Will EES registration be required in France for EU residency permit holders?

Reader Question: I have a German residency permit, but often travel into France by plane or ferry when I return to the EU. Will I be subject to EES registration as I am not entering through Germany? 

The Entry/Exit System (EES) will affect people who are not citizens of Schengen Area countries and do not hold a valid residency permit or visa. 

Such visitors will have their biometric information collected under the system, including a facial scan and fingerprints upon entry into the Schengen Area.

However, if you hold a residency permit for a country in the Schengen Area - be it France or any other country - you are exempt from EES registration, regardless of which country you enter into the bloc.

For example, you can show your German residency permit on arrival at a French ferry port or airport (or in the port of Dover or St Pancras station where French checks take place on leaving the UK) without needing to register for EES.

Alternatively, you could enter Spain from the UK on a flight on a French residency permit, and would equally be exempt.

This will apply at all border entry points to the Schengen Area regardless of whether your residency permit is a post-Brexit Withdrawal Agreement card or another permit or visa.

The EES system is now set to launch on October 12, 2025.

Queues may be longer

However, as you only hold a residency permit for a Schengen Area country, and not an EU/EEA/Swiss passport, you will need to use the non-EU passport queue when crossing the border, unless you are the close family member of an EU/EEA/Swiss passport holder.

These queues may be longer when the EES launches as the system will need to process many travellers, and certain border points may lack the facilities required to separate them from people who do not need registration. 

Note that several non-EU countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) are also part of the Schengen Area.