Czech checkpoint: man vs machine at Prague airport

“Border Control Registration”: If you travel European Union And the wider Schengen Area, start getting used to the term. It is one of those additional hurdles that the British bravely honored themselves with by taking back control and deciding to leave the EU.

Entry-Exit System (EES) This means that “third country nationals” such as UK passport holders traveling to the EU and the wider Schengen area must be photographed and fingerprinted at the border. To do this, European countries are adding an extra hurdle on top of normal passport checks.

The process of providing your biometrics is formally known as border control registration. At many borders it consists of tall kiosks, usually glowing red or green, that loom over travelers as they approach. These machines have been gathering dust in airports across Europe for a year or more, but now they are being put to work.

I struggled with EES hardware and software on the first launch date For Digital Border Scheme, 12 October. i flew praha Especially to test it, since The Czech Republic said it would be 100 percent live from day oneAlmost all other countries are taking their time.

The process was hardly friction-free: getting your passport and your fingerprints in the right place in an approved manner is far from intuitive. But what was more disturbing was the on-screen interrogation. Passengers are asked:

For the last of these, the Czechs want you to have a daily minimum of €66 (£57) in cash or a credit or debit card. You will also be asked if you have travel insurance. And that’s exactly the issue reader Richard Markson contacted me about.

“Some websites say that proof of travel insurance may be requested when traveling to EU countries,” they wrote. “Is that so?”

It’s complicated. The much-delayed introduction of the EES is completely different from the conditions a UK traveler must meet when entering the Schengen Area. They haven’t changed. The basic demands of Schengen are that you have enough money available to support yourself, and either a ticket out of the area after a short trip or the means to buy a ticket.

So why the concern that proof of travel insurance may be asked for? It all has to do with the way different member states deploy the entry-exit system. When setting up kiosks, each country can specify the amount of money it is expected to charge passengers entering the Schengen Area through its borders. And each may add additional requirements.

The French officially expect every third country citizen to carry “an insurance certificate covering all medical and hospital expenses for which you may be liable for the period of your stay in France, as well as medical repatriation costs and expenses in the event of death”. Yet until the entry-exit system, British travelers were never asked for proof of cover.

To everyone’s surprise, the EES kiosk at the Eurostar terminal, London St Pancras International, was initially programmed with a question about medical insurance. But only 48 hours have passed since the entry-exit system was implemented. Eurostar’s Simon Lejeune tells me the demand has been removed from the on-screen questionThe Port of Dover has also dropped the demand.

Theoretically the French could reinstate the question next April after the roll-out is complete, but I’m sure they won’t. The mystery is why it was there in the first place. It seems that officials at various interior ministries across Europe decided to follow local law when writing the question instead of asking frontline officials what actually happens.

Occasionally a Dutch or German border officer will occasionally ask for proof of an exit ticket from the region, but nowhere else have I ever been challenged to meet post-Brexit demands.

These “third country national” questions are primarily aimed at visitors from less wealthy countries rather than British weekenders.

A word from Dr. Nick Brown – the data sleuth who has done far more extensive research on entry-exit systems than many in government and the travel industry. He says the conditions mainly apply to visa applicants from outside Europe.

“Most questions relate to entry criteria which are checked quite rigorously at the consulate when people who need a visa apply for it. They are formally required of everyone, but there is no way a border officer can meaningfully verify them in real time.

“For example, someone coming from an LMIC [low- and middle-income country] They must show that they have X amount of convertible currency in their bank account [but a] Britons will not be asked to bring the current account and Cash ISA balance that supports their debit card.

At Prague Airport, I suspect that many uninsured arrivals will incorrectly answer “yes” to the travel insurance question – especially on stag and hen adventures. The irony is that these are potentially the very people who may need the cover the most.

Simon Calder, also known as The Man Who Pays His Way, has been writing about travel for The Independent since 1994. In his weekly opinion column, he explores a major travel issue – and what it means for you.