The Government is spending £10.5 million to support preparations for a new digital border system at the Port of Dover, Eurostar and Eurotunnel.
This autumn, the EU will introduce the Entry/Exit System (EES), where travellers from the UK and other non-EU countries will have to register their fingerprints and facial images at the border.
The Government said the funding will help ports to install the necessary EES technology and complete work to get their sites ready for the checks coming into force.
Each port will receive a £3.5 million in funding.
“Nobody wants to see excessive queues at our ports, which is why we’re providing this funding to ensure our borders are as prepared as possible for the upcoming change – despite EES being an EU initiative,” said Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, in a statement.
“Since coming into government, we have been reviewing plans and closely supporting ports to make sure they have the right processes in place so that EES registration can be smooth and queue times kept to a minimum.”
“While EES checks will be a significant change to the EU border, we are working hard with the European Commission, member states and ports to ensure we are well prepared, and minimise any disruption for Brits travelling into Europe,” added Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra.
Preparing for a “smooth transition”
At the Port of Dover, the funding will be used to expedite work on the Granville Dock Project, where the existing marina at the Western Docks will be infilled and used as a site for EES processing.
At Eurotunnel and Eurostar, the money will be used to install kiosks, in addition to those already installed, undertake testing to reduce the risk of disruption, and support recruitment and training of staff on the new system.
The Government said that all three ports “have been making significant progress in their EES planning and are now on track for a smooth transition ahead of implementation later this year.”
The announcement forms part of the new government’s plan to prepare for EES, after the Home Office enabled French border officials to operate within an expanded border control zone at the Port of Dover, allowing more space to process passengers.
