How the EU's Entry/Exit System Is Changing Travel for Britons With Ties to France

When the European Union's Entry/Exit System (EES) comes into force, the familiar routine of having a passport stamped on the way into France will disappear. In its place, non-EU travellers will have their data — including fingerprints and a facial scan — recorded electronically before they cross the border. For the many British holidaymakers, second-home owners and dual-national families who travel regularly to France, that is a meaningful shift, and for some it has become a reason to pursue French citizenship before the system launches.

Photo by Erik Mclean on Pexels

What changes for British nationals travelling to France

Anyone with a British passport travelling via LeShuttle, Eurostar, airports or ferry terminals such as the Port of Dover could face longer waits, especially in the early days of the scheme. On a first crossing after EES begins, non-EU travellers have to provide details that may include car registration, passport information, fingerprints and a facial scan, with the data valid for three years. On subsequent trips only one piece of biometric information needs to be checked, but the registration still takes place in dedicated pre-registration areas on both sides of the Channel.

EU nationals, by contrast, pass through registration and passport control as normal. That difference is exactly what splits mixed-nationality families: while EU-passport holders move through quickly, the British member of the family has to step aside to complete biometric checks.

How operators are preparing

Cross-Channel operators have invested heavily to limit delays. LeShuttle, whose customer base is more than 70 per cent British, has put over £67 million (around €78 million) into new infrastructure, installing 224 kiosks across its Folkestone and Calais terminals. The company says it expects to process more than 500 cars an hour — based on an average of three passengers per car — adding only five to seven minutes to the journey. Eurostar, meanwhile, is investing around €10 million to install roughly 65 pre-check-in kiosks at St Pancras in London and Gare du Nord in Paris, alongside extra manual booths and electronic gates.

Photo by Borys Zaitsev on Pexels

The 90-day rule and the citizenship incentive

One of the EES's core purposes is to make it far easier to see when a non-EU visitor has overstayed. Under the 90-day rule, non-EU nationals can spend only 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, and the new system records every entry and exit automatically rather than relying on a border guard reading passport stamps. For freelancers and second-home owners who travel back and forth, that makes accidental breaches easier to detect.

It is little wonder, then, that some Britons married to EU citizens are hurrying to claim citizenship of their own. The process is not effortless — France, for example, recently raised the required language level to an intermediate 'B1' standard and asks for documents such as parents' birth certificates and an updated family record. But an EU passport removes the pre-registration step, the queueing and the 90-day limit in one stroke. Travellers who want to check where they stand can review the ETIAS eligibility rules to understand who the new requirements apply to.