Britons must visit an Entry/Exit kiosk every time they take the Eurostar from London, starting from 6 October, when the new EU IT system for travel is due to come into effect.
Passengers’ data, including fingerprints, facial photographs and answers to four questions, will be collected at one of three kiosk areas in St Pancras International station before they proceed to the Eurostar area.
UK passport holders on short-stay visits are among those subject to these checks, which were planned before Brexit, as the country is no longer a member of the EU.
“We will be ready for the launch of EES on 6 October,” said Simon Lejeune, chief stations and security officer at Eurostar, at a press briefing on Tuesday.
During the press session held by Eurostar and HS1, which owns and operates the lines and stations between St Pancras and the Channel Tunnel, it was revealed how and where third-country passengers (people who do not hold a passport from an EU or a Schengen Area country) will complete the EES process at the Eurostar station.
The preparation for the new border checks at St Pancras – where, unlike at airports, EU border checks are carried out in the UK by French Border Control (police aux frontières) – has involved a €10m investment.
Following concerns raised by HS1 earlier this year that planning for the post-Brexit checks at the station was “severely inadequate” and that 24 EES kiosks would be insufficient for Eurostar to process passengers, the number of kiosks due to be installed was increased from 24 to 49. There will also be 24 French border control officers at St Pancras by October, compared with 12 in May 2023.
The new EES kiosks will be installed in three dedicated areas of the London railway station, with the first machines arriving in June.
Third-country passport holders will be required to use these kiosks to register their data and answer four questions regarding their travel plans. The kiosks, which, in mock-ups, look similar to e-gates, will also be used to scan passports.
EES will replace the passport stamps that are used to check that third-country travellers do not remain within the Schengen Area for more than 90 days in 180 days. It is also planned that it will enhance border control, prevent irregular immigration and ensure a more efficient management of travel flows.
Eurostar expects that an EU-led app for EES, which will make it possible for passengers to complete some of the EES process before they travel, will be delivered in 2025. The app is being piloted in Sweden. It is understood that the specification will be passed onto EU member states, which will then each determine whether they want to develop and implement the app.
On their first visit after the launch of EES, third-country passport holders travelling to Europe on Eurostar from St Pancras will need to go through all steps of the kiosk process. The data will then be stored on the system for three years.
They will still need to register at the kiosks on each subsequent Eurostar trip from the UK, but their fingerprints will only be taken on the first visit after the EES launch – then again after three years, when the data will be erased and will need to be taken again. The checks will only apply to short-stay visitors and not to those in possession of a visa or residency permit for an EU or Schengen Area country.
Eurostar’s modelling suggests it will take an average of 90 seconds per person to go through the process.
Lejeune said: “We haven’t just plucked these figures out of the air, we have modelling and we have been working quite intensely to gauge what impact EES will have. We have run a number of mathematical models.”
The kiosks will be outside of the Eurostar check-in area, with 25 kiosks in part of an area that is occupied by coffee shop chain Benugo, on the ground floor of the station. Another area opposite the Eurostar entrance will have seven kiosks and there will be a third “overflow” area, on the first floor, with 14 kiosks.
Accessible kiosks will be available in the two ground floor areas and passengers who have requested extra assistance will be informed where they should go ahead of travel to the station.
Mr Lejeune said there would be “zero extra time [added] on departure” as a result of the EES checks.
“We’re not going to ask our customers to arrive earlier, we’re going to maintain our current check-in times”.
Both Eurostar and HS1 have been working closely with the EU and the UK Government to prepare for the changes.
Richard Thorp, engineering director at HS1 Ltd, said: “We’ve put a lot of time and effort into thinking what this will mean for the passenger journey.
“The flow control devices – the kiosks – are there to do the process upfront.
“We’ve [St Pancras] been chosen for the kiosks because of the volume of passengers, and it will speed up the border process if people use the kiosks”.
The different kiosk areas will help St Pancras to plan around passenger peaks, according to HS1 and Eurostar.
On a typical weekday morning, for example, up to 85 per cent of passengers travelling from St Pancras are non-EU passport holders. But, in the afternoon, up to 65 per cent are EU passengers, according to Lejeune.
“The border crossing itself will be faster than today”, added Lejeune.
It is thought that the end of so-called wet stamping of passports will reduce the time taken for border checks.
