Changes for visitors to France
How EES affects your travel and what to expect at the border
Visitors to France or other Schengen countries are affected by EES procedures if they are of a non-EU/non-EEA/non Swiss nationality – ie. they do not benefit from EU free movement – and they are entering or exiting the Schengen area for a short stay of no more than three months.
Travellers should bear in mind that EES means the border control process takes longer, especially on their first entry or exit after the system came into operation.
It is difficult anticipate how much longer, as this varies depending on the means of travel and how busy the port/airport/rail station is, and how prepared and equipped it is. However, as a rule of thumb, people must allow more time than before and be prepared for delays.
As a minimum passengers can expect a passport scan and photo to be taken and a fingerprint scan (children under 12 do not have to provide fingerprints). Having to answer some short questions about travel is also systematic (see here).
In theory such questions are already standard under Schengen area rules but this was not commonly applied in France previously. Where pre-registration kiosks exist (eg. larger airports, Eurotunnel and Eurostar), inputting answers to questions is required.
Questions are also included in the standard model of the EU’s Travel to Europe app that was developed to help with pre-registration (note that this is not yet available for use in France see here).
People affected by EES have to pass in front of a border official (police aux frontières or Douanes) for final checks and a possible fingerprint scan, at least the first time that their data is entered into the system.
For subsequent trips, at sites where preregistration is possible and there are Parafe passport e-gates, nationals of many countries (US, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand) can use a combination of these facilities to bypass going in front of a border guard’s desk.
Prior to the start of EES these gates could already be used both by EU/EEA nationals and the non-EU nationals listed above.