New passport procedures
Discussion
cja said:
According to the ferry websites, there is no call (yet?) from them for API. Just some 'have your passport ready' guidance.
I have emailed my ferry operator for an update on their requirements, but no reply - as yet.
I phoned up Brittany Ferries yesterday to add some info on a trip i'm doing ini May and asked them about the API. I have emailed my ferry operator for an update on their requirements, but no reply - as yet.
my Reply "the What"
Explained and Jane told me they have been getting extra info for the past 3 years with regards to this. No idea what she meant but seems the API that you need to start doing at the Eurotunnel, you don't if your using a ferry.
Freddie328 said:
We went to France on Sat morning via Eurotunnel and were waived straight through at Folkestone, they didn't even look at passports. Coming back on Sunday however was a different story..........
We arrived in the queue at Calais at 17.50 and just about made our train at 20.20. It was the UK border control that was the slowest bit. The passports were scanned, the pictures were scrutinised and we were then asked how many passengers were in the car - a Ferrari 328 GTS - I was so tempted to reply:-
"just the 2 of us, oh plus the really really skinny person who has squeezed in behind the seats and in front of the roof"
That's been standard practice for a very long time on the way in - it appears it's the way out they are now starting to concentrate on.We arrived in the queue at Calais at 17.50 and just about made our train at 20.20. It was the UK border control that was the slowest bit. The passports were scanned, the pictures were scrutinised and we were then asked how many passengers were in the car - a Ferrari 328 GTS - I was so tempted to reply:-
"just the 2 of us, oh plus the really really skinny person who has squeezed in behind the seats and in front of the roof"
I still don't quite understand how once out of the UK it is possible to visit every country in the EU without a border check, but leaving here now requires a check. If the entry process worked properly it wouldn't matter who left - surely best those who have no right to be here leave! I accept there is a the criminal element who may try and leave, but will these checks really help?
In terms of the terrorist threat mentioned earlier it is something I have often thought, for the tunnel or ferry, so confirms my thinking that the level of security at an airport has to be more about reinforcing fear than genuine security issues. After all, just how much damage can be done by a pair of nail clippers which you aren't allowed on a plane, compared with a full set of kitchen knives which can very legitimately be carried by anyone going on a camping trip to Le Mans.
In terms of the terrorist threat mentioned earlier it is something I have often thought, for the tunnel or ferry, so confirms my thinking that the level of security at an airport has to be more about reinforcing fear than genuine security issues. After all, just how much damage can be done by a pair of nail clippers which you aren't allowed on a plane, compared with a full set of kitchen knives which can very legitimately be carried by anyone going on a camping trip to Le Mans.
Once you leave the UK for most of the continent you are in the Schengen Area and can cross freely between the countries that are party to the agreement. The UK is not part of Schengen so you need a check to get in. We are now checking on the way out too.
Most of Europe is in Schengen, so anyone with a right to be in one of the countries has a right to be in any of them. The main reason for exit checks in the UK is to stop people leaving when they are 'wanted' in some way - a lot of criminals from Eastern Europe leave by boat and coach, and it has also been a route for people to leave the country undetected to join ISIS (apparently). The comment about it showing that people have actually left at the end of their student visa or whatever is just PR to try and make it easier to sell it to the public - the main reason is closing a route which allows people to leave the UK undetected no matter who they are.
As for the security thing, if you can somehow sieze control of a plane and get into the cockpit it's incredibly easy to kill everyone on board. With a ferry that's much more difficult to do and with a train it's almost impossible as all the operator has to do is cut the power to the track and it stops where it is.
As for the security thing, if you can somehow sieze control of a plane and get into the cockpit it's incredibly easy to kill everyone on board. With a ferry that's much more difficult to do and with a train it's almost impossible as all the operator has to do is cut the power to the track and it stops where it is.
RemaL said:
I phoned up Brittany Ferries yesterday to add some info on a trip i'm doing ini May and asked them about the API.
my Reply "the What"
Explained and Jane told me they have been getting extra info for the past 3 years with regards to this. No idea what she meant but seems the API that you need to start doing at the Eurotunnel, you don't if your using a ferry.
Thanks for that - I'll phone mine in a week or so and see if it's still the samemy Reply "the What"
Explained and Jane told me they have been getting extra info for the past 3 years with regards to this. No idea what she meant but seems the API that you need to start doing at the Eurotunnel, you don't if your using a ferry.
cja said:
RemaL said:
I phoned up Brittany Ferries yesterday to add some info on a trip i'm doing ini May and asked them about the API.
my Reply "the What"
Explained and Jane told me they have been getting extra info for the past 3 years with regards to this. No idea what she meant but seems the API that you need to start doing at the Eurotunnel, you don't if your using a ferry.
Thanks for that - I'll phone mine in a week or so and see if it's still the samemy Reply "the What"
Explained and Jane told me they have been getting extra info for the past 3 years with regards to this. No idea what she meant but seems the API that you need to start doing at the Eurotunnel, you don't if your using a ferry.
I'm not going until the last week of may and won't be worrying about checking closer to the time
I have used the tunnel over 300 times and can say, through experience, that the worst aspect is the excruciatingly slow progress through the UK Border Agency controls at Calais. Especially if you need to take a leak. Why the French changed the layout there is a mystery. Then again, if you want something making difficult, get the French to organise it.
Corbeliere said:
I have used the tunnel over 300 times and can say, through experience, that the worst aspect is the excruciatingly slow progress through the UK Border Agency controls at Calais. Especially if you need to take a leak. Why the French changed the layout there is a mystery. Then again, if you want something making difficult, get the French to organise it.
They changed the layout because people kept either missing trains because of the queues to get through UK border control, or because people who knew about the potential delays bypassed the terminal building entirely and therefore didn't spend any money there. By putting border control first it encourages people to go into the main building as they know there won't be a delay between them getting back in the car and joining the queue to get on the train.Today I have returned to France via Eurotunnel.
The Border Agency is not a problem. By pre-registering your passports to the car, the procedure seems to be that once in the train, an attendant scans the bar code on your hanger and then confirms the number of pre-registered passengers in the car.
All they are doing is getting a good handle on the numbers of people leaving the UK.
The Border Agency is not a problem. By pre-registering your passports to the car, the procedure seems to be that once in the train, an attendant scans the bar code on your hanger and then confirms the number of pre-registered passengers in the car.
All they are doing is getting a good handle on the numbers of people leaving the UK.
I came back from a trip to Spa yesterday . going out Friday morning from Dover ferry terminal ,no queue and no checks either (5am though!!). coming back, arrived in Calais ferry terminal around 12pm Sunday and although checks where carried out by Uk border control (Calais side) it was a short queue and on the ferry very quick.
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