when transiting through large hubs such as Frankfurt or Schiphol where enrolment is already mandatory. Travel managers should also remind staff that once fingerprints are stored the EES clock starts: UK nationals who do not hold a visa or residence permit still face the strict 90-day in 180 rule, and the system automatically counts each day from the first biometric-recorded entry. Repeated business trips across multiple EU countries therefore draw down the allowance quickly, and overstays trigger ‘red flags’ that can result in entry refusals on future trips. Companies should inventory the Schengen-time already used by frequent travellers and consider applying for national long-stay or Van der Elst visas for key staff who need extended stays.
Source: The Guardian
