Fresh delay for new EU border checks at Dover

New EU biometric border checks due to be rolled out at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel next month have been delayed again.

British passengers were due to start having their photo and fingerprints taken from 10 April to be allowed to enter France.

But the authorities there say they are having ongoing technical issues with the new the Entry/Exit system (EES).

In a statement, LeShuttle said: "Full biometric checks will be introduced once we receive the formal go-ahead, with the rollout carefully scheduled and coordinated."

A spokesperson for the Port of Dover says they are "waiting until current issues with the French technology are resolved and thorough testing at Dover has been conducted".

The idea of the EES was put forward by the European Commission with the aim to boost security and stop overstayers.

EES replaces passport stamping for visitors from outside the EU to the Schengen Area, which is made up of 29 European countries.

Toby Howe, Kent and Medway Resilience Forum, says: "For passengers who arrive at the Eurotunnel or the Port of Dover for the foreseeable future, they will have to add additional information at the French border check.

"As well as scanning your passport, authorities will ask you additional questions which will register passengers into the EES but without the biometric information."

The EU has been gradually introducing the EES, since October last year.

The system is already in place at the Kent ferry port for lorry drivers and coach passengers.

Biometric checks are set to be fully implemented at airports in the EU from 10 April.

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