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Original poster

Eu passport holder travelling with uk passport holder

35 replies

BlueBlur · 28/09/2025 04:08

My dh, ds and I have eu passports. Dd 18 has a uk passport. We are travelling to Italy from an eu country. Will dd need to go in a different line at passport control?
Shes neurodiverse and will panic about this. So Would like to prepare her if that is the case or is there a way we can all go together?

OP posts:
BitOutOfPractice · 28/09/2025 11:11

BlueBlur · 28/09/2025 04:25

Great i didn't realise there was a all passport queue!
@DancingInTheBroadDaylight she was born in England as I was, I got an Irish passport through my grandparents and dh and ds were born in Ireland so have an Irish passport

I would be looking to get her an Irish passport as her father is Irish.

Sliceofbattenberg · 28/09/2025 11:12

EU passport holders are entitled to take non-EU family members in the EU queue with them. I saw a family being told this by passport control only last month.

Oriunda · 28/09/2025 17:52

We've got our European IDs now, but before, we always went in the EU queue with EU DH. If within Schengen, there's not even a passport queue at all.

samarrange · 28/09/2025 21:27

McSpoot · 28/09/2025 04:14

Are they both Schengen countries? Italy is but not sure where you're coming from (though most EU countries are part of Schengen, so odds are good that it also is). If they are both Schengen, you shouldn't need to go through passport control at all. If you do, there is generally an "All passports" (i.e. "EU plus CH" and then "All other passports") which you can all join. Sometimes there are multiple sets of lines (I think CDG had "EU plus CH", "non-visa countries", "others"), but (in my experience) there is always a line that everyone can use.

ETA: looking, now that UK is not part of the EU, there are only two countries in EU that aren't Schengen - Ireland and Cyprus.

Edited

When entering the Schengen area, it makes no difference whether an EU passport holder is from a Schengen or a non-Schengen country. All EU citizens (plus the associated non-EU countries with freedom of movement) go through the same lane into the Schengen area. That's why the sign over the lane says "EU/EEA/CH" and not "Schengen".

ny20005 · 28/09/2025 21:29

As long as you or her brother are travelling with her, she can go in the eu passport queue with you all

samarrange · 28/09/2025 21:31

You can choose which lane to go through.

EU passport holders can take their non-EU family members through the EU lane, according to Regulation(EU) 2016/399, aka the Schengen Borders Code. (I read this stuff for fun.) But the converse is also true, because there is no "non-EU" lane, only an "all passports" lane.

However, EES is coming, and this may complicate matters. Non-EU passport holders may/will (it's being phased in from 12 October and will be fully mandatory for all by April 2026) need to go to a kiosk — or, perhaps, see an officer at a desk — to provide fingerprints and a photo. The relationship between the kiosk and the actual passport reading process that does your entry into Italy (which, again, may be electronic or a person) will vary hugely across airports — most ground staff will not fully understand the difference between the EU and the national (Italian) part of the process.

So my recommendation would be for all of you to go through the "all passports" lane, and follow the instructions to use the kiosks for the non-EU passport holders, if that applies.

McSpoot · 28/09/2025 21:55

samarrange · 28/09/2025 21:27

When entering the Schengen area, it makes no difference whether an EU passport holder is from a Schengen or a non-Schengen country. All EU citizens (plus the associated non-EU countries with freedom of movement) go through the same lane into the Schengen area. That's why the sign over the lane says "EU/EEA/CH" and not "Schengen".

Show quote history

Did I say it made a difference? No, I didn’t. What I said was that if the starting city was also Schengen then there would be no passport control. I’m aware that the signs don’t mention Schengen and that it makes no difference - hence I said that the signs only mention EU and not Schengen.

samarrange · 29/09/2025 14:11

You're right. 🙏 I hadn't noticed that the OP was arriving "from an EU country" (I assumed it was the UK), and indeed it was important to determine which EU country. Apologies — but I see sooooo many people online claiming that Irish people need XYZ to enter Schengen (or that "UK people always needed to use the non-Schengen line", etc) that I've apparently got my response on a mental hot key!

McSpoot · 29/09/2025 14:20

samarrange · 29/09/2025 14:11

You're right. 🙏 I hadn't noticed that the OP was arriving "from an EU country" (I assumed it was the UK), and indeed it was important to determine which EU country. Apologies — but I see sooooo many people online claiming that Irish people need XYZ to enter Schengen (or that "UK people always needed to use the non-Schengen line", etc) that I've apparently got my response on a mental hot key!

And I apologize for being quite so touchy about it. Yes, it is a very common thing to confuse things.

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