New French Border Controls From 1st November 2024

[HKF]

There are new French border controls from 1st November to April next year. We're currently in Spain and were supposed to be going back into France on 1st November. However, we're cutting this short and going back tomorrow, anticipating there will be long queues.

Travellers warned of queues at borders as France ramps up checks

France’s current border controls will end on 31 October, but a new set of checks will come into effect from 1 November.

www.euronews.com

 

[Wh05apk]

Looks like it's back to the good old days, we are in Spain, going back through France, into Germany, Belgium and back into France for the ferry, better leave plenty of time....

 

[HKF]

Looks like it's back to the good old days, we are in Spain, going back through France, into Germany, Belgium and back into France for the ferry, better leave plenty of time....

There doesn't seem to have been much noise about this at all. We've spoken to a few people who knew nothing about it.

 

[Tombola]

Random spot checks, we sailed through no queues last time, no one at the border

 

[PlacidoD]

This seems to be nothing more than extension of the existing temporary rules that I think were in existence when I was was last over and moved freely between France, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. I was not stopped once and there were no queues anywhere.

Of course if you have a deadline like catching a ferry it would be wise to allow a little extra time just in case before racing across France to channel ports!

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[Brains]

My guess is Spain to France there will be very little difference.

France to the UK however .....

 

[HKF]

My guess is Spain to France there will be very little difference.

France to the UK however .....

This is about entry into France only.

 

[HKF]

This seems to be nothing more than extension of the existing temporary rules that I think were in existence when I was was last over and moved freely between France, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. I was not stopped once and there were no queues anywhere.

Of course if you have a deadline like catching a ferry it would be wise to allow a little extra time just in case before racing across France to channel ports!

It says,

"This means travellers from Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany and Italy will have to show a form of ID such as a passport or national ID card.

Non-EU nationals who are resident in France may need to show their carte de séjour too. "

 

[PlacidoD]

Funny that I never had to do that on my travels! Actually I forgot that I also travelled through Belgium from France en route to Luxembourg. I must have crossed country borders 10 times during my last visit in September. I would be very surprised if there is now any difference. I would guess spot checks are the real risk.

 

[HKF]

Yes, we've been over the French border many times and never encountered any queues. We've often see guards with guns but never any stops. Maybe nothing will happen but we're going home today anyway, just in case.

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[philann]

Yes, we've been over the French border many times and never encountered any queues. We've often see guards with guns but never any stops. Maybe nothing will happen but we're going home today anyway, just in case.

Why cut your holiday short just because there may be border checks? I’m sure you have a passport and residency cards or whatever.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Takes me back to the crossing into Italy from France heading towards Ventimiglia.

I had my 1 year post office paper passport stamped by the Italian police .

 

[Odd job]

Takes me back to the crossing into Italy from France heading towards Ventimiglia.

I had my 1 year post office paper passport stamped by the Italian police .

That's going back a while, I remember getting a passport with almost no checks at all. Less dangerous times

 

[Birdy67]

I'd be interested to know what the checks are like between Belgium & France. We recently spent some time in the area around the Somme and dipped in and out of Belgium several times. Just regular roads and sometimes the first you realised you'd crossed a border was when our phones welcomed us to the new country. There are so many places to cross the border that surely it won't be much more than a policeman sitting in his car?

 

[Lenny HB]

Takes me back to the crossing into Italy from France heading towards Ventimiglia.

I had my 1 year post office paper passport stamped by the Italian police .

I remember shortly after crossing into Italy from Switzerland, road closed diverted into a hotel car park. Police and soldiers there with big guns, quite scary. It was the time when the Red Brigade were active.

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[Jimbohorlicks]

Anti terrorist checks

 

[HKF]

Why cut your holiday short just because there may be border checks? I’m sure you have a passport and residency cards or whatever.

It wasn't a holiday. And, to be honest, this trip has been very stressful so I'll be glad when it's over. We're currently in a hotel near Biarritz, having come across via Irun, where they had Police patrols with stop signs and some kind of cabin set up. We stopped but they waved us on. It's our first crossing on that route so I'm not sure if that's normal or not.

 

[Mullet Man]

Yes,been like that at Irun for a long time.Sometimes manned,sometimes not.

 

[Figaro]

Is the Schengen borderless travel zone treaty trashed then ?

 

[jumar]

Is the Schengen borderless travel zone treaty trashed then ?

Not really, all countries in the Schengen zone have an option to implement temporary closure, when special circumstances arise...mass migration is the current reason.

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[jongood]

Is the Schengen borderless travel zone treaty trashed then ?

IMHO Its amost certainly on borrowed time in its current form. The population of several schengen zone countries are protesting (thankfully mostly at the ballot box) and finally getting their politicians to listen to them on illegal migration and terrorist outrages. Said politicians need to show that they have listened but their options are limited. I suspect we are in for a period of random checks probably followed up by a system to automatically register border crossings.

