Hi. We're headed back to France and will be leaving before November 10 when the new EES rules take place. However, we are returning after November 10th so I'm confused as to whether we need to apply for the EES before we go since we don't need it to go, but we would like to be able to come home. Does anyone know how this works or where I go to find out?
Thank you.
According to the official site below, the ETIAS visa waiver is now supposed to start in 'early 2025'. Frankly, I'm not surprised the start date has been pushed back again because the first few weeks of operation are going to be an administrative and logistical nightmare.
https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en
I'm not sure what you mean by 'leaving France'. Are you going to another Schengen country or to a '3rd party' country?
In the imo highly unlikely event that ETIAS does come into force on Nov 10th: 1. If you're staying in Schengen
your entry date into Schengen would have been noted on the shared system so no need for an ETIAS. 2. If you're going to a non-Shengen/ non-EU country it would be worth getting an ETIAS as soon as its feasible.
No EU/Schengen country wants to stop people leaving if they've entered legally and haven't overstayed the 90-in-180 day limit. 
[ Edit: Edited on 25 Sep 2024, 19:54 GMT by leics2 ]
leics2, I wasn't asking about the ETIAS because there is no start date yet. I was asking about the EES that has an official, published start date of November 10th.
I would hope that since we left before it goes into effect that we could return home after it goes into effect even if we weren't in the system, but I've learned over the years that it is not a good idea to assume without some serious checking.
Where do I go to check?
The official site is
https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees_en
As far as I can see it's just a more modern version of what's been in place for years and years. There's nowhere for you to register in advance of entry....... that'll be ETIAS...but if you leave the EU/Schengen and then return after Nov 10 you'll be registered on the new system.
Hundreds of thousands of people will have entered EU/ Schengen countries prior to Nov 10. Of course those people will be allowed to leave after Nov 10. As I said, dates of entry and exit have long been available on a shared system.
leics2, the link you gave me has lots of information but not the specific information I wanted. Obviously I know we will be allowed to return home, I just wanted to get an idea of how much hassle it would be since we have an early flight. However, I asked the question of a French paper that publishes in English and got the following useful and very polite answer I needed. I'm reprinting it here in case anyone else has similar concerns.
Quote from email answer from editor:
EES pre-registration happens the first time you cross an external EU border after the start date (currently set for November 10th). It doesn't matter whether you are entering or exiting the EU, it's just the first time that you cross an external border - so for you that would be on your return journey.
It's something that you do at the airport so you don't need to do anything in advance, although your airline might request more or different Advanced Passenger Information (API) then you have given for previous trips, so it's just a question of keeping an eye on any emails from the airline and following their instructions.
https://www.thelocal.com/20240528/how-europes-new-ees-border-checks-will-impact-flight-passengers
Hope this helps and bon voyage,
That's what I was trying to say...but clearly failed miserably! When I was writing my replies I was stuck with very iffy internet so my apologies if I wasn't clear enough. I'm back home now.
The fact that the official site doesn't tell you 'how to register' in advance makes it clear that it's not necessary. As I said, EES is just a more efficient (hopefully) & updated way of doing what's happened at all EU/Schengen borders for years and years.
EES shouldn't slow things down too much but when you first visit after Etias is in place you can expect border control to be slower. They'll need to take photo & fingerprints (just like the US) so that will inevitably slow things down until the majority of visitors have gone through that initial process. After they have it's just a matter of checking passport, photo and one/several/all fingerprints.
[ Edit: Edited on 26 Sep 2024, 18:28 GMT by leics2 ]
Welcome home!
Everything I've read says EES shouldn't slow things down, but I keep remembering the long lines snaking through the airport and imagining their optimistic predicted 90 seconds per passenger. The 90 seconds is not going to happen and it will slow things down at first. Hopefully, when enough people get registered, it will speed up a bit.
Fortunately we both have the new digital passports. I hope that helps.
I don't think EES will be a problem but I do think Etias will cause major issues. That's one of the reasons they keep pushing back its implementation date...perhaps the only reason? There are 29 countries in Schengen (most, but not all, also in the EU) and many simply haven't yet been able to get the required technology and staffing in place at each and every one of their airports and ports. It's a financial burden on the poorer Schengen countries too.
Not to mention the incredible numbers of tourists lately. We've been trying to keep to the back country except for our traditional anniversary in Paris . . . and yes, it was incredibly crowded everywhere.