What changes for residents

People who have their main home in France are not directly concerned by EES. This includes non-EU nationals with long-stay visas and/or residency cards including Brexit WA cards.

However, there are risks that they could get caught up in longer queues. 

The French government is looking to see if a solution can be found so residents exempt from EES can move through swiftly, if possible, without needing to see an official. 

As stated ON PAGE 7, some large French airports and the Eurostar and Eurotunnel terminals have ‘Parafe’ automatic passport e-gates, which are being adapted to be coordinated with the EES process. 

France has yet to confirm if, or when, these will be capable of recognising that a non-EU passport holder is a resident and therefore exempt from EES. For now, it will be necessary for residents to pass in front of an official to show their visa or residency card to prove exemption, potentially leading to longer waiting times. 

A legal expert for French airports representatives UAF, told The Connexion: “The French authorities are carrying out legal and technical work with a view to making this [recognition of residents’ status by Parafes] possible in due course. 

“There remain, however, some obstacles to deal with – especially with regards to Cnil [data protection authority] and the Conseil d’état [top administrative authority] relating to regulatory aspects. “That makes it impossible to give a calendar for when it will be put in place.” 

They added: “The French airports have the same objective of maintaining this simplified border route via the Parafes for third-country [non-EU] citizens who are long-term residents, and we have had regular exchanges with the authorities so as to optimise all possible passenger routes depending on the type of traveller.” 

One important change

One important change for non-EU families living in France concerns the document de circulation pour étranger mineur (foreign minor’s travel document), known as a DCEM. 

Families who may travel are being urged to obtain one of these for each child under 18, including infants, to ensure they are recognised as residents and do not have to go through the EES process. Under-18s do not normally have their own residency cards (other than 16/17-year-olds who request a card for work or study reasons) and DCEMs have not been obligatory. 

Official UK ‘ Living in France’ information has been updated to say that minors “must” have DCEMs to be exempt from EES. The process of applying for a DCEM is not simple and, as one support group reports, can take several months to process in some prefectures. 

Depending on your family circumstances, nationality and what supporting documents you already have to hand, it could cost several hundred euros for a couple with two children. Birth or marriage certificates need to be translated into French by a sworn translator, whose fees vary but are about €70 per document. 

The DCEM document itself is free for children of Withdrawal Agreement families, or otherwise costs €50. It is valid for five years. 

The process starts online at an Interior Ministry’s Etrangers en France website. 

If you need to travel with your children and have not obtained DCEMs we advise going to a manned passport desk taking the supporting documents you have to hand, showing your relationship towards your children and their life in France, eg. a certificat de scolarité from their school or a livret de famille if you have one. 

You should still be able to travel but it would be best to avoid children having to be registered into the EES, if possible, so as to avoid confusion on future trips.