Port authorities in Dover confirmed on 13 November that the long-trailed Entry/Exit System (EES) for tourists in cars will not go live until “early 2026”. The decision follows consultations with France’s PAF border police, who staff UK terminals under the Le Touquet Treaty.
The EES—already operational for coaches and freight since mid-October—requires non-EU travellers to provide fingerprints and a facial image before crossing into the Schengen Area. Pilot runs in October revealed unexpected vehicle-processing times that risked holiday-weekend gridlock. By pushing the start date past Christmas, operators hope to avoid repeat scenes of Easter 2025, when tailbacks stretched eight kilometres on the M20.
![EU Delays Dover Roll-out of Biometric EES Checks After French Talks]()
French and UK officials will use the extra months to double kiosk numbers at Dover and Calais and to test a mobile-app pre-enrolment option. Logistics firms welcome the pause: a five-minute slow-down per car translates into hours for freight convoys. Business-traveller programmes should update traveller-briefings, reminding staff that biometric capture is still mandatory if entering France by coach, and that early-2026 remains the new target date for motorists.
Airports such as Paris-CDG and Lyon Saint-Exupéry will continue to roll out EES as scheduled on 12 October 2025; only the ferry-car segment is deferred.
The EES—already operational for coaches and freight since mid-October—requires non-EU travellers to provide fingerprints and a facial image before crossing into the Schengen Area. Pilot runs in October revealed unexpected vehicle-processing times that risked holiday-weekend gridlock. By pushing the start date past Christmas, operators hope to avoid repeat scenes of Easter 2025, when tailbacks stretched eight kilometres on the M20.
French and UK officials will use the extra months to double kiosk numbers at Dover and Calais and to test a mobile-app pre-enrolment option. Logistics firms welcome the pause: a five-minute slow-down per car translates into hours for freight convoys. Business-traveller programmes should update traveller-briefings, reminding staff that biometric capture is still mandatory if entering France by coach, and that early-2026 remains the new target date for motorists.
Airports such as Paris-CDG and Lyon Saint-Exupéry will continue to roll out EES as scheduled on 12 October 2025; only the ferry-car segment is deferred.
