Travel to France: What does EES mean for cross-Channel ferry trips?

The practicalities of travel - passenger numbers, method of check-in, passport checks etc - mean that the application of the new biometric passport checks known as EES will be slightly different depending on how you travel.

EES affects the EU's external borders, which means that it applies to journeys between France the UK.

In fact, the French-UK border is expected to be a major trouble spot for the new system, due to a combination of high volume of traffic, limits to infrastructure and juxtaposed passport control.

You can read a complete explanation of what EES is and how it works HERE. It is expected to come into effect in the autumn of 2024 - possibly October - full details here. 

But what differs is where and how the new checks are performed.

For air travellers passport checks are done at the airport where they land - so if there are delays, it will affect the time between landing and making it out of the airport.

However, travellers who go by Eurostar, ferry or Eurotunnel will have a different system and this is because of the juxtaposed borders made possible by the Le Touquet Agreement.

This means that a passenger departing the UK for France has their passport checked twice in the UK - once by UK border guards and once by French border guards - and no checks on arrival. The same applies when travelling the other way.

And this means that operators of the Eurostar, Eurotunnel and ferry ports have to invest in extra infrastructure to allow the juxtaposed passport checks under the new system.

READ ALSO How EES will affect journeys by Eurostar

Here is what will happen for people travelling by ferry between France and the UK (please note that these changes do not affect travel between Ireland and either France or the UK). 

Two stages

There are two parts to the new system - pre-registration and then passport checks. It's also important to note that EES checks do not apply to EU citizens. Non-EU citizens who have a long-stay visa or residency card for an EU country are also exempt.

Everyone else - so for example British tourists, visitors or second-home owners who do not have a visa - will have to complete pre-registration the first time they cross an EU external border (eg the France-UK border).

Pre-registration involves giving fingerprints and a facial scan as well as filling out personal details to link to the passport. Once this is done, it does not need to be done again for three years - frequent travellers will see their pre-registration 'renew' every time they cross an external border, so probably won't have to do it again until they get a new passport.

The second stage involves scanning the passport, which both checks the details and records the date of entry and exit onto the automated system.

Pre-registration

This is the most time-consuming bit, and it is why travel authorities are most worried about the early months of the scheme, when most of their passengers will have to do it.

The UK is hoping that an app means that passengers will be able to fill in their details before they arrive at the port. However even if this is ready in time - which seems doubtful - the fingerprints and facial scans must be registered in person in front of a border control officer.

This means that they will have to be done at the port and this is why port authorities are investing in extra infrastructure to create areas where passengers can complete their pre-registration before joining the queue for passport control.

Expansion

This is proving a particular problem at the Port of Dover, which is a physically small site with cliffs on one side and the sea on the other - making it hard to find room to expand (although there are long-term plans to fill in one of the docks to create extra space).

Emma Ward, Chief Operations Officer at the Port of Dover, told Kent County Council: “Of course the introduction of EES checks presents a huge challenge, but we are confident that the plans we are putting in place will ensure we can rise to that challenge.

“We will continue to process vehicles through the port in a very similar way to how we do it now. However, we are investing in new processes and operating areas and are working at great pace to have these in place by 6th October, which is when we have been told the new checks are likely to begin.

“There are two stages to the EES process. The first is registration, where passengers will have to have their passports checked and give biometric fingerprints and facial recognition. The second stage is to have those details validated when you cross the border.

“There is no getting away from the fact that this could be a slow process, especially if it involves a car full of people or a coach full of passengers. So we are looking at how these checks can be done in a location outside of the port itself, to prevent a backlog of queues onto surrounding roads."

Since Brexit, the port has already seen huge queues at peak travel times, with traffic sometimes backing up onto motorways and local roads in and around the town of Dover. 

The Port plans a separate processing area for coaches.

Cars

The extra problem for ferry ports is that almost all passengers are in cars - the Port says that arrivals will be met by "an agent with a tablet" - and that the tablet computer will be handed around the car so that passengers can input their details and fingerprints/scans.

It's likely that this will double the time it takes to process each passenger, which is why port operators are worried.

Once the details are successfully registered, cars will then proceed to British and French passport controls, which will operate in roughly the same way as they do now. 

Exempt groups

A significant portion of passengers will not have to complete EES registration - those travelling on the passport of an EU country, people with a residency card for France or another EU country or people with a long-stay visa for France or another EU country. 

These groups should be able to bypass pre-registration and go straight to passport control, although the exact system for non-EU citizens who are resident in an EU country remains unclear.

If two people are travelling in the same car and one is an EU citizen/resident of the EU and the other is not they will have to go to the pre-registration queue so that the non-EU passenger can complete their registration. 

However, even those groups who are exempt will likely be affected if long queues start building at the border.

Is there any good news?

There is a tiny bit of good news - airlines have warned of 'the end of last-minute travel', due to them having to verify passenger information in advance.

However, this does not apply to other forms of transport - because airline passengers are checked on arrival, airlines have to verify certain details before they can allow passengers to board. However because ferry passengers are checked by passport control before boarding the ferry, there is no need for travel operators to get involved.

Ferry passengers are already required to provide certain details in advance - such as the name, date of birth and passport number of everyone travelling in their vehicle (known as API). It's possible that extra questions may be added in advance of EES, but the basic process will remain the same.

Passengers will also be able to buy ferry tickets on the day of departure.