How to use the kiosks and tablets

‘Pre-registration devices’ (PRDs) are optional but, where they exist, passengers are strongly advised to make use of them. 

These systems – whether tablets handed out by helpers or self-service kiosks – are used to input required information before arrival at a border guard’s booth. 

They offer instructions in several languages, with personnel at hand. to help. Once people are pre-registered, only brief ‘validation’ at the border guard’s booth is required and biometrics should not have to be given again. 

Britons and Americans living in France can no longer use Parafe gates now that EES is underway, as they have been adapted to recognise foreign visitors registered in EES but not other foreigners. 

The government is still working towards allowing them an “automated route through passport control”. 

Where Parafe automatic passport gates exist they can be used in combination with PRDs on subsequent entries and exits for many visitors. 

Once you are in the system, future border crossings will be faster, as your existing EES database entry will be updated by just registering the place, date and time of the crossing. 

If you are a regular visitor to the Schengen area your data will be kept on an ongoing basis – or for three years after the last exit from the area. 

How does the equipment work? 

Users need a valid, biometric passport and to be aged 18 or more, or otherwise be a minor accompanied by an adult. 

Data collected includes passport information (name, date and place of birth, gender, nationality, passport number, issuing country, expiry date); date and time of crossing the border; facial image and right-hand fingerprints. 

Accompanied minors do not have biometrics taken by the equipment. Under 12s do not have to give their fingerprints for EES, and their facial image is taken by the border guard. 

For unaccompanied minors, the process is carried out entirely by a border guard. The process for using kiosks and tablets is detailed by the French government here. 

The process with a kiosk 

• Click on welcome screen and follow instructions.

• Answer travel questions about your journey (if these have not been deactivated) such as intended length of stay, purpose of stay (tourism, business, study…), country of first stay in Schengen area, confirmation that you have sufficient financial means for your trip and return.

• Place passport, photo page open, on a reader and hold it down until you receive notification that the data was collected correctly. 

• Take off glasses, scarves, hats, masks... stand in front of the camera and, guided by the LED lights, ensure the image is taken successfully.

• Place the four fingers of the right hand on the reader (left hand, if right is impossible). 

• The screen will then indicate where to go to cross the border. 

The process with a tablet

• A helper holding a tablet will assist you, asking you to respond to the travel questions (see above). 

• Hand them your passport, which they will scan. 

• Get ready for a photo, which will be taken by the helper using the tablet. 

• Press your righthand fingers onto the reader as indicated by the helper (left hand, if necessary). 

Which French border points have these devices? 

Large and medium-sized airports and ferry ports as well as Eurostar and Eurotunnel terminals are equipped with PRDs. Small airports will see passengers complete full procedures at border guard’s booths. 

The UK government estimates that it should take no more than two minutes per person, but this varies depending on queue length.

At small airports the borders are manned by customs officers, while the police are responsible at larger sites. 

The French airports body UAF previously told The Connexion the interior ministry had promised an additional 1,000 police and said the Douanes also reported having received extra staff, post Brexit, which are expected to help them cope. Among sites with pre-registration equipment, airports are more likely to have kiosks, as will Eurostar and Eurotunnel. 

Arrangements at ports differ, with Ports de Normandie (Caen, Cherbourg, Dieppe) opting for tablets, while the UK’s busiest port, Dover, decided that setting aside areas where cars and coaches can pull up for occupants to use kiosks is more efficient. 

French sites with PRD equipment

Airports: Roissy-Charles de Gaulle, Orly, Bâle-Mulhouse, Beauvais, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Strasbourg, Toulouse. 

Stations: Gare du Nord, Paris (Eurostar), St Pancras, London (Eurostar), Coquelles and Folkestone (Eurotunnel). 

Ports: Caen, Calais, Cherbourg, Dieppe, Douvres, Dunkerque, Le Havre, Marseille, Saint-Malo, Sète.