Are dual passport holders impacted by EES or UK ETA?

Reader Question: My wife and I are UK/France dual passport holders planning to soon fly between the countries. Does EES change which passport we are meant to show? Are we at risk of facing longer queues?

Dual nationals should continue to use the relevant passports when entering/exiting the country in question, both to avoid potentially prolonged queues and confusion under new border systems. 

It has long been advised that dual citizens (for example, holders of both a UK and French passport) use the French passport to enter France (or more widely, the EU) and their British one to enter the UK. In the past this was to avoid your passport being stamped, having to show proof of residency, or being directed to slower non-EU queues. 

With the advent of the new Entry/Exit System (EES) and UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), this remains the case, and also applies to leaving the countries.

By using the correct passport to both enter and exit a country, you will avoid needing to be registered in either system.

Indeed, UK/Irish passport holders are being told by the UK government that the must now enter the UK using their UK/Irish passport (or a Certificate of Entitlement attached to their third-nation passport), and obtaining ETA authorisation on their third-nation passport is not permitted.

While there are no penalties for EU dual nationals who register for the EES on a non-EU passport, authorities recommend always arriving and exiting on the EU passport to avoid being put into the system unnecessarily as this could cause confusion on future journeys. 

Ideally, you should carry both passports with you: 

• Use the UK passport to enter and exit the UK (at UK border control and UK airport security)

• Use the French/EU passport to enter France (at French border control and French airport security). You should use your EU passport at all EU border points, not just in France

You do not need to show authorities that you have another passport in your name (even if carrying it with you). 

Long queue at some airports

In terms of queues however, you may still be affected.

There are different queues for EU and non-EU passport holders upon arrival at a Schengen area border.EU passport holders generally pass through border security much quicker, especially on entry to the EU, as non-EU passport holders (even those exempt from EES registration such as residency card holders) must in most cases queue up separately.

For a return flight from France to the UK however, this is not guaranteed and depends on how the airport’s passport control area is set up. 

Travellers flying to a non-EU destination must pass through additional border checks compared to those heading to another EU destination.

In The Connexion team’s experience, this additional area is often not divided into EU and non-EU lanes (i.e. all passengers may need to queue up together to pass through).

So, this means EU passport holders could be impacted by queues linked to EES biometric checks for passengers leaving the Schengen Zone, as they would be waiting to pass through the same space, even if they themselves were not subject to the checks. 

They would only avoid this if queues were split. 

The use of self-registration kiosks, which those subject to EES regulations could use - which will usually be placed away from the actual passport check queues - may help alleviate issues (as an EU passport holder you would be exempt from using these), but in many airports these are yet to be fully online.