Who needs to register - and who does not

✓ Adult foreign visitors with a short-stay visa waiver for the Schengen area who do not have EU citizenship or citizenship of Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, or Switzerland. Countries whose nationals have a 90/180 days visa waiver for short stays include the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Japan.

✓ People in the above categories even if they own property in France, eg. second-home owners

✓ Children in the same categories (no fingerprints for under-12s)

✓ The same nationals visiting (but not living in) Schengen even if they are spouses or other close relatives of French people or other EU citizens

✓ Foreign visitors with short-stay visas (Chinese people, Russians, Indians, Moroccans, Tunisians etc)

✗ EU/EEA/Swiss citizens, including those who also have a non-EU citizenship

✗ Non-EU nationals who have their main home in France (or EU etc) and have residency cards or long-stay visas to prove it

✗ Nationals of Monaco and Andorra and residents of Monaco

✗ Air travellers in transit who do not leave airports’ international transit zones (other travellers ARE affected if leaving these)

✗ Residents near borders who have local traffic permits

✗ Holders of transit documents on long-distance trains not disembarking in the Schengen area

✗ People exempt from border checks, such as certain cross-border workers; also crew of international trains