Brittany Ferries Portsmouth to Santander update

[kashurst]

Just an update - travelled to Spain with Brittany Ferries over the weekend. As ever all went well. But there a few new things. At Santender docks there are now ten shiny new passport booths with feeder lanes ready for the forthcoming EU wide fingerprinting system introduction. As we are not in the EU all UK passengers will have to get their dabs taken/checked at some point on entry. So there are going to be BIG delays when that all kicks off. But.......if you buy a ticket in one of the more expensive cabins on board the ferry, that entites you to pay a bit extra for priority departure on arrival!!! We just did this. The boat docked at exactly 8-00am in Spain and I was on the motorway at 8-10am. When the new checks start it might be worth the extra money but I suspect you will have to book early to get a priority pass.

 

[LittleSister]

It's an outrage. The Spanish clearly need reminding that their Armada was a complete washout and we won the Battle of Trafalgar!

 

[Hurricane]

They have had fingerprint booths in Barcelona Airport for several years. But since Brexit, we get directed to manual booths.

I guess all this stuff is in preparation for the ETIAS electronic system that has been planned for a long time (before Brexit).

BTW, I saw those new checkpoints in Santander in April when we drove out. On the plus side, there are a lot of them. Does anyone know if Bilbao has the same?

 

[Seastoke]

Just an update - travelled to Spain with Brittany Ferries over the weekend. As ever all went well. But there a few new things. At Santender docks there are now ten shiny new passport booths with feeder lanes ready for the forthcoming EU wide fingerprinting system introduction. As we are not in the EU all UK passengers will have to get their dabs taken/checked at some point on entry. So there are going to be BIG delays when that all kicks off. But.......if you buy a ticket in one of the more expensive cabins on board the ferry, that entites you to pay a bit extra for priority departure on arrival!!! We just did this. The boat docked at exactly 8-00am in Spain and I was on the motorway at 8-10am. When the new checks start it might be worth the extra money but I suspect you will have to book early to get a priority pass.

Where do you stay now Kashmir.

 

[kashurst]

Where do you stay now Kashmir.

here, there and pretty much anywhere

 

[st599]

They have had fingerprint booths in Barcelona Airport for several years. But since Brexit, we get directed to manual booths.

I guess all this stuff is in preparation for the ETIAS electronic system that has been planned for a long time (before Brexit).

BTW, I saw those new checkpoints in Santander in April when we drove out. On the plus side, there are a lot of them. Does anyone know if Bilbao has the same?

ETIAS and EES are separate systems - EES is a full biometric database that automates entry and exit (and calculation of overstays). ETIAS is a preauthorisation of travel, like the US ESTA system.

 

[Hurricane]

ETIAS and EES are separate systems - EES is a full biometric database that automates entry and exit (and calculation of overstays). ETIAS is a preauthorisation of travel, like the US ESTA system.

Thanks for clearing that up.
I didn't know about EES.
I read that ETIAS is about security based on obtaining a visa - well thats what they said.
And, yes, I did think of it like the US ESTA.
I was hoping that ETIAS would speed up passport control because you have pre-declared entry/exit at time of travel (advanced passenger info etc)

So, I need to know more about EES then - what is it etc.

 

[Hurricane]

ETIAS and EES are separate systems - EES is a full biometric database that automates entry and exit (and calculation of overstays). ETIAS is a preauthorisation of travel, like the US ESTA system.

EES
I've just found this web page
General information

Bit concerned.
Although that page says:-
The EES applies to you if you are a non-EU national travelling to a European country using the EES for a short stay of up to 90 days within any 180 day period.

It goes on to say
It is important to remember that the period of 90 days in any 180 days is calculated as a single period for all European countries using the EES.

What does this ACTUALLY mean?
If you take it literally, that will affect a lot of us - big time.

 

[Forty_Two]

It means when you look at your last 180 days you must count days in any Schengen country towards the 90 & if it's 90 on your bike no 80 in Spain & 20 in France for instance

 

[kashurst]

EES
I've just found this web page
General information

Bit concerned.
Although that page says:-
The EES applies to you if you are a non-EU national travelling to a European country using the EES for a short stay of up to 90 days within any 180 day period.

It goes on to say
It is important to remember that the period of 90 days in any 180 days is calculated as a single period for all European countries using the EES.

What does this ACTUALLY mean?
If you take it literally, that will affect a lot of us - big time.

you will need this to work out properly if you are in danger of overstaying your welcome. The 90 days in any 180 applies retrospectively on a day to day rollling basis. Anyone going to and from the EU/Schengen a lot needs to pay attention as it is not easy to work out at all. So you need to keep in a diary or something other record of all the dates you were previously in the EU going back @ 180 days then put in your new intended dates and see if you are clear to go back again. This has been in effect since 31/01/2020. The EES system is automating the whole thing across Europe so UK people need to pay attention as the EU definitely is. So far the system has been relying on visa stamps in passports so anyone overstaying and say driving to and fro would probably get away with it as the customs guard is unlikely to quickly do the required sums in their head. However if something bad happened during a visit, say a bad car accident, someone would probably then do the sums.

Schengen Visa Calculator

People have been fined 5000 euros for overstaying. One woman stayed the full 90 days and her flight home was cancelled. She returned to the airport the next day and got fined - the Police stated it was still her fault as she had 90 days to get home. We tend not to stay more than 80 days in case we need to pop back for an emergency with the house/boat etc and don't forget you might want to go and visit somewhere else in the EU/Schengen in that rolling 180 day period. It is also worth checking which countries in the EU are actually in Schengen too. That list keeps getting longer as more nations join. Don't forget your house insurance in the UK too. It is getting more and more difficult to get a building and/or contents insurance policy that allows 90 day absence.

The other thing to check is that your boat/car/house in the EU is all totally legit with all the right forms and insurances. We just got an clean zone emissions sticker for the car in Spain and via the French post office a clean zone sticker for the UK car as more EU cities will soon be using cameras to track if your car is "clean" enough to go into towns and cities. The risks we now have as non-EU citizens is that any infringement doesn't leave us with any wriggle room and the police/authorities know it.

 

[Wansworth]

It's an outrage. The Spanish clearly need reminding that their Armada was a complete washout and we won the Battle of Trafalgar!

It was a cruise in company,drake just didn’t want them using the showers in the Royal Western …as happened to me