EES beware.

[spitzie]

Doing the Portsmouth-Caen ferry in 2 weeks and was wondering if anyone has done this trip in the last few weeks?
I've seen all the story on news articles about EES causing delays at airports and Dover/Calais but can't find any recent information for other ports, especially from the busy half term week.
Just after first hand information on how good or bad the EES experience is at Caen.

Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

 

[Souter]

Doing the Portsmouth-Caen ferry in 2 weeks and was wondering if anyone has done this trip in the last few weeks?
I've seen all the story on news articles about EES causing delays at airports and Dover/Calais but can't find any recent information for other ports, especially from the busy half term week.
Just after first hand information on how good or bad the EES experience is at Caen.

Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

Not operational yet, but still the usual bottleneck at Caen. We usually get through in around 45mins after getting Off the boat. Going that way on tuesday, afternoon sailing, arriving Caen 2200 france time. Site booked 10km away, will be in bed by 2330.

 

[Dizzy]

Update for Bilbao, we left on Tues 26th May and it wasnt too bad. We checked in 2.5hrs before departure, sat for an hour in one queue and then they filtered groups through the immigration, we had to get out and do the finger prints and pictures, there were 5 booths operating, seemed to flow reasonably well, then we queued up again for another hour before they started boarding... and yes - it was 37 degrees !!!

D

 

[brcas64]

We went through Newcastle to Amsterdam on the 29th april and came back on the 29th May. As a Irish passport holder and my wife being a UK passport holder the Current system does not apply to the wife as long as she is with me. similar with EES when it comes in. Newcastle border control have no plans to introduce EES they told me. Looks like Amsterdam Ijmunden port are not doing it either according to them. My idea of sending the wife home early won't work . Newcastle may change as it gets closer to the date.boarding and unloading at Newcastle was quick and easy. Amsterdam took about 2 hours each way and was slow and painful in the heat.

 

[mrkjd]

We went through Newcastle to Amsterdam on the 29th april and came back on the 29th May. As a Irish passport holder and my wife being a UK passport holder the Current system does not apply to the wife as long as she is with me. similar with EES when it comes in. Newcastle border control have no plans to introduce EES they told me. Looks like Amsterdam Ijmunden port are not doing it either according to them. My idea of sending the wife home early won't work . Newcastle may change as it gets closer to the date.boarding and unloading at Newcastle was quick and easy. Amsterdam took about 2 hours each way and was slow and painful in the heat.

I didn't know this! So if I hold an Irish passport, my wife travelling with me on her UK passport doesn't have to go thru the EES fingerprinting and registration process? If flying do we both just join the EU passport holders queue? Is this a temp measure or enduring? presumably she will have to go thru the system if she travels somewhere in EU without me?

 

[WelshGas]

We went through Newcastle to Amsterdam on the 29th april and came back on the 29th May. As an Irish passport holder and my wife being a UK passport holder the Current system does not apply to the wife as long as she is with me. similar with EES when it comes in. Newcastle border control have no plans to introduce EES they told me. Looks like Amsterdam Ijmunden port are not doing it either according to them. My idea of sending the wife home early won't work . Newcastle may change as it gets closer to the date.boarding and unloading at Newcastle was quick and easy. Amsterdam took about 2 hours each way and was slow and painful in the heat.

EES is operated by the EU Passport Control, not the U.K. Passport Control. So Newcastle will never introduce the checks but Amsterdam will at some point.
The Eurostar/Euroshuttle and Dover Ferry Port are different in that France has its Passport Control in the U.K. by special agreement, after the U.K. Passport Control and before the Departure Point.

 

[Dave Wickham]

Day 1 of the 180 day period starts when you land in the EU and finishes 180 days later. During that 180 day period you can only stay in the EU for a maximum 90 days, so it is important if you make multiple trips in that 180 day period not to exceed the 90 day allowance. Hence using the on-line calculator.


You can find this digital tool, and information on how the EES works in practice, by visiting travel-europe.europa.eu/ees. The “short-stay calculator” also enables you to check whether your next visit will comply with the 90/180 rule.

