New passport procedures

[Stu]

Thanks for the response Dottore. Having a conversation the other day with my sister in law and we were wondering how much effort will be put in by the overseas debt collectors to collect monies from foreign tourists.

[Barry]

Went on channel tunnel yesterday, passports not examined on leaving UK. No delays.
However believe we are in an interim stage at the moment when only 25% or 50% are to be scanned.
This will apparently increase to 100% before LM.

Emailed Brittany ferries last week as they were not asking for API's. Only names and DOB of passengers.
Response was that they will gather the passport information at check in.

[smokie]

I booked my crossing a week or so back and as above Eurotunnel are already doing API via their web site. CJA is probably right, it'll be those who haven't bothered doing it in advance who will cause the holdups.

I remember being bounced once from Eurotunnel, I was well in time but some people who had missed theirs were put to the front of our line and those of us further back got bounced. I think they should have been the ones to wait.

[Barry]

I remember being bounced once from Eurotunnel, I was well in time but some people who had missed theirs were put to the front of our line and those of us further back got bounced. I think they should have been the ones to wait.

My understanding was if you missed your train then you were put on the next available space, not the next train, bumping people who were booked on it. Wrong attitude by Eurotunnel if they bumped you Smokie.

[smokie]

Well it was quite some years ago so maybe it's changed. It's one reason I've never been that keen on the tunnel - surprising how one bad experience can affect you for much longer than is reasonable eh? :-)

[Barry]

Agreed.
In the early days of the Chunnel we had a very bad trip, and didn't use them for years.
However gave them a second chance and now will not travel by any others means on the eastern channel route.

[dukla]

Went out Eurotunnel around noon on 30th zero delays/ problems at folkestone. Had done API on web. Came back 21h00 Monday,  Calais a complete joke with UK passport control the apparent bottleneck. About 25 mins from completing check-in till clearing passport control.

[Barry]

Had a similar problem at the Chunnel when we came back on Black Sunday last August, that's the last Sunday before the kids go back to school.
Always been a problem at UK passport control coming home on busy days. The changes are on exit only, so any issues we have experienced coming home in the past, could become what we have to go through going out.

[geoffd]

We were on a 03:20 Ferry out of Dover on Saturday for Spa, so went through Passport Control at around 02:30.  No one there at all, no UK, and no French (as always).

The trips from Calais have been slow going getting through UK Passport Control for some years now, but it saves having to do it when you get back of course. When coming back on the Western Channel they don't do the UK stuff in France so you get to queue in France to checkin and then again back in the UK for Passport Control, so it's swings and roundabouts, in the end you have to queue somewhere!

[Grand_Fromage]

Exactly our experience too when making the round trip to Belgium last weekend. No more or less delay than usual, and no 'extra checks' evident.

We were on a 03:20 Ferry out of Dover on Saturday for Spa, so went through Passport Control at around 02:30.  No one there at all, no UK, and no French (as always).

The trips from Calais have been slow going getting through UK Passport Control for some years now, but it saves having to do it when you get back of course. When coming back on the Western Channel they don't do the UK stuff in France so you get to queue in France to checkin and then again back in the UK for Passport Control, so it's swings and roundabouts, in the end you have to queue somewhere!

[Stu]

Newhaven -  Dieppe today, passport checked at entrance to ferry terminal and also when we got of at dieppe. Didn't really take long.

[cja]

Sounds promising 

We're on the Newhaven route on Tuesday, hope it's still the same!

[Lawnmower Man]

this morning just the normal hand passports and ticket in at the booth then pretty much straight onboard with no further checks.  let's see what happens when we get to Caen.

t

[dukla]

Just checked in at Dover,  it's a "wave it at them" day for us and no prior logging with DFDS.

Bad news is Calais is closed for a couple of hours for WW2 bomb disposal and they are prepping operation stack on the M20. Good news is we are headed to Dunkirk.

[Lawnmower Man]

absolutely no problems in Caen.   four lanes open.   I've queue long previously.