Stringent border checks to enforce Brexit limits on UK drivers in Europe

British truck and coach drivers taking com­mercial vehicles across to Europe could find themselves being turned away at Dover and Folkestone next year, and face penalties for ex­ceeding post-Brexit limits on time spent within the EU’s Schengen area, after a new biometric border check is introduced.

Much delayed, it was planned to go live on 10 November this year as Transport Operator went to press; and the Road Haulage Associa­tion (RHA) has warned that hauliers and coach operators will be significantly impacted.

The European Entry/Exit System (EES) will use biometric data instead of manual pass­port checks to control the movement of peo­ple from third-party nations in and out of the Schengen area, which comprises 29 European nations that have abolished controls at their mutual borders. This also includes some non- EU states, most notably Norway and Switzer­land.

After inception, the first time a British cit­izen crosses the border their biometric data (including fingerprints and facial recognition) will be taken and recorded against their pass­port details. On subsequent crossings, a fresh biometric check will be reconciled with their passport details as held by the French border authorities.

The authorities will be able to check exact­ly who they are and whether they hold a valid passport without seeing the passport at all. This should streamline the border processes, and removes the need to physically check and stamp the passport.

While expected delays at France’s offshore border checks in Dover and Folkestone when the system is first implemented have received some publicity, the implications regarding British commercial drivers who regu­larly cross to Europe are only just being realised.

As a consequence of Brex­it, British citizens are only al­lowed to spend up to 90 days out of every 180 in the EU without a visa being required. The 90/180 regulation is not new in itself: it was reported last year that a lorry driver working for an RHA member company received a penalty and was told to not to return to the EU, after being discov­ered to have violated the rule in the Netherlands where the driver had been dropping off a trailer.

The RHA warned at the time of the need to be “mindful of the limits” on the number of days drivers were spending in Europe. It added that op­erators sending drivers into Schengen who had exceeded the 90-day threshold were asking or possibly inducing them to break the law, and that days used for work would also impinge on drivers’ con­tinental holiday travel needs.

Otherwise, however, en­forcement as far as commer­cial drivers are concerned seems to have been limited to date. But once the EES system is up and running, the dates and direction of every border crossing by every indi­vidual will be recorded. Those who have spent more than 90 days out of a rolling period of 180 days within the EU will be automatically identified, without the need for officials to look for physical entry and exit stamps in a passport and then total the time spent in the EU. Drivers could quite legally and automatically be refused entry.

The EU is clear that EES will identify overstayers and pro­vide reliable data on entries, exits, and refusals of entry, and that information on this will be shared in real time be­tween the border authorities of different EU nations.

It is, of course, possible for a UK citizen to obtain a visa that enables them to live and work in the EU for longer than 90 days. However, this appli­cation must be made from a verifiable residential address within the EU: something that will be impossible for most British drivers.

Last month an RHA spokes­person told Transport Oper­ator: “We are pressing the government to seek a change to the Trade and Co-operation Agreement with the EU which would either see professional drivers exempt from the 90- day restrictions, or a non-res­idential working visa being made available for them.

“We should acknowledge that the government has been very positive and supportive about this, but this does not mean that the EU is obliged to play ball in return. It may refuse to co-operate, or agree but put unworkable restric­tions in place.

“It has to be acknowledged that because of the disparity in size between the UK and the EU, the UK will always have the weaker hand in ne­gotiations of this kind. We have more to lose if these regulations are enforced as they stand than our EU coun­terparts do.”

The spokesperson com­mented: “Truck drivers work­ing for international hauliers and crossing to the continent each week will soon rack up 90 days in the EU.

“The situation initially seems less dire for coach drivers: but it should be re­membered that continental work is highly specialised and seasonal, and often involves double-manned coaches. It’s not work that you can just drop any driver into: experi­ence and enthusiasm are key factors.

“Whether coach or freight, international drivers tend to see themselves as experts in the field, with wages and sta­tus reflecting this.

“It may be difficult to retain these valuable individuals if their time on the continent is restricted, and training re­placements by sending them as second-drivers may prove almost impossible. They just won’t be able to get the expe­rience that they need in the time available.”

The French authorities are preparing to implement EES at Dover and on the Channel Tunnel, and Cherbourg and Dieppe are working on install­ing the technology.

The checks will also apply in Spain. Travel to the Re­public of Ireland will not be impacted due to a separate, long-standing freedom of movement agreement with the UK – but British vehicles travelling to mainland Europe via Ireland will be treated as foreign vehicles on landing in France or Spain.

Non-EU freight and passen­ger train drivers are specif­ically exempt from the EES, but truck and coach drivers are not.

Earlier this year, a survey carried out by the RHA found that 56 per cent of respond­ents expected to reduce their journeys into Europe as a result of the changes, citing projected revenue losses of between 41 and 60 per cent.

The British International Freight Association (BIFA), which has also raised con­cerns around the issue, sup­ported the RHA’s survey, warning that after November, BIFA member drivers exceed­ing the 90/180 limit “will be caught, will not be allowed to travel and will possibly incur fines or other penalties”.

The situation is likely to be compounded from 2025, as prospective UK visitors to the Schengen area will then also have to apply online for per­mission to enter, paying €7 for a kind of quasi-visa under the European Travel Informa­tion and Authorisation Sys­tem (ETIAS). The ETIAS per­mit must be obtained prior to travel, and will be checked at the border, with a fresh ETIAS being required every three years for the life of the hold­er’s passport.