Do the United Kingdom and Denmark use biometric data in passports or border control even without national ID cards?
Executive summary
Both countries operate biometric systems at borders even though neither relies on a single all-purpose national ID card for every citizen: the United Kingdom issues biometric passports and is rolling out biometric-enabled e-gates and electronic travel authorisations that collect facial and other biometric data [1] [2] [3], while Denmark, as part of the Schengen area, will collect fingerprint and facial biometrics from non‑EU travellers under the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) even though EU rules historically exempted Denmark from the obligation to issue biometric passports as an EU standard [4] [5] [1].
1. How the United Kingdom uses biometric data at borders and in travel documents
The UK has issued biometric (e‑passport) documents since 2010, embedding a chip with the holder’s facial biometric that enables e‑gate automated border processing and other biometric checks [1], and UK border policy is moving further toward digital biometrics with completed trials of passport‑free biometric e‑gates and an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) regime that requires applicants to provide biographic and biometric data as part of advance screening [2] [3].
2. Denmark, the EES and biometric checks for non‑EU travellers
Denmark will implement the EU Entry/Exit System at its external borders, replacing passport stamping with electronic records that, for most non‑EU nationals, record passport data plus a facial image and fingerprints at first entry and exit; Denmark’s rollout timetable follows EU guidance that aims for full operational status by April 2026 [4] [5].
3. Distinction between biometric passports and national ID cards — and Denmark’s special status
EU rules require member states to use biometric passports as a standard, but the reporting notes Ireland and Denmark as exceptions to that particular EU passport‑issuance requirement [1]; this is separate from border biometrics, because Denmark still participates in the EES biometric border checks that capture travellers’ fingerprints and facial images regardless of whether every Danish passport is issued under the same EU biometric mandate [1] [4].
4. What travellers from the UK should expect when crossing into Denmark/Schengen
From the rollout starting October 2025 and ramping up to full implementation by April 2026, British nationals and other third‑country travellers will increasingly be asked to submit fingerprints and a facial scan at their first entry to Schengen countries operating the EES (including Denmark), with subsequent visits requiring only quick biometric verification against the stored record [6] [7] [5].
5. Tradeoffs, operational realities and criticisms
Governments present EES and related biometric tools as a modernization that replaces stamps, improves identity verification and deters overstayers [5] [8], but rollout reporting has flagged practical problems such as staffing shortages and border‑queue delays—with some ports and airports phasing in biometric capture and “double” checks (stamps plus EES records) during transition periods—so the security benefit asserted by authorities is balanced by implementation friction and civil‑liberty concerns raised in media coverage [7] [9].
6. Bottom line and limits of the record
The factual record in the provided reporting is unequivocal that the UK already uses biometric passports and is embedding biometric checks into its border technology and travel‑authorisation processes [1] [2] [3], and that Denmark — as a Schengen external‑border state — will collect facial images and fingerprints from non‑EU travellers under the EU Entry/Exit System despite any separate EU passport‑issuance exceptions for Denmark [4] [5] [6]; reporting reviewed here does not exhaustively address whether every Danish passport is currently biometric in practice nor the full legal detail behind Denmark’s passport exception beyond the cited claim [1].