What happens when you enter the EU but your details are not checked? I arrived in Santander last Thursday and whilst queuing for biometric checks the computers went down and there were huge queues of vans and cars. We were just waved through-no passport checks, nothing, zero. We could have been known criminals!! Will be interesting leaving the EU from Northern France in 2 weeks!!

 

[WelshGas]

What happens when you enter the EU but your details are not checked? I arrived in Santander last Thursday and whilst queuing for biometric checks the computers went down and there were huge queues of vans and cars. We were just waved through-no passport checks, nothing, zero. We could have been known criminals!! Will be interesting leaving the EU from Northern France in 2 weeks!!

Sensibly the 180 period would start from when you leave France, but who knows.

 

[Wannabecamperman]

What happens when you enter the EU but your details are not checked? I arrived in Santander last Thursday and whilst queuing for biometric checks the computers went down and there were huge queues of vans and cars. We were just waved through-no passport checks, nothing, zero. We could have been known criminals!! Will be interesting leaving the EU from Northern France in 2 weeks!!

Sounds a bit like Dover!

 

[Barbara]

Update for Bilbao, we left on Tues 26th May and it wasnt too bad. We checked in 2.5hrs before departure, sat for an hour in one queue and then they filtered groups through the immigration, we had to get out and do the finger prints and pictures, there were 5 booths operating, seemed to flow reasonably well, then we queued up again for another hour before they started boarding... and yes - it was 37 degrees !!!

D

We had almost exactly the same leaving from Santander. Easy but it was a bit warm sitting in the sun in queue.

 

[Souter]

I didn't know this! So if I hold an Irish passport, my wife travelling with me on her UK passport doesn't have to go thru the EES fingerprinting and registration process? If flying do we both just join the EU passport holders queue? Is this a temp measure or enduring? presumably she will have to go thru the system if she travels somewhere in EU without me?

I have a French passport and my wife has French residency so a win-win situation when it finally kicks in at all the ferry ports.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

What happens when you enter the EU but your details are not checked? I arrived in Santander last Thursday and whilst queuing for biometric checks the computers went down and there were huge queues of vans and cars. We were just waved through-no passport checks, nothing, zero. We could have been known criminals!! Will be interesting leaving the EU from Northern France in 2 weeks!!

This is basically what I hope will happen to us in Santander. In and out.
“The queue is too big. Let’s wave them through”!

 

[KevH]

Just been advised by Stena that EES is now operational at Hook of Holland.
I was hoping to scrape through before it launched. Oh well.

 

[WelshGas]

Overnight ferry to Caen today.
No EES enforcement and saw no signs of any infrastructure installed, BUT I did notice that the Passport computer checks took a little longer and I gather this maybe because they were setting up accounts for each passport holder so that EES data could be added later. This was at the arrivals passport booths.
May be different when leaving EU. Will see next week.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Overnight ferry to Caen today.
No EES enforcement and saw no signs of any infrastructure installed, BUT I did notice that the Passport computer checks took a little longer and I gather this maybe because they were setting up accounts for each passport holder so that EES data could be added later. This was at the arrivals passport booths.
May be different when leaving EU. Will see next week.

So this was your first trip inside Schengen in the last few months, you’ve not already done EES, and France wasn’t doing it?
I thought it was now EU law? And Greece was the only country breaking that law.

 

[WelshGas]

So this was your first trip inside Schengen in the last few months, you’ve not already done EES, and France wasn’t doing it?
I thought it was now EU law? And Greece was the only country breaking that law.

Obviously you’ve not been keeping upto date with the news.
In typical EU fashion it’s been over 10 yrs in development with multiple delays but it was supposed to be fully implemented this year, BUT, not so. Some of the smaller ports still haven’t got the system up and running. Why? You’ll have to ask the EU in Brussels.

Eg;

The Rollout Status: While Caen is officially listed as an EES Pre-Registration site, ongoing software and technical issues have forced major French ports to adopt a phased, staggered approach

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Wow, that’s mad. I thought it had passed the ‘stop f$%€ing around’ stage on April 10th and was now supposed to be implemented everywhere except Greece. Caen is a major port.

 

[Souter]

Crossed via Caen on tuesday night landing at 10pm France time. Off and through passport control in 10mins, pitched up at Hermanville by 10.30pm no EES in operation but noticed 1 kiosk with EES signs.