The Brexit referendum was nearly 10 years ago. And, like it or not, we’ve had plenty of time to come to terms with the fact that the UK is no longer part of the European Union. But there’s one EU privilege we could be getting back – well, sort of.
After the ‘post-Brexit reset deal’ with the EU was agreed on May 19, the UK government has said that ‘British holidaymakers will be able to use more e-gates in Europe, ending the dreaded queues at border control’. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the EU relations minister said this would give British travellers ‘more time to spend on holiday or work trips [...] doing what you want, not being stuck in queues’.
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Right now when UK nationals fly around EU countries, they have to join the ‘other nations’ queue at border control, which they can end up waiting in for an hour or more. As non-EU members, officials have to verify that UK travellers have ‘sufficient means of subsistence’ during the planned visit, that they will not breach the maximum stay limit of 90 days in Europe in the past 180 days and that they have ‘the means to return to the country of origin’. They also have to have their passports stamped.
Travellers with an EU passport, on the other hand, get a separate fast-track queue as all that is required is that their travel document is valid and that it belongs to them, which can be verified by the e-gates.
The new agreement states that ‘British holidaymakers will be able to use more e-gates in Europe’. It will be up to each EU state as to whether they update their border security checks and whether they allow UK travellers through existing e-gates or install dedicated 'third-country national' e-gates.
A rollout of e-gates for British travellers is happening anyway, in spite of the deal. Third country national gates are already in place at Venice Marco Polo, Rome Fiumicino, Amsterdam Schiphol and Lisbon airports. Once passengers go through the e-gates they just have to go through a brief check with officials and get their passport stamped.
The agreement also outlined that ‘no legal barriers to e-gate use for British Nationals travelling to and from European Union Member States after the introduction of the European Union Entry/Exit System [EES]’ which is due to come into place later this year. You can read more about that here.
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