Non-EU nationals entering or leaving France are already being enrolled in the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), which went live on 12 October. A Connexion France journalist who completed the process at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle this week describes a two–step routine: first-time visitors are sent to a self-service kiosk to scan their passport, give four fingerprints and pose for a facial photo; they then proceed to a manned booth where a border officer validates the biometric record. The whole procedure added about eight minutes compared with the old manual passport-stamp routine.
Border police say the extra time will shrink dramatically on subsequent trips. Once a person’s biometric template is in the EES database it is re-used for up to three years; follow-up crossings merely require a passport scan and live facial match, which officers expect will take “well under a minute”. Travellers who hold French long-stay visas or residency cards confirm that they can still use PARAFE e-gates if their fingerprints were enrolled before October, but the Interior Ministry warns that some gates will be converted to EES kiosks until spring 2026.
For employers moving staff into France, the immediate impact is longer queues at peak times in Paris, Lyon, Nice, Marseille and the Eurostar and Eurotunnel terminals. Human-resource managers are advised to allow an extra 30–45 minutes for arriving assignees who do not yet have an EES record, especially those flying in on Monday mornings. Airlines have begun distributing leaflets explaining the process, but there is still no official mobile pre-registration app.
In the medium term, the system should make life easier: the automated calculation of Schengen-area days will provide a clear digital record of time spent in France, helping assignees avoid unintentional overstays. Companies should remind frequent business travellers that the 90/180-day rule remains unchanged and that each crossing—no matter how short—will now be logged to the second.
Finally, privacy concerns persist. Data are stored for three years and shared with law-enforcement databases such as SIS and Interpol. The European Data Protection Supervisor has asked the French government to publish an impact-assessment addendum by December. Until then, travellers can request a print-out of the personal data captured at the border, but only in person at designated police prefectures, which may prove impractical for short-term visitors.
Border police say the extra time will shrink dramatically on subsequent trips. Once a person’s biometric template is in the EES database it is re-used for up to three years; follow-up crossings merely require a passport scan and live facial match, which officers expect will take “well under a minute”. Travellers who hold French long-stay visas or residency cards confirm that they can still use PARAFE e-gates if their fingerprints were enrolled before October, but the Interior Ministry warns that some gates will be converted to EES kiosks until spring 2026.
For employers moving staff into France, the immediate impact is longer queues at peak times in Paris, Lyon, Nice, Marseille and the Eurostar and Eurotunnel terminals. Human-resource managers are advised to allow an extra 30–45 minutes for arriving assignees who do not yet have an EES record, especially those flying in on Monday mornings. Airlines have begun distributing leaflets explaining the process, but there is still no official mobile pre-registration app.
In the medium term, the system should make life easier: the automated calculation of Schengen-area days will provide a clear digital record of time spent in France, helping assignees avoid unintentional overstays. Companies should remind frequent business travellers that the 90/180-day rule remains unchanged and that each crossing—no matter how short—will now be logged to the second.
Finally, privacy concerns persist. Data are stored for three years and shared with law-enforcement databases such as SIS and Interpol. The European Data Protection Supervisor has asked the French government to publish an impact-assessment addendum by December. Until then, travellers can request a print-out of the personal data captured at the border, but only in person at designated police prefectures, which may prove impractical for short-term visitors.
