Home Affairs officials have asked the UK government if the scheme, in place since 2023, can be extended into 2026.
French nationals are currently able to make day trips to the Channel Islands using just their national identity card which has boosted tourism as about half the country’s population is believed not to own a passport.
Home Affairs president Marc Leadbeater said the committee had already extended the Bailiwick’s scheme, which was due to end in September, until the end of the year.
‘Officers have been in discussions with both Jersey and the Home Office and as a result I have now written to the UK Minister for Immigration outlining the Bailiwick’s desire to continue with the French Identity Card Scheme into 2026, providing it does not place our membership of the Common Travel Area at risk,’ he said.
‘The committee has emphasised the safeguards in place to mitigate any risk of abuse and can report that there have been no cases of non-compliance since the inception of the scheme in 2023.’
Jersey’s States voted in June to pursue an extension to the ID card arrangement.
The news will come as a welcome boost to the tourism sector which feared an end to the scheme would hit French visitor numbers, which have performed very well with Brittany Ferries.
Half-yearly figures revealed St Malo has overtaken Poole to become the busiest sea route into the Bailiwick.
Concerns had been raised that the introduction of an Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme would make it impossible for the ID card scheme to continue. The UK began implementing an ETA scheme in April, with a staged roll-out.
EU nationals now require an ETA, at a cost of £10, to travel directly into the UK. Both Channel Islands had previously expressed an interest in joining. It aims to secure the Common Travel Area borders.
Deputy Leadbeater said he expected that Guernsey could have joined the ETA scheme by next spring.
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