The Port of Dover has launched a phased introduction of the new European Union Entry/Exit System (EES).

The new system requires all coach passengers travelling through the Port of Dover to attend the new coach facility at the Western Docks for EES and border processing.

Port of Dover advises that all coach drivers should arrive at the Western Docks no more than two hours before travel, as they did prior to the EES implementation.

When traveling from Dover to France, non-EU and Third-Country Nationals, including UK passport holders, will need to complete EES registration and biometric checks with French border authorities before boarding their ferry.

This process involves passport verification and biometric enrolment with all travellers required to provide fingerprints and a facial image. Children under the age of 12 will only have to provide a photo, not fingerprints. The system will record each entry and exit, including the date and location of travel. On all subsequent visits to the Port of Dover, travellers must visit the EES facilities at the Western Docks to verify their EES profile.

The registration process only needs to be completed on a passenger’s first journey after EES comes into force. On subsequent trips, it will still be mandatory for all passengers to visit the EES Western Docks facility, but the system will automatically recognise registered travellers. If a passenger does not subsequently travel again within three years, the registration process will have to be completed again.

Read the full announcement from Port of Dover here.

Meanwhile, LeShuttle, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, has increased coach capacity with the reopening of the refurbished UK Coach Exit Check Hall inside the main terminal building at Folkestone. The change increases capacity from two coaches up to six coaches per hour. Read CTA’s report on the new LeShuttle facility here.