French day trippers able to keep using ID cards for now

However, it will in time be scrapped when the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme is eventually introduced.

French visitor numbers fell sharply in the wake of Brexit, as travellers were required to have passports to visit the Bailiwick, as opposed to using ID cards.

A temporary exemption was introduced in 2023 to allow day-trippers coming directly from France to be allowed to use ID cards instead.

Originally due to end in September 2024, the scheme has allowed French travellers to come into the Channel Islands using an identity card as an alternative to a valid passport, and has been repeatedly extended. Only about half the French population have passports.

The latest extension goes up until September 2025.

‘This scheme was initially introduced just for the summer of 2023, but the benefits to local businesses in allowing French travellers into the Bailiwick for day trips were clear, and so we are pleased to have been able to continue it since,’ said Home Affairs president Rob Prow.

‘France is a country where the number of people who hold a passport is relatively low, and so ensuring they can still travel following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU has been very valuable.

‘It is unlikely the scheme will continue when ETAs are introduced, however that scheme will increase the security of the Common Travel Area, and therefore the Bailiwick.’

The scheme lapsed last autumn, but was then extended to cover this year.

However, that came with the caveat that it was unlikely to extend past September 2024, due to the incoming Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme.

But the exact timeline for the new ETAs seems unclear. ETAs will cost £10 and will be required for visitors to the UK who do not currently need a visa for short stays, including European nationals.

They will not be required for British and Irish citizens or those moving within the Common Travel Area – which covers the UK, the Crown Dependencies and Ireland, although it will affect visitors coming from France.

A UK government spreadsheet from February gives details of how the scheme will work, but no timeline beyond stating it would confirm the timings 'in due course'.

Travellers should be given sufficient time to prepare.

The States said that the Guernsey ID scheme was unlikely to extend beyond September 2025, as the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme was now planned to be introduced at the end of next year.

But the timings seem to be flexible, as it has previously been stated the ETA scheme was expected to be introduced in late 2024.

The EU is also preparing its own new entry scheme for non-EU nationals soon, which will replace passport stamping.

The 2023 Guernsey Travel and Visitor Annual Report stated that 14,893 visitors to the Bailiwick reported they lived in France.

This was down from nearly 30,000 in 2019, before the Covid pandemic.

Overall there were 36,000 people visiting Guernsey on a day trip from all destinations last year.