Sadly - yet again - the actions of a few who subvert the message from their imaginary friend causing major hassle for the majority.

 

[bladerunner]

I think Schengen has unfortunately had its day.
Probably reason for delay (?cancel) biometric tests is there is little chance of every border having the infrastructure.

Certainly the last two years there have been temporary checks on the Belgium/France autoroute and the Austrian/German autobahn. Traffic jams of a mile or so, but do seem to move quickly.

(We joke they use a Farrow and Ball colour chart - up to slipper satin you're fine, Mouses back and they pull you.
So keep using the factor 50).

All unfair of course, I have a chum who is a professor of surgery in Pittsburgh. Black. Every time - and he says EVERY time - he gets called in at night his BMW is stopped by armed police.

Another surgeon chum from Nigeria came back through customs with me. He said "watch this" - as they puled him. "they don't like green passports".

 

[jongood]

I think Schengen has unfortunately had its day.
Probably reason for delay (?cancel) biometric tests is there is little chance of every border having the infrastructure.

Certainly the last two years there have been temporary checks on the Belgium/France autoroute and the Austrian/German autobahn. Traffic jams of a mile or so, but do seem to move quickly.

(We joke they use a Farrow and Ball colour chart - up to slipper satin you're fine, Mouses back and they pull you.
So keep using the factor 50).

All unfair of course, I have a chum who is a professor of surgery in Pittsburgh. Black. Every time - and he says EVERY time - he gets called in at night his BMW is stopped by armed police.

Another surgeon chum from Nigeria came back through customs with me. He said "watch this" - as they puled him. "they don't like green passports".

Its undeniably the case, judging by nationality and skin colour really isnt fair but its also ridiculous watching elderly white people struggling to remove footwear at airports while people in bhurkas go through unchallenged. How do we solve it? ID cards would help but people rebel against them.

 

[jumar]

Its undeniably the case, judging by nationality and skin colour really isnt fair but its also ridiculous watching elderly white people struggling to remove footwear at airports while people in bhurkas go through unchallenged. How do we solve it? ID cards would help but people rebel against them.

We carry ID cards permanently....you wouldn't believe just how useful there are...our Biometric data is stored on them..as is our National Identity number, which is essential for so many actions..no spelling out a complicated address etc...Show the card and that's it...

 

[rod_vw]

The words in th monthly Motorhoming France Newsletter are...
NEW FRENCH BORDER CONTROLS

France has announced it will extend its internal border controls until April, 2025, the current increased security checks were introduced due to heightened terrorist threats & were due to end on 31 October. The new border controls will however only affect Schengen zone countries - Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. If you are entering France from a non-Schengen country, such as the UK, there will be no change to checks. If you are travelling between France & any of these countries be prepared to allow extra time to cross.

Also regarding EES...
ENTRY/ EXIT SYSTEM POSTPONED AGAIN

Following numerous delays, the EU’s planned Entry/Exit System (EES) for travelers outside the Schengen Area has been postponed once again. Just a few weeks ago, the EU Home Affairs commissioner said with confidence that it would come into force on 10 November - or 17 November, as a backup. Now, there is no official date for the launch and the whole scheme appears to have been plunged into chaos. While the EU Home Affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson said the ambitious electronic border plan would absolutely be in place next month, it’s now not likely to come into force until 2025. On top of that, one aspect of the scheme - taking the fingerprints of travelers to guarantee entry into the area - may now be dropped entirely, although very little is clear.

Note the last few lines!

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[jongood]

The words in th monthly Motorhoming France Newsletter are...
NEW FRENCH BORDER CONTROLS

France has announced it will extend its internal border controls until April, 2025, the current increased security checks were introduced due to heightened terrorist threats & were due to end on 31 October. The new border controls will however only affect Schengen zone countries - Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. If you are entering France from a non-Schengen country, such as the UK, there will be no change to checks. If you are travelling between France & any of these countries be prepared to allow extra time to cross.

Also regarding EES...
ENTRY/ EXIT SYSTEM POSTPONED AGAIN

Following numerous delays, the EU’s planned Entry/Exit System (EES) for travelers outside the Schengen Area has been postponed once again. Just a few weeks ago, the EU Home Affairs commissioner said with confidence that it would come into force on 10 November - or 17 November, as a backup. Now, there is no official date for the launch and the whole scheme appears to have been plunged into chaos. While the EU Home Affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson said the ambitious electronic border plan would absolutely be in place next month, it’s now not likely to come into force until 2025. On top of that, one aspect of the scheme - taking the fingerprints of travelers to guarantee entry into the area - may now be dropped entirely, although very little is clear.

Note the last few lines!

Sounds a lot like our NHS IT system, it was too ambitious and in the end they gave up, still presented their bills though!