Previous Government accused of ‘sitting on their hands’ whilst local communities and businesses grapple with new border arrangements
Government announces expansion of French border control zone at Port of Dover to reduce risk of queues at peak times in Kent when new EU Entry/Exit System (EES) checks come into force in the Autumn
Home Office Minister, Seema Malhotra, will today (29 July) commit the Home Office to working with the French Government, local authorities and businesses to streamline EU border checks at the Port of Dover and help reduce the risk of queues at peak times in Kent when new border arrangements come into place in the Autumn.
She will accuse the previous Government of not doing enough to plan for the change and warn their failure to act may still result in delays and travel chaos when the new system is first introduced.
To mitigate the impact, she will lay a Statutory Instrument in Parliament to enable French border officials to operate within an expanded border control zone at the Port of Dover.
This change in law will deliver more space to process passengers when the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES) checks are introduced and ensure a better customer experience for those crossing the border.
To support the expansion of the French border control zone, the Home Office is working with the French Ministry of Interior to amend the border control arrangements in place between the two countries.
From Autumn this year, the EU will be introducing a new digital border system to strengthen its security – known as the Entry/Exit System (EES).
Travellers entering from non-EU countries, including the UK, will be required to register their details at the EU border, providing their fingerprints and having their photograph taken.
Today’s change in law forms part of the new Government’s plan to prepare for EES checks coming into force, to help minimise the risk of traffic disruption, with more to come in the coming weeks.
Minister for Immigration & Citizenship, Seema Malhotra said: “The EU’s Entry/Exit System has been in the pipeline for several years. But instead of pulling out all the stops to ensure travellers and businesses coming into and out of Britain will be unaffected, the previous Government seems to have sat on its hands and let others get on with the hard work needed.
“We have been reviewing the preparations that have been made so far and, although the Port of Dover, local authorities and business have done much excellent work, previous Home Office Ministers have simply not done enough to mitigate the impact. We are now working swiftly to minimise the risk of excessive queue times as much as possible.
“However, we have lost valuable time under the previous Government. EES checks will be a major change to the EU border so the public should prepare for some queues during peak times when they are first introduced.”
Currently, French passport control takes place for passengers on arrival at the port, before they check-in and board the ferry at Port of Dover’s Eastern Docks. However, due to limited capacity at the site, Port of Dover has developed a plan to permanently undertake EES checks for coaches at a new Border Control Zone at Dover Western Docks.
Over the past few months, the Port of Dover has been making major upgrades to its port infrastructure to prepare for EES. This includes building new, bespoke facilities to carry out the checks.
Port of Dover will have 24 kiosks for coach passengers to complete EES checks and will register passengers in cars using agents and tablets to make the process as straightforward as possible.
In addition to the work with Port of Dover, work is underway to support other juxtaposed ports where the French Government operates immigration control – including Eurostar and Eurotunnel – to prepare for the introduction of EES.
This includes making sure the ports have the right technology and processes in place so that EES registration can take place as smoothly as possible.
Eurostar will have almost 50 kiosks for people to carry out the checks, and these will be spread across three locations at the station. They expect EES registration to be quick and easy.
Eurotunnel will have over 100 kiosks and estimate EES checks will add just over five minutes to journey times.
Labour warns of Tory failure to fully prepare for introduction of new border checks and sets out plans to manage the impact
