What will happen if French residency card holder is away when EES border checks start?

Reader Question: I have a 10-year Brexit card and live in France, but in the autumn I will be travelling to Turkey for several months. I plan to drive back via Greece after my trip, but think in the meantime the EES rules will have started if current schedule proposals are followed. Will I need to do anything so as to re-enter the EU? 

You will not be affected by the incoming border security rules, as you are the holder of a valid French residency card (your Brexit Withdrawal Agreement card).

This is the case regardless of how and when you leave or enter France after the rules come into place. 

Holders of any valid residency permit or visa to remain in France (or any Schengen Area country) beyond the 90/180-day visa-free period are unaffected by the incoming Entry/Exit System (EES) rules.

Just ensure that you have your residency card with you when you re-enter the EU – which you should in any case take with you on all journeys outside of France/the EU to prove your residency status.

You will be able to cross any EU border – not just air and land borders into France – using a French residency card or visa.

Those who are outside the EU when the rules officially come into force will re-enter by showing their valid card or visa as they normally would. 

As a reminder, only those who are subject to the 90/180-day limit on staying within the EU – ie. those entering on a short-stay, visa-free tourist basis – are directly affected by the upcoming changes. 

This includes British, American, Canadian, Australian, Japanese and New Zealander tourists, as well as those from several other countries. It also includes second-home owners spending time in France under the 90/180 days rule. 

Note that EES in itself will not involve any application to enter the EU, just the requirement to provide passport and other details to be entered into a database, including giving fingerprints and a facial image. The phased roll-out of this is expected this autumn at the earliest. 

An additional scheme, Etias, requiring the same people to complete an online application is not now expected to be enforced until one year after the EES starts.

Queues may be longer 

While you will not need to apply for EES approval to return to the EU, the implementation of the system is expected to cause delays at several border entry points, notably between France and the UK.

This is because extra checks may have to be carried out by border staff to ensure passengers have complied with the new rules, extending queuing times at border entry points. 

In France, there are currently questions over whether residency card and visa holders will be able to skip queueing with other non-EU nationals to avoid longer queues.

Read more: New EES border controls: will foreign residents of France be able to use e-gates?

The phased rollout of the system that is now backed by the EU however is aimed at minimising any border chaos.

It is worth noting that people from Turkey always need a visa to enter the EU, even for a short tourist stay (less than 90 days), as Turkish citizens do not have visa-exempt status such as Britons and Americans do in the bloc. 

This means realistically the land border between Greece and Turkey will be mostly unaffected by EES, as most travellers passing through will not need to carry out any new formalities. 

You will simply have to show your residency permit to border authorities when crossing into Greece.