France to take stricter measures on arrivals from UK

France plans on enforcing stricter border measures on passengers arriving from the UK.

The new European Union border control Entry/Exit System (EES) will come into effect in May 2023, Anadolu reported on November 25.

Brexit ended free movement between France and the UK in 2020.

Countries of the Schengen area will start applying EES in May 2023 to record the entry and exit of non-EU citizens and tighten control mechanisms.

An EU questionnaire published on Nov. 16 shows that France plans stricter measures at its borders for visitors arriving from the UK.

Kiosks will be placed at airports where passengers will register their biometric data, while supervised by a border guard.

Mobile tablets will be used in land and maritime checkpoints. Passengers will be registered while sitting in their cars and border guards will supervise the process.

Test runs of this new system will be done this month.

French authorities say they are prepared to launch the system on time, but the downside could be long queues and waiting times at the checkpoints.