As a US citizen, living in France, why do I still get stuck in non-EU lanes since EES start?

Reader question:  I am a US citizen living in France. Since the start of EES, I have flown into Paris Charles de Gaulle three times. Each time I tried to show my residency card but was told that the lines were organized by passport only. So, I had to wait in the tourist line. I read articles before the implementation of the EES that said holders of a residency card would be exempt from the requirements and would be treated the same as EU citizens. Why has this not been the case?

In our own coverage we have not stated that foreign (non-EU/non-EEA/non-Swiss) citizens who are residents in France were expected to be treated exactly the same as EU citizens.

What was stated by the EU, in the run-up to the system starting, was that these ‘third-country’ citizen residents would not have to be registered in EES. We have, however, said they may find they are caught up in longer queues that could ensue from the start of the system, especially as it beds in and most people are still being entered into the system for the first time.

This is because EU border rules do not provide for third-country citizens to use ‘EU’ passport lanes at the Schengen borders.

As a reminder, the EES is a new system for tracking non-EU citizens coming into or leaving the EU’s Schengen area, and requires the creation of a database entry for each person, that lasts for three years or until expiry of their current passport (the earlier of the two).

One factor that was hoped to help is that larger airports have been equipped with pre-registration kiosks for people affected by EES to enter most of the information needed for EES before they arrive at the border guard’s booth (at smaller airports everything will be done at the booth). We understand airports have been trying to position these such that they can be used prior to arrival in actual passport queues, so people waiting to use kiosks do not also further slow up passport queues.

Another factor that was hoped to help speed things up was technical work to make automatic ‘Parafe’ passport e-gates compatible with EES. 

This should mean that many people who have already been entered into the EES system once since its launch should for future entries or exits from the Schengen area (such as holiday visitors travelling between France and the US) be able to use only a kiosk and a Parafe and bypass the traditional passport lanes.

According to experts from UAF, which represents French airports, it is hoped that in due course this system will work even for ‘first entries/exits’.

Parafe gates are not treated the same as traditional ‘EU passports’ lanes, and prior to EES, many (but not all) non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals, such as Americans and Britons living in France or visiting the country, were permitted by France to use these (however, visitors were asked to also look out for a border official who could stamp their passport).

This stopped after EES began, as the gates were not yet technically able to recognise if non-EU passport holders were residents or visitors and, in the latter case, if they had been registered in EES or not, thus manual checks by border guards have been necessary for all holders of non-EU passports.

Unfortunately, due to technical hitches over the festive season, and continuing for the time-being, most kiosks and Parafe gates have been entirely out of action (even for EU citizens) pending revision work. This led to some longer queues as people were unable to use these.

Impacts were somewhat reduced by the fact that EES has been only ‘phasing in’ and is not yet being applied to all passengers.

What is the situation for residents?

Third-country citizen residents cannot use ordinary ‘EU’ passport lanes but were hoped to be able to use Parafes, with a technical solution being sought to enable the gates to recognise their status.

This was hoped to help avoid them waiting in longer ‘non-EU’ lanes at those large airports where ‘Parafes’ exist.

If they do wait in non-EU lanes, they should show their residency card to avoid the border guard asking to register them in EES.

Before Christmas, an UAF expert said it was hoped kiosks and Parafes would be “completely functional and EES-compatible at the start of next year”, adding that “the object is still eventually that all eligible passengers should be able to use them”.

He said a software update should resolve the issues with the kiosks in the next weeks.

As for residents and the Parafes, he said this needed technical updates as well as the completion of regulatory changes, expected during the first quarter of 2026.

In an update this week, UAF told us: “They’re talking about getting the kiosks and Parafes working by the end of March, but with certain developments with regard to the Parafes that are still awaited and which could be put in place by the summer for full compatibility with EES and particular situations such as residents.”

So, it is possible that the situation will not ease before around June.