Eurostar new questions

[Mainline421]

What if you're on an Interrail pass & don't know where you'll be after the first few days? The whole point of Interrail is to be able to explore freely, I haven't seen anyone ask about this but it's something I've wondered about since they said about this system. Hopefully this won't kill off the idea of longer, varied trips to Europe that aren't tightly planned the whole way through

Quite, a little concerning as for the past couple years I'd only have been able to show accommodation for the first two nights and wouldn't know my return date at all. Possible to get round it by booking a refundable hostel/flight somewhere in Europe or using one of the many onward travel ticket rental sites, but I really hope this doesn’t end up being enforced as a strict requirement. I guess Interrail is technically a return ticket and a GHIC card health insurance though.

 

[Roy Badami]

Ok, I found the relevant legislation - this is French national legislation, not EU legislation - relating to two of the issues discussed in this thread, namely the requirements for travel insurance, and the requirements when staying with a private individual (e.g. family/friends) rather than in commercial accommodation such as a hotel. I didn't find anything, however, about the apparent requirement to show hotel bookings in advance. Anyway, I thought I'd post what I've found in case anyone else is interested.

The legislation is the Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile (CESEDA) (English: Code of Entry and Residence of Foreigners and of the Right to Asylum).

Rather than post extracts from the French language legislation here, I'll post Google translations of the relevant passages, and then link to the original French version at the end.

Article L311-1 contains the requirement to have insurance (para 2)

To enter France, all foreign nationals must have:

1° Unless exempt from this requirement, the visas required by international conventions and by Article 6(1)(a) and (b) of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code);

2° Subject to international conventions and Article 6, paragraph 1, point c, of the Schengen Borders Code, proof of accommodation provided for in Article L. 313-1, if required, and other documents provided for by decree of the Council of State relating to the purpose and conditions of their stay and their means of subsistence, to the coverage by an approved insurance operator of medical and hospital expenses, including social assistance, resulting from care they may incur in France, as well as to guarantees for their repatriation;

3° Documents necessary for the exercise of a professional activity if they intend to exercise one.

Article L313-1 contains the requirement for the attestation d'accueil (Google translates this as certificate of accommodation)

Any foreigner who declares that they wish to stay in France for a period not exceeding three months in the context of a family or private visit must present proof of accommodation in the form of a certificate of accommodation, signed by the person who intends to provide accommodation for the foreigner, or their legal representative. This certificate is validated by the administrative authority, and constitutes the document provided for by the convention signed in Schengen on June 19, 1990 to justify the conditions of stay in the case of a family or private visit.

There doesn't seem to be any way round the attestation d'accueil. The rules around the attestation seem very concerned about assessing the living space to ensure that the guest will be accommodated in normal housing conditions (French: des conditions normales de logement) so I guess it must be to do with some concerns around sham arrangements that result in people being accommodated in overcrowded slum conditions.

Anyway, you can find the relevant section of the Code here, if you want to explore it further (or if you read French): https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/code...58/LEGISCTA000042771134/#LEGISCTA000042777230

 

[Cloud Strife]

About the accommodation requirement: it's very rarely enforced on EU borders. It's mostly an issue in Gibraltar where Spain has been randomly demanding proof of hotel bookings by non-Gibraltarians who want to go shopping / to eat in La Linea, but other than that, you'll notice that it's usually only pulled out for people from poorer countries who represent a genuine migration risk.

The odds of France giving a monkeys about this on the UK border are incredibly low, unless UK-EU relations deteriorate incredibly badly.

 

[signed]

I appreciate that for those who need a visa to visit France, they will generally need to get their host in France to apply for an attestation d'accueil to serve as proof that they have somewhere to stay. But surely France is not going to insist that Brits with friends or family in France do that every time they visit?

There doesn't seem to be any way round the attestation d'accueil. The rules around the attestation seem very concerned about assessing the living space to ensure that the guest will be accommodated in normal housing conditions (French: des conditions normales de logement) so I guess it must be to do with some concerns around sham arrangements that result in people being accommodated in overcrowded slum conditions.

