EU Countries: Immigration Controls
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department holds data on the number of EU airports which (a) offer and (b) are expected to offer e-gate access for UK passport holders by 23 July 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty
At the UK-EU Summit on 19 May, we secured confirmation that there will be no legal barriers for British nationals to use eGates after the introduction of the EU's Entry/Exit system (EES). Whether to grant British Citizens eGates access is a matter for Member States.
A number of Member States already offer British Citizens eGates access at certain airports and ports, in a range of circumstances, including Italy, France and Spain. We are working at pace with individual Member States to expand access to eGates for British Citizens where this is currently limited. Recently, Bulgaria has begun offering eGates access in Sofia airport and the UK-Germany Friendship and Bilateral Cooperation Treaty signed on 17 July commits to rolling out eGate access for frequent travellers by the end of August, followed by rollout for all UK nationals as soon as technically possible.
We anticipate more Member States will be able to offer access at further locations over the coming months.
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