PASSPORT stamps will be scrapped for Brits returning from a holiday in Europe holidays later this year.
Brits heading to destinations like Spain and France will not have their passports stamped from November after a digitised shake-up.
GettyEuropean passport stamps will be a thing of the past[/caption]
After the UK left the European Union, British holidaymakers have needed passport stamps whenever they’ve entered or exited the Schengen Area.
This is because the stamps act as proof that Brits haven’t outstayed their visa-free welcome because they log any entry and exit dates.
Passport stamps are given by border officials at security checkpoints, but the act will become digitised later this year.
Set to launch in November 2023, an automated entry and exit system (EES) will digitally register non-EU visitors – removing the need for physical stamps.
According to Euronews, a statement from the European Commission’s department for Migration and Home Affairs said: “EES will replace the current system of manual stamping of passports, which is time consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings and does not allow a systematic detection of overstayers.”
Instead holidaymakers will be required to scan their passports, as well as other travel documents, at automated self-service kiosks before entering the Schengen Area.
The system will then register the person’s name, travel document, fingerprints, facial images and the date and place of entry and exit.
This data will be erased from the system three years after the last trip to a country using the EES system.
Despite the move away from physical stamps, holidaymakers should think twice before getting a novelty stamp in their passport.
Popular tourist attractions, like Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, offer souvenir stamps so travellers can commemorate their trip.
But joke stamps could see Brits banned from travelling as they can invalidate passports.
Sixty-year-old Tina Sibley found out the hard way when she wasn’t allowed to board her flight from Madrid to Phuket because of a novelty stamp in her passport.
To keep holiday stress at bay, Brits will need to allow 10 weeks for passport applications to be processed ahead of summer holidays.
GettyPassport stamps will become digitised under a new scheme[/caption] Read More