European Entry/Exit System (EES)
 

As this is about to happen, I thought I'd start with the official EU website for the system. Travel in Europe with the European Entry/Exit System (EES)
Obviously search engines return a slew of stuff based on speculation.

Once in operation, if those with experience could feedback that would be great.

Kicks in on the 12th - expect media meltdown on the 13th................

Indeed ... all and any political views that emerge in here will be removed and posters locked in the toilet.

I wonder if this system will deter unwanted visits from British relatives? One can but hope!

Why? The UK has had it's equivalent in place for many months.

As my immigration experiences at Amsterdam and Lisbon these past months have been abysmal, I can only see this adding to their appalling performance unfortunately. Next visit to Lisbon in 3 weeks time so will soon find out!

Largely because the numbers of foreign passengers arriving by surface modes (ferry, Eurotunnel and rail) are comparatively low into UK and I don't believe the UK system requires registration of finger prints prior to going through the immigration desk.

It is the surface modes that will attract media attention as French border controls are carried out at Folkestone and Dover for Eurotunnel and ferry traffic meaning that any disruption will be very obvious if it spills on to the M20 and roads approaching Dover.

Isn't the current UK system more akin to the much delayed ETIAS system than the EEA procedure coming in next week?

Newspapers are giving fairly good advice but one radio report (I read a transcript) did not make clear that the delay is only the first registration and then valid for three years. Our first visit to Schengen will be in late February, so matters should have settled in a bit.

I was pleased to read this in The Independent:

An article yesterday in Travel Trade Gazette said that only 35% of people booked to travel after EES comes in are aware of it.

The 65% are likely to cause the issue not the system itself.

I am British, I live in France and have a Carte de Séjour. The face recognition photo and the taking of finger prints for that were exactly the same as for the EES. British people should be pleased that these requirements are there to protect, not only the whole of Europe, but, by extension also the UK. What's the problem?

It's the 65% in front of you that I would worry about .....

It won't affect me, as I have an EU passport, but I expect LHR to go into meltdown. It only just functions as it is.

I travel through T2 and T3 often and rarely experience any issues unlike airports such as Lisbon and Amsterdam which are horrendous

Like Bergerie1 I have a valid Resident's Card and from careful trawling of official websites, my UK passport should serve me for entry into the UK and my Carte de Resident for entry back into France. I think the problem will be exacerbated by ignorance (not necessarily intentional or cultural) by UK passport holders and the physical need to exit one's vehicle and interact with a machine where there is a high volume of passing traffic and very little geographical space to park vehicles whilst the procedure is being carried out .... for example the Port of Dover.

Many holidaymakers or irregular travellers wanting to go to, or through, Europe, do not realise that since Brexit a great deal has changed ..; certain newspapers regularly run sob stories about folk who were refused boarding because their passport had a validity of more than 10 years ... and whilst ignorance is no defence, the UK Government should be 'protecting' their nationals who wish to leave the UK for 'the continent' by informing them more clearly (and regularly) of the changes underway.

We are flying back from the US with KLM on Monday evening arriving in Amsterdam on Tuesday afternoon with a 1hour 25 minutes transfer time to Teesside. If we are on time all should be fine, however, if delayed we shall take it as it comes. My wife has a Dutch passport and I am UK but have never had any problems with Schiphol.
Not really a third world problem, some seem to be looking for problems, a little bit of knowledge and research is always useful.

If your wife has a Dutch Passport and you've been married a while, you too can have a Dutch Passport. EU Entry problems solved!

Dutch is Schengen, you won't have to enter via the EU channel. I think it's only Ireland that is EU but not Schengen (because of the CTA with the UK). I'm not an expert, I stand to be corrected.

My next flight out of Mainland UK is to....Jersey. will I be affected??
Tongue in Cheek Emoji...

I think you are correct. The pre-Brexit situation was that both the UK and Ireland were outside of the Schengen area, so perhaps even without Brexit, UK passport holders would still have needed to go through some sort of entry/exit check.

EES applies to EFTA states too, so a pre-Brexit UK would have been inside the tent, and indeed when the UK was inside the tent we were supporters of EES (because our government loves hugely over engineered, unnecessarily complex and impractical IT projects).

Justapax, lived and worked in NL for 42 years and being married for 40 years next month. Never thought about a Dutch passport, being a Brit, yet might be worth considering, thanks.

zed