Guernsey strikes deal to allow French visitors on ID cards

Monday 24 April 2023

French day-trippers arrived in Jersey last weekend without the need for passports as part of a new travel trial – and now Guernsey has confirmed it will launch a similar scheme within days.

Responding to questions for Express, The Committee for Home Affairs said the breakthrough arrangement “is due to be in place from 26 April, ahead of the first scheduled Manche Îles sailing with day visitors to Guernsey from France on 28 April”.

It comes after months of discussions with Jersey, the UK Home Office, and French stakeholders. 

As part of the arrangement, French visitors can enter the Bailiwicks for a day on commercial passenger ferries – both Condor and Manche Îles - using their national identity card (CNI).

Post-Brexit requirements for French travelers to enter the Channel Islands, which came into force on 1 October, saw visitor numbers fall off a cliff as only around half the population holds a passport.

Before the pandemic and Brexit, boats going to and from the French mainland carried at least 110,000 people per year. In 2022, only 40,000 passengers made the journey

The Jersey trial is running from 22 April to 30 September, and it's assumed the Guernsey trial will conclude at a similar time.

Pictured: Deputy Helen Miles welcoming the French delegation to St. Helier on Saturday. Credit: David Ferguson.

Senior representatives from the Manche département were among the first to arrive in Jersey on Saturday morning, and received a welcome at the Elizabeth Harbour from local politicians. It was Manche Îles’ first sailing of the year.

Deputy Kirsten Morel, Jersey’s Deputy Chief Minister and Economic Development Minister, said when the scheme was announced in March Manche Iles Express reported an 80% increase in bookings.

Now he hopes that that the economic effects of the new arrangements will be felt “instantly”. 

Jersey’s Home Affairs Minister, Deputy Helen Miles said customs officers are well placed to spot identification forgery and so the unique trial would “maintain the integrity of the border and not compromise the Common Travel Area. That is where the negotiations with the UK were really important”. 

She said in-person meetings with UK officials helped to assure them Jersey was conscious of its obligations and taking them “extremely seriously”. 

Jean Morin, President of the Manche département, had told media earlier this year that if a solution to the passport problem was not found by May the local authorities may have to suspend funding for the ferry service.