Shorouk Express
The roll out of Europe’s EES biometric border system was due to be stepped up this week across Europe, but what does that mean for travellers heading between France and the UK via Dover, the Eurotunnel or Eurostar terminals?
Passengers might have expected longer waits at some French border crossing points from this week, as registrations for the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), the new EU digital border system, were due to be stepped up in line with phased rollout plans.
However it appears that French authorities are yet to give the green light to increase the number of passengers processed through the EES biometric checks.
The EES, which collects digital personal records of third country nationals travelling to the Schengen area and replace the manual stamping of passports, was launched on October 12th 2025.
The system is being introduced gradually, with Schengen countries having had to register at least 10 percent of estimated border crossings in the first 90 days.
Advertisement
But that proportion was officially increased to 35 percent from January 9th and the goal is to reach 100 percent as of April 10th 2026.
Under the EES, travellers from non-EU countries, including the UK, have to register fingerprints and facial images the first time they cross an external Schengen border to enter any of the 29 Schengen countries (25 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein).
UK-France border crossings
The UK-France border has an additional complication – juxtaposed border checks, as agreed under the Le Touquet treaty in 2003.
On the UK side, there are juxtaposed border checks at London’s St Pancras station, Folkestone’s Eurotunnel terminal and the Port of Dover – meaning that travellers are checked by both French and British authorities before departure, and then have no checks on arrival in France. The same applies for travellers departing from Paris Gare du Nord, Coquelles or Calais.
Eurostar
Eurostar, which operates trains across the Channel linking London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, initially made a soft launch of EES, asking only business and premium fare travellers to register.
The company initially said that this would be expanded to all passengers from January 12th, but a spokesperson told The Local this week that registrations will be stepped up, but only in line with French authorities and depending on the readiness of the special EES kiosks.
A spokesperson for Eurostar told The Local this week: “EES checks at London St Pancras station are currently being completed manually by border officers. We are working closely with border authorities and will introduce kiosk-based processing once the operational software and the activation timetable are confirmed and approved by the French Ministry of Interior.”
She added: “At Eurostar stations, EES enrolments are already meeting the required thresholds using manual processing by border officers. As the rollout progresses, capacity will be expanded in a controlled way, in close coordination with the Ministry of the Interior and border authorities, to ensure the process remains compliant and manageable for customers”.
There have been no reports of any EES linked travel problems at St Pancras or Gare du Nord, but we are keen to hear from readers in the comment section below.
Le Shuttle
Eurotunnel, which runs the Le Shuttle cross-Channel train service between Folkestone and Calais began EES checks in October, but only for coach passengers and lorry drivers.
In the most recent statement a spokesperson told The Local: “The initial stage has run smoothly, with positive feedback and strong operational performance. »
Advertisement
Eurotunnel also said the roll out of the next phase depends on getting the green light from French authorities.
“We are fully prepared for the next phase, which will cover tourist vehicles travelling from Folkestone to Calais, followed shortly by vehicles in the opposite direction.
« Under the EU framework, French authorities have flexibility to set the most suitable date for managing traffic and discussions are ongoing. We are working closely with them to agree the timing and will confirm the launch date as soon as it is finalised,” the spokesperson added.
Dover-Calais ferries
The Port of Dover is also “working closely” with French authorities “to ensure a smooth introduction” of the EES “for tourist passengers in early 2026.”
A Port of Dover statement issued in November said: “The successful implementation of EES for coach, freight and foot passengers in October has resulted in nearly 13,000 profiles being successfully created.
Advertisement
« We understand that Dover accounts for more than 30 percent of all registrations made by French seaports since October 12th. This also exceeds the intended target for this period of implementation, and firmly demonstrates the success of our collective efforts thus far.”
So in other words it’s not yet clear when EES checks will be stepped up to cover more passengers at either Eurostar, Dover or Eurotunnel terminals. If you are due to travel between France and the UK please share your experience in the comments section below.
Some UK travellers have reported being able to complete their EES registration at Calais on the return journey.
Concerns about travel chaos
The increase in the registration threshold from January, however, raised concerns for European airports operators, which called in December for an urgent review of the system, amid “mounting operational issues” and long processing times for passengers.
At the end of last year, the government of Portugal also decided to suspend the EES implementation at Lisbon Airport to reduce waiting times.
And in neighbouring Spain, hoteliers and tourism bosses have called for more police and fully functioning passport control machines at Spanish airports to ease the long waits for Brits and other non-EU tourists since the rollout of the EU’s new Entry Exit System.
Advertisement
We are not aware of any major issues regarding EES at airports in France, and Aéroports de Paris, which operates Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, told Politico it has “not observed any chaos or increase in waiting times at this stage.”
ABTA, the association representing UK travel industry, called last week for “greater use of contingency measures by EU border officials” as the EES rollout expands.
ABTA said that passengers’ experience so far “has been varied, from relatively smooth to incidents where large queues have formed at passport control”.
“As more places introduce the system, and more passengers are processed through it, there is a greater risk that people will face queues and delays. It’s important travellers are prepared for this as they prepare to go through passport control,” said ABTA CEO Mark Tanzer.
“We are also urging border authorities to do all they can to minimise delays. They have contingency measures at their disposal – such as standing down the system or limiting checks – and we want them to be utilised to help manage the flow of people. »
Have you crossed the UK-France border since the start of the EES rollout? Please share your experiences in the comments section below
