EES: Eurotunnel estimates two minutes extra for UK-France travel
Lorries and coaches will be affected first with car travellers following later this year
Three EU border points in the UK are affected by the new measures (left to right: Eurostar terminal at London St Pancras, Eurotunnel at Folkestone, Port of Dover)
Shutterstock / Sergii Figurnyi, M G White, Kelvin Atkins
New EU border checks should not significantly impact UK-France travel times for those using the Eurotunnel, the chief executive of the company has said.
The EES (Entry/Exit System) will launch progressively from October 12, 2025, to be in place at all entry points to the Schengen Zone within six months.
Under the new rules all non-EU travellers using the Eurotunnel at Folkestone, which alongside the Eurostar terminal at London St Pancras and Port of Dover make up the three EU border points in the UK, are set to be entered into EES prior to boarding.
Traveller passport details will be collected and they will be asked simple questions about their travel plans, thus creating a database entry. In future their entries and exits to/from the Schengen area will then be tracked and logged automatically.
It is also planned that their biometric data [photos and finger prints] will be taken, although the current EES ‘phased start’ rules say it is possible for the system to operate without these in the first two months.
All other impacted passengers, including those going to France by air or by ferry from other ports, will need to provide details when they arrive in France.
Travellers with French residency cards or visas are exempt from EES. Non-EU nationals owning second homes in France are not exempt (click here for more on who is or is not affected).
The new measures, however, will cause “minimal impact” at Folkestone and Calais, said Eurotunnel chief executive Yann Leriche.
He estimates that on average, journey times for drivers using the tunnel will increase by around just two minutes due to the new system.
How and when will system work at border points in the UK?
To be processed, drivers and passengers will need to exit their vehicles and provide biometric details.
This will in time replace the manual stamping of passports by border guards. The changes are being phased in as follows:
Eurotunnel
Lorry drives and coaches will be affected by the rules from October 12. Passengers in other vehicles will be required to use the system “a few weeks later”, the firm has said.
The processing will take place in a new area of the Eurotunnel port in Folkestone, where more than 220 machines have been installed to process up to 700 vehicles per hour.
More information on how the system will work for Eurotunnel is available in our article here.
Eurostar
Eurostar has installed 49 kiosks, more than double that recommended by the EU, which passengers will use before boarding a train. It has not yet announced when it will start EES.
The Port of Dover
The port says it is ready – it will begin processing truck and lorry drivers on October 12, followed by other vehicles from November 1.
In the initial six-months of the scheme, EES will gradually be introduced at more and more border points (airports, stations, ports) until all are operating it.
Manual passport stamping will continue during this period.
The ‘progressive start’ rules also allow for temporary suspensions of the system at certain border points if necessary, for example because queues become too long.
