"From Sunday, non-EU travellers entering Europe's Schengen open-borders zone will gradually be photographed and fingerprinted at border crossings, as the European Union rolls out its much-delayed automated border checks. The aim of the new system? To replace eventually the manual stamp on passports and secure better information-sharing between the bloc's 27 states."
"The border-check system will allow authorities to know when people entered and exited a country, in the belief that it will help better detect anyone overstaying and people refused entry. Hotly debated for nearly a decade, the system has, however, raised concerns among transport providers and passengers, who fear it could lead to longer queues at airports and train stations."
"The first phase begins on Sunday October 12th. Non-EU nationals arriving for short stays in all EU countries -- except Cyprus and Ireland -- will be asked for their passport number, to provide fingerprints and have their photo taken at automated kiosks. The same requirements will apply in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway -- members of the European Economic Area including the EU -- and Switzerland."
From October 12, non-EU nationals arriving for short stays will provide passport numbers, fingerprints, and a photo at automated kiosks across EU countries except Cyprus and Ireland. The rollout also covers Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The system records entry and exit times to help detect overstays and people refused entry. Implementation is phased to limit queues, with large states like France and Germany conducting only a handful of checks initially. Some smaller member states will have full systems from day one. All member states must use automated checks for all passports by mid-April.
Read at www.thelocal.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]