Anyone done EES on a Brittany ferry yet?

Lambeth Cali · Mar 21, 2026

Has anyone experienced this yet on a ferry crossing?
I thought I read somewhere that Brittany ferries were doing it before departure so not when you get off the boat.

A bit like the passport control on uk side for channel tunnel. This seems a good idea while you’re waiting to board.

colintfcolintf · Mar 21, 2026

Not yet, but will in September

BeachBound · Mar 21, 2026

Lambeth Cali said:
Has anyone experienced this yet on a ferry crossing?

Nope, but we'll be heading out in less than a week, so it would be good to know what to expect!

Here's what Brittany Ferries have on their website:

From 12 October, most passengers departing the ship will proceed straight to border control booths as usual. One in ten of these will be subject to biometric controls. This will be upscaled gradually in the following six months.
Agents with iPads will choose vehicles in lanes for the most significant change: logging biometric data (which means taking a photo and fingerprints). These will checked with the person presenting at the border on EU entry and exit
Those travelling on foot or in groups may be asked to pass via kiosks in the ferry terminal before boarding. Here they can pre-register before proceeding to a border control point

I'd definitely be interested to know how much they've managed to 'upscale' these processes since October. It could be a nice addition to our customary security check.

Lambeth Cali · Sunday at 1:19 PM

@BeachBound
I’m pretty certain that was the trial. As of now I think 100% have to do it. It often takes an hour+ to get off in Santander. This could easily take 3+hrs.

BeachBound · Sunday at 1:53 PM

Lambeth Cali said:
@BeachBound
I’m pretty certain that was the trial. As of now I think 100% have to do it. It often takes an hour+ to get off in Santander. This could easily take 3+hrs.

I've been sat in a queue for more than an hour in Santander before. Not fun in the summer heat. It would be great if an even longer wait tcould be avoided.

I've not found any info on checks at Portsmouth or Plymouth. I'd assume that's not possible without a juxtaposition deal with France in place (similar to the one they have over in Dover) as described in this article from 2024:

Third council in biometrics warning

A third council has warned it faces potential fallout from new entry checks at UK borders earmarked for October. Portsmouth City Council, which owns the international...

www.themj.co.uk

It seems as though the trial aims to ramp up to 100% of passengers checked by the end of the month, but they do have wiggle room to suspend checking if the queues get too extreme.

It's already 5h30 without stopping for us to get to Portsmouth so I'm not sure I want to be having the checks on the English side either. The joys.