Dover-Folkestone / France, delays

[STEVIEBOY1]

Not sure if this is in the correct area?, feel free to move it if necessary.

Regarding the delays at the moment travelling from Dover - Folkestone to France on the various shipping and Euro Tunnel car carriers, I was wondering if there are similar delays if travelling from Portsmouth / Southampton / Poole / Weymouth, Plymouth & other UK Ports and also to other countries such as to / from the Netherlands / Belgium Scandinavia, Ireland from Harwich, Felixstowe, Hull, Newcastle, Fishguard, Holyhard, Scotland etc. ? Also Eurostar from St. Pancras, Ebbsflet, Ashford Intl?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

The border control process is the same for each port/route.
But it's the once-a-year tourists in school holidays which cause the peak jams - in a month's time the queues will be at the Calais end.
All passports must be checked and stamped now we are out of the EU, to check visa rules - it's called "stopping free movement".

There are two new EU border systems coming in during the next year, Entry/Exit and ETIAS.
Entry/Exit will automate the passport processing process, but you will seemingly have to leave your vehicle for biometric tests, hence more delays are likely.
ETIAS is the online pre-authorisation of travel by registering your details in advance, as happens now for the USA and Australia, and there will be a registration fee.
None of these systems would apply to UK passport holders if we were still in the EU.

None of the above applies to Ireland, as they are part of the Common Travel Area with the UK, but would apply if you travelled via Ireland to the rest of the EU.

 

[duesselmartin]

Passports stamped? Did not have that 5 weeks ago on my German passport. Or do the French stamp UK passports?

 

[StephenHunter]

Passports stamped? Did not have that 5 weeks ago on my German passport. Or do the French stamp UK passports?

They do, yes. I got a stamp at St Pancras Eurostar last year. Caused some minor confusion when I flew home from Munich.

 

[306024]

There are two new EU border systems coming in during the next year, Entry/Exit and ETIAS.
Entry/Exit will automate the passport processing process, but you will seemingly have to leave your vehicle for biometric tests, hence more delays are likely.
ETIAS is the online pre-authorisation of travel by registering your details in advance, as happens now for the USA and Australia, and there will be a registration fee.
None of these systems would apply to UK passport holders if we were still in the EU.

It does amuse me when certain politicians try to say these delays have nothing to do with BREXIT, when it most obviously does.

Passports stamped? Did not have that 5 weeks ago on my German passport. Or do the French stamp UK passports?

Every time since we left the EU I have had my UK passport stamped entering and leaving the EU. Entering Germany but leaving from Czech Rep caused a couple of extra questions but no problem.

 

[route101]

Passports stamped? Did not have that 5 weeks ago on my German passport. Or do the French stamp UK passports?

Yes got my passport stamped entering and exiting France.

 

[30907]

Regarding the delays at the moment travelling from Dover - Folkestone to France on the various shipping and Euro Tunnel car carriers, I was wondering if there are similar delays if travelling from Portsmouth / Poole / Weymouth, Plymouth & other UK Ports and also to other countries such as to / from the Netherlands / Belgium from Harwich, Felixstowe, Hull, Newcastle, etc. ?

None of the other ports has anything like the frequency of ferries/shuttles, people tend to check in rather further in advance of boarding time.
(Ireland has different rules so I've edited the text.)

Also Eurostar from St. Pancras?

Some reports of check-in queues and overcrowding in the waiting area - but Eurostar tends to operate at capacity all week unlike the ferries.
(No queues at Ebbsfleet/Ashford though owing to no trains - I think the border staff have been redeployed.)

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Passports stamped? Did not have that 5 weeks ago on my German passport. Or do the French stamp UK passports?

You'll be fine within the "free movement" EU27, but UK (and other foreign) passports must be stamped at the EU/Schengen border.
With the visa-free rule that Brits can stay in the EU for 90 days in 180 days, external passports are stamped so border control can check for overstayers.
From a recent trip to Europe I got an arrival stamp at Geneva airport and a departure stamp at Munich.
If you come to the UK your German passport will be stamped in the same way by UK border force.
You might also get questions at the border, like reason for travel, itinerary, and a check for sufficient funds for travel and for a return ticket.
If you need an actual visa, which many do these days for work and business, that will be need to be checked as well.
The current delays at Dover and Eurotunnel are (supposedly) because too many people have turned up for the French border control people to cope.
The UK government seems to be quite happy with the situation, as it proves "Brexit is working" as intended.
They take a similar view of the staff shortages at airports.

I was reading today that Eurostar want to increase their London-Paris services, but the French border people at Gare du Nord say that they cannot cope with more than the current level of service.

 

[Gloster]

This does seem to be mainly due to the usual British problem of a lack of planning and investment, because nobody wants to spend any money on something that might, just possibly, not happen. It does happen and results in a disorganised attempt to muddle through. This has been going on for years, although the habit of politicians and others being more concerned to shift the blame than solve the problem is something that has been getting worse in recent years.

The French may be being bloody-minded (they are very good at that), but their feeling is, “The root cause of all this is Brexit, which was your choice. Now you expect us to spend our time and money pulling your irons out of the fire.” There is a subtext of, “And if we sort it out you will say it is a Brexit benefit or claim that you have told the Frogs to hop off. Vas te foutre.” There may have been problems on Saturday with a temporary shortage of French border police, but the difficulties were already piling up and this only added a bit to them. The whole system was teetering on the edge beforehand.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Entry/Exit will automate the passport processing process, but you will seemingly have to leave your vehicle for biometric tests, hence more delays are likely.

As it stands, biometric checks will only be made on the air borders. Land, rail and sea borders won't be checked in this way, because the tests on the land border have shown that it's absolutely impossible to do in any reasonable way. Most land borders are not equipped for travellers leaving their cars, and it would represent an intolerable delay.

I was wondering if there are similar delays if travelling from Portsmouth / Southampton / Poole / Weymouth, Plymouth & other UK Ports and also to other countries such as to / from the Netherlands / Belgium Scandinavia, Ireland from Harwich, Felixstowe, Hull, Newcastle, Fishguard, Holyhard, Scotland etc. ? Also Eurostar from St. Pancras, Ebbsflet, Ashford Intl?

In general, no, because the UK and Ireland don't have exit checks and there are no juxtaposed controls at those ports. We might see delays at the French/Spanish/Dutch ports once people start returning from holidays, but for example, Calais has substantially more capacity for controls than the UK does.

 

[alex397]

.
(No queues at Ebbsfleet/Ashford though owing to no trains - I think the border staff have been redeployed.)

I have a feeling these will never reopen, but I’d like to be proven wrong.