A British man has shared the exact date when a major change will hit travellers jetting off to popular European destinations.

John Hannam, who shares his perspectives on global affairs, current events and politics, broke the news in a TikTok clip. Each year, millions of Brits visit countries in Europe such as Spain, Greece, Italy and France for their holidays, particularly during the summer months.

These locations draw vast numbers of British holidaymakers who enjoy the warm weather compared to Britain, pristine beaches and rich cultural and historical sites. However, John has alerted his TikTok followers to something they may be unaware of.

In a recent post on the platform, he declared that tourists visiting any EU destination will face some changes to their future breaks from October 12. The forthright Brit explained: “How is it going to change? Well, new border control rules come in from October 12th onwards for all people from outside of the Schengen travel area.

“What are those changes? Well, just to give you some of them, everyone will be fingerprint scanned so you have your fingerprints taken every time you enter the EU.”

He said that a high quality photograph and scan of your face will be taken each time you enter the EU and you will need to demonstrate on request where you will be staying, the duration of your stay and the reason for your trip. John continued: “Now this won’t necessarily happen to every single passenger going through the airport terminal or the ferry terminal.

“The fingerprints and the photograph with all the rest of it, not necessarily, but if they decide to stop you and question you, you have to have all this documentation on you, you have to be able to demonstrate it, you have to be able to prove it or they can refuse your entry.” Based on an official European Union travel website, the fresh Entry/Exit System (EES) will launch on October 12 and when you reach a border checkpoint for the first time since the EES began, passport control staff will take your fingerprints or snap a picture of your face.

The aim of the scheme is to modernise border management throughout European nations by digitally recording non-EU citizens’ arrivals and departures, or entry denials, tackle identity fraud by gathering biometric information and help to fight terrorism and serious organised crime by serving as an identity verification tool.

However, non-EU citizens who journey frequently to Europe may qualify for exemptions from comprehensive inspections upon arrival, detailed in John’s TikTok clip, through national facilitation schemes so passport control staff in the relevant territory may not require verification of their departure point and destination, the reason for their planned visit and the related supporting paperwork, if needed, and whether they have adequate financial resources for the length and purpose of their intended stay.

John’s TikTok video has amassed 196,300 views, 3,370 likes and more than 800 comments at the time of writing. He sought his viewers’ opinions on these new border control rules, with one stating: “We did this in Malaysia years ago. It’s a great system.

“We now go through customs really quickly.” Another chimed in: “We’ve been photographed for the past 5 years going into Cyprus and fingerprinted going into the USA…no issues at all, as long as your passport is in date you will have no problems, in fact less waiting times at border control than you do now.” However, another viewer countered: “They don’t want us leaving the country. All about control.”