Attestation d'accueil is technically required only when being hosted privately by a French resident. If you rent (or own) (like a hotel, camping space or anything else), the booking acts as that.

 

[Roy Badami]

Attestation d'accueil is technically required only when being hosted privately by a French resident. If you rent (or own) (like a hotel, camping space or anything else), the booking acts as that.

Sure. I was talking about the situation of staying with family or friends, where it appears that an attestation d'accueil is required - and there doesn't appear to be a way round it. (Some articles have said that demonstrating sufficient funds is an alternative, but I don't think this is correct.)

Obviously if you book a hotel then you're not going to have an attestation d'accueil, but they seem to say they might want to see the hotel booking.

 

[Citybreak1]

So for a day visit do you answer yes if you already have a hotel booked in London?

 

[Roy Badami]

Well, it appears that (at least some of) the new questions have been 'dropped'. There's an article in the Independent.

Days after the launch of the EU’s entry-exit system (EES), controversial questions posed to passengers leaving London St Pancras International on Eurostar trains have been dropped.

[...]

Forty-nine entry-exit system kiosks have been installed at St Pancras station for passengers to register their details. Initially they were programmed to ask four “admissibility” questions. The traveller is expected to have:

• Return ticket.
• Sufficient funds.
• Booked accommodation.
• Medical insurance.

The first two are “Schengen questions” that apply to all prospective third-country nationals. But the second two are specific conditions imposed by France. While the rules are not new, they have largely been dormant for years.

[...]

Simon Lejeune, chief stations and safety officer for Eurostar, told the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee: “[...] We’re very pleased that, through discussions with the French ministry and our colleagues, it’s been agreed that those questions can be technically removed from the kiosks during the initial six-month introduction phase of the new system.”

EU entry-exit questions dropped for Eurostar passengers over fears of long delays

Initial passengers through EES channels at London St Pancras have taken only 50 seconds through digital border check

www.independent.co.uk

The article is a bit ambiguous as to whether all the questions have been removed (I think that may be the case) or whether the Schengen mandated questions (return ticket and sufficient funds) remain, and only the additional French questions (pre-booked accommodation and medical insurance) have been removed.

Also, 'dropped' is perhaps a bit of an overstatement - the official position seems to be that the questions have been suspended for the duration of the six month phased introduction process. There's no word on what will happen come April.

 

[bleeder4]

Well, it appears that (at least some of) the new questions have been 'dropped'. There's an article in the Independent.

EU entry-exit questions dropped for Eurostar passengers over fears of long delays

Initial passengers through EES channels at London St Pancras have taken only 50 seconds through digital border check

www.independent.co.uk

The article is a bit ambiguous as to whether all the questions have been removed (I think that may be the case) or whether the Schengen mandated questions (return ticket and sufficient funds) remain, and only the additional French questions (pre-booked accommodation and medical insurance) have been removed.

Also, 'dropped' is perhaps a bit of an overstatement - the official position seems to be that the questions have been suspended for the duration of the six month phased introduction process. There's no word on what will happen come April.

Hopefully gone for good. I hardly ever book accommodation in advance as I like to be spontaneous.

 

[Struner]

I remember being requested to fill in a form asking me the purpose of my visit - the place where I would be staying & other things (don’t remember all of it now, it was before your lot joined the then EEC, now EU, for a while).

 

[peteb]

Sure. I was talking about the situation of staying with family or friends, where it appears that an attestation d'accueil is required - and there doesn't appear to be a way round it. (Some articles have said that demonstrating sufficient funds is an alternative, but I don't think this is correct.)

Obviously if you book a hotel then you're not going to have an attestation d'accueil, but they seem to say they might want to see the hotel booking.

I stayed with French friends from 10-14 October 2025. Noone asked me questions about my stay in France, it's duration or where I was staying or whether I had any insurance. Maybe the questioning is random and they just pick on someone every so many passengers. Unfortunately, from what I've witnessed at airports and border train stations, anyone of an obviously non-white European ethnicity seems to be fair game for their border police to demand documentation..........