Eurostar and HS1 have plans in place to inform the public of the changes ahead of, and after, 6 October.
Passengers will be sent information about the new process after booking a ticket, there will be signs in the station directing passengers to the correct area and dedicated staff will be on hand to help passengers use the EES kiosks.
The next step will be to install the kiosks, with the first arriving in June. During their press briefing, Eurostar and HS1 did not predict additional queues or overcrowding at St Pancras due to the EES kiosks.
However, in written evidence to the European Scrutiny Select Committee in January this year, HS1 said: “The EES process is highly likely to add in additional delay and confusion to the third country national’s experience of rail travel from St Pancras International.”
It added: “St Pancras International is an extremely busy station/thoroughfare (around 47M passengers per annum) with international and domestic train/tube passengers (as well as non-travelling visitors) all intermingling on the station concourses.
“The EES kiosks will need to be positioned within the station building away from the international zone (due to lack of space and operational matters) and will therefore add in a new distant process for passengers (upon first entry and for subsequent travel) in addition to their current journey through the station.
“This and the additional passenger queues that will result from this new process will impact on the passenger flows within the station and is likely to impact both customer experience and satisfaction levels.
“Due to a bias of “third country” passengers in the am peak and a hard start time at 4.45am, areas of the station are likely to be exceptionally busy and potentially congested in this early morning period. “
Asked by i if HS1 had an update on its comments from January, Thorp said: “We have worked closely with stakeholders to ensure the implementation of EES is as seamless as possible for passengers while meeting the challenge of providing additional border control infrastructure at our unique Grade 1 Listed building St. Pancras International.
“Working with Eurostar and in collaboration with authorities in the UK, France and EU means that we now have more detail about the specifics of the process.
“We have undertaken detailed modelling work on passenger flows to detect potential capacity and space pinch points, which we have been able to address, and we have identified space at St. Pancras station to accommodate the kiosks needed to process customers and avoid unnecessary queues.
“As a result of new investment and resources at the border, processing capacity will increase which will help with overall passenger flow. HS1 and St. Pancras International will be ready for the introduction of the EES in October.”
The steps for taking the Eurostar after EES
EES kiosks
Passengers will be sent information about EES and the changes to the travel process after booking a ticket with Eurostar.
They will not be asked to arrive any earlier for check-in for their scheduled departure. The earliest they will be asked to arrive, during peak travel times, is 90 minutes before their departure.
Non-EU passengers who do not possess a visa or residency permit will need to go to an EES kiosk before heading to the Eurostar area.
They should have been directed before their arrival, or by station staff, about which kiosk area to use.
Eurostar staff will be at the kiosk areas helping passengers to use the machines.
Passengers aged 12 or over who are making their first journey after EES has launched will need to register their passport, facial image and fingerprints and answer four questions about their trip.
The questions will be standardised across EES entry points, such as at UK ferry ports and at EU airports.
These questions will cover the intended length of the passengers’ stay, how they intend to pay for expenses on the trip and where they will be staying.
Under-12s can use the kiosks, but their fingerprints will not be taken.
Checking in
Once they have completed the process at the EES kiosk, passengers can proceed to the Eurostar area.
After passing through the ticket gates, they will go through security checks. Next, they will go through an exit check, which is required by the UK Home Office.
Finally, they will go to French border control. On the first journey after they have used the EES kiosks, they will need to go to a border control officer, rather than using the e-gates, to complete the registration process.
The EES registration will be completed at passport control. Passengers under 12 are not eligible to use the next generation e-gates at St Pancras.
Following their first visit after EES comes into force, non-EU passport holders will be able to use the e-gates at the station, rather than being required to go to a border control officer.
What is EES?
The European Union is introducing an Entry/Exit system to register the data of non-EU citizens travelling to the Schengen area. It will apply to non-EU passport holders travelling to the EU, with some exceptions, such as those who have a visa.
At St Pancras, and Le Shuttle and ferry points, EES registration will be carried out in the UK. Otherwise, the process will take place on arrival at international airports.
EES will be followed in 2025 by Etias (Travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers to enter 30 European countries). While EES does not come with a charge, the Etias, which is effectively a visa waiver, will cost €7 for people aged 18–70. Travellers outside of that age bracket will not have to pay.
