The EES - what to do if one family member has EU passport?

[Ozgirl76]

We’re visiting Europe in the next few weeks. My husband has his Irish passport, the rest of us don’t (I never will, the kids’ applications are processing). When it comes to the EES, can we all go through, piggybacking on the Irish passport or will he go through by himself and us in the queue?

You can't go through with him. You have to use the correct lane for your passport.

You and kids aren’t in the EU so you can’t go in the line with your husband.

Other posters are right - DH is Australian and we always go in diff lines!

Possibly…. Dd goes in the same line
with her EU dp.

I assumed we wouldn’t go through - he can get the car sorted out while we wait!
I had seen a travel agent video saying that because of the EU rules on families that you could travel together (like, I could obviously live in any EU country as long as I was with him) but it seemed a bit dubious!

I witnessed this travelling home from Sicily yesterday. Two teenagers with Irish passports, mum had a British passport. Teenagers went through separately to mum who had to queue in line for EES.

Looks like we’ll be chilling in the queue while he’s in charge of bags and car (and maybe a food shop and a quick swim depending on the queue length 😄).

When my kids get their Irish passport too they’re going to love rubbing it in that they can all go through and leave me behind. Little do they know that they will have tasks to do and I will be standing with my book, doing nothing….

If if was just him and the children they could use the same queue, but as you’re there he doesn’t need to join the Non-EU queue.

I’m the only one in our family without an EU passport, its very annoying, only seven more years to go…

This is exactly what I do with DH, we went to Gothernburg in April, he went through the EU line while I queued with DS, by the time we got through (not that long in the grand scheme of things) he’d picked up the luggage and had the hire car keys, all ready to go!

I do wonder if 2 year old DS could go through with him, because he’d have to if they were travelling without me. Perhaps DH would have to wait in the non-EU queue though.

How old are your kids?

We have a mix of UK and EU passports and usually all go together as EU holders (this is allowed). Pretty much always on arrivals this is possible.

However… with kids under 12 you often all seem to get dumped in the same queue for passport control now because of the use of egates, no matter what passport you hold.

So - probably varies based on airport.

Yes sadly I don’t think I’ll ever get one as we won’t live in one Euro place long enough for me to qualify. It doesn’t matter normally, it’s only travelling through that it would be handy!

Kids are 13 and 15 so what I’m gathering from this is that we’ll just go through together, DH can go in the euro queue and we’ll join him on the other side.

We’ll probably ask - it’s Greece and they’re nice to families normally - but it does feel like taking the piss a little bit when only 1/4 of us have the Euro passport.

Last year I was going through the EU queue with my Irish 12yo, this year he looks 16 so I guess I'll tell them he's 13 and do they want me to go with him before joining the queue. This was into Norway, I can't remember what it was like into Ireland, I think all one queue.

My husband is Spanish and he always asks a member of staff if I can go through with him. 9 times out of 10 they say yes. Worth asking OP.

Can I ask you about which passports you used for your flights? We are due to book a holiday soon. DH has a British passport, DS and I have recent dual citizenship for an EU country.

Do we use all our British passports for the flights and just use the EU passports at border control?

Hmmm I actually can’t remember. I think our British ones.
I don’t know that it matters. I have Australian and British passports and I normally book on one of them but I enter the U.K. on British and Australia on Aus so I just take both.

It's not the Greeks fault that people in the UK fell for the lies of Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage and voted for the act of economic self harm.

Greeks have been considerate about the new border system to make it easier for those flying.

Greece has suspended the EES for the summer. We have just got back from Crete. The queue was short enough that we didn't bother trying the EU queue and went through all passports together

I don’t follow - im not blaming Greece for anything! I’m saying that they’re nice people (especially to families) and I could imagine them waving us through if they’re allowed to.

Oh interesting! I wonder if that does mean we can all go through together.
We’re not going for another 4 weeks so it might be busier then I suppose.

Yes, I would use your British passports for the flights (when entering your passport details, I mean).

DD (dual EU/UK citizen) recently flew back to the UK and wasn't able to check in online as she'd entered her EU passport details before her flight over to the EU. The system detected that she didn't have an ETA so she got an error message; she had to go to the Ryanair service desk at the airport, where they issued her with a boarding pass (free of charge) after she'd shown them her British passport.

The Schengen Agreement makes specific prevision for this, non-EU family members are entitled to go through the EU lanes if they are travelling with EU family members.

Thank you!