Thanks to the many readers who have written in to share their experiences of entering France through border controls after we reported on the subject of which lane residency card holders should use when entering the country.
Below we run a selection:
L.K: In December, I stood in the long non-EU queue at Carcassonne airport when returning from the UK. When I reached the desk, I presented my 10-year WARP titre de séjour along with my passport. The border officer told me I could have saved time by using the EU queue.
It seems there is no real consistency.
C.T: I travelled from the UK on a ski trip and joined a long queue of several hundred British passengers (not EES-related, but apparently normal according to another traveller I spoke with). I managed to show my French titre de séjour to a passing Swiss airport official, who escorted me out of the non-EU queue and directed me to the much shorter EU queue, where only a handful of people were waiting.
There, I presented my British passport and residency card and passed through without any issues. On my return a week later, I went straight to the EU lane again and had no problems. These were staffed booths, not e-gates.
There seems to be some local variation, particularly where staffed booths are involved.
S.C: On a recent late flight from Heathrow, I stood in the non-EU queue with my carte de séjour for over an hour, while the EU queue moved through in about 10 minutes.
When I reached the border officer, I was asked why I had not used the EU queue. I was told that in future I should do so, as residency card holders do not require EES registration and already have fingerprints and photos stored on their cards.
J.T: At Nice, on our last trip in April, we were directed to the EU queue when we showed our residency cards. However, on previous visits we were told to use the non-EU queue.
At Geneva, we were instructed to use the e-gates and then present our cards to an officer on the other side.
It is all rather unclear.
B.B: I am a UK citizen and have been a Monaco resident for nearly 40 years. On my most recent arrival at Nice airport from the UK, I faced a very long non-EU queue. A fellow traveller asked an airport staff member overseeing the immigration hall whether we could use the EU queue and showed our Monaco residency card. We were told we could, and we moved to the much shorter queue.
A.C: (Not a French residency card holder, but sharing experience from Portugal)
I am a US citizen with Portuguese residency. Recently, I entered the EU in Germany from the United States and used the “all passports” queue. At the front, the immigration officer specifically advised me to use the EU lane next time.
At Lisbon airport, there is a sign directing Portuguese residents to the EU queue, and I have also used the EU lane when entering Porto from Morocco.
It does seem that rules vary by airport.
A photo our reader sent us, the sign is located on the lower right side
Which passport lane do you use when arriving in France with a residency card? Let us know at feedback@connexionfrance.com
