Juxtaposed controls (in , or ; in ) are a reciprocal arrangement between Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom whereby border controls on certain cross-Channel routes take place before boarding the train or ferry, rather than upon arrival after disembarkation. With the exception of the Eurotunnel Shuttle route, customs checks remain unaffected by juxtaposed immigration controls and continue to take place upon arrival after disembarkation. Belgium, France and the Netherlands are all member states of the European Union and part of the border-free Schengen Area. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, has never participated in the Schengen Area, even when it was a member state of the European Union. As a result, juxtaposed controls aim to increase the convenience and efficiency of border checks when travelling by train or ferry between the Schengen Area and the UK by removing the need for immigration checks on arrival and by streamlining checks on departure. At the same time, juxtaposed controls are intended to detect and prevent illegal immigration. In 2016, there were over 56,000 instances when people were refused entry to the UK at the juxtaposed controls.
Rail
Eurotunnel Shuttle
In 1991, the Sangatte Protocol was signed between France and the UK, an agreement that provided for border checkpoints to be set up by France at the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal in Cheriton, Kent and for border checkpoints to be set up by the UK at the Eurotunnel Calais Terminal in Coquelles, France. The Sangatte Protocol is more formally known as the Protocol between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the government of the French Republic concerning frontier controls and policing, co-operation in criminal justice, public safety and mutual assistance relating to the Channel fixed link. The Sangatte Protocol was brought into effect in France by Decree No. 93-1136 of 24 September 1993 and in the UK by the Channel Tunnel (International Arrangements) Order 1993.
As a result of the Sangatte Protocol, starting from 1994, when travelling from the UK to France by Eurotunnel Shuttle (road vehicle trains), French immigration and customs checks both take place before departing from the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal, rather than on arrival in France. French Border Police and Customs officers have the power to carry firearms and to arrest and detain individuals in the control zone. The UK Border Force does not carry out routine exit checks. Instead, Eurotunnel collects passengers' travel document information during the booking or check-in process, which it sends electronically to the UK Border Force. When travelling from France to the UK by Eurotunnel Shuttle, travellers have to clear both French exit checks and UK entry immigration and customs checks at the Eurotunnel Calais Terminal before boarding the train. UK Border Force officers have the power to arrest and detain individuals in the control zone.
PARAFE self-service gates are available which eligible passengers (EU, EEA, Andorran, Monegasque, San Marinese and Swiss citizens holding biometric passports) can use instead of a staffed counter to clear French entry immigration checks at the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal and French exit immigration checks at the Eurotunnel Calais Terminal.
Unlike the juxtaposed controls for the Eurostar and ferry which only consist of immigration pre-embarkation checks, juxtaposed controls for the Eurotunnel Shuttle consist of both immigration and customs pre-embarkation checks.
In 2002–2003, at the UK immigration checkpoint at the Eurotunnel Calais Terminal in France, 2,232 people were refused entry into the UK.
In November 2019, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, Peter Clarke, carried out an unannounced inspection of the UK's two short-term holding facilities (STHF) at the Eurotunnel Calais Terminal in France, both of which are managed by private contractor Mitie. The Chief Inspector observed "weak safeguarding practices for children" and had "serious concerns about adult safeguarding practice" by the UK Border Force. The Chief Inspector also raised concerns about the routine practice of detaining people in escort vehicles while awaiting the arrival of the French Border Police. He noted that few of the detainees were interviewed (regardless of their age) and their bio-data were rarely taken. Detainees refused entry to the UK would be transferred to the French Border Police, who would then release them outside the terminal area.
Eurostar
On 15 December 1993, a tripartite agreement was signed by Belgium, France and the UK. This agreement allowed Belgian officials to carry out pre-embarkation immigration controls at London Waterloo International station and British officials to carry out pre-embarkation immigration controls at Brussels-Midi station for passengers travelling on direct Eurostar train services between London and Brussels. The tripartite agreement was subsequently brought into effect in the UK by the Channel Tunnel (Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 1994, in France by Law No. 94-403 of 20 May 1994 and Decree No. 98-172 of 10 March 1998, and in Belgium by the Law of 29 August 1997.Loi portant approbation des actes internationaux
However, the pre-embarkation immigration controls arrangement did not initially apply to Eurostar trains operating between the UK and France. Initially, French Border Police officers checked passengers' travel documents while on board the train before arriving in or after departing from their station in France. No customs checks were carried out on board the train. Starting from June 1998, the French Border Police set up control booths at Paris Gare du Nord, Lille-Europe and Calais-Fréthun stations. This led to a gradual phasing out of onboard immigration checks (in 1998, 3,638 onboard checks were carried out, whereas in 2000, only 642 onboard checks were carried out). At Calais-Fréthun station, passengers were routinely checked both on arrival and on departure. However, at Paris Gare du Nord and Lille-Europe stations, passengers were only checked on departure and not on arrival. Due to the design of the arrival train platforms at Lille-Europe station, the French Border Police could only stop and check around 11% of the alighting passengers arriving from London.
On 29 May 2000, the 'Additional Protocol to the Sangatte Protocol' was signed between France and the UK, an agreement that provided for immigration checkpoints to be set up by France in Eurostar stations in the UK and for immigration checkpoints to be set up by the UK in Eurostar stations in France. The UK was eager to conclude the agreement with France because, for several years, many Eurostar passengers arrived in the UK without adequate documentation and a significant number claimed asylum on arrival. As an illustration, in the second half of 2000, around 4,000 passengers arrived at London Waterloo without the correct documentation. Furthermore, under French law, there was no liability for SNCF, the French railway company, to check the travel documents of Eurostar passengers (in fact, it was illegal under French law for SNCF to carry out documentation checks), which meant that the Eurostar was an easier way for illegal immigrants to travel from France to the UK than other means of transport (for example, in contrast, an airline carrier would be fined a £2,000 penalty for every passenger without adequate documentation who is brought to the UK, which encouraged airlines to check the travel documents of passengers more carefully). The Additional Protocol was subsequently brought into effect in France by Law No. 2001-409 of 11 May 2001 and in the UK by the Channel Tunnel (International Arrangements) (Amendment No. 3) Order 2001.
On 1 October 2004, an Administrative Arrangement was signed by Belgium, France and the UK to extend juxtaposed controls to Eurostar services between London and Brussels which make a stop in Lille. This was subsequently brought into effect in the UK by the Channel Tunnel (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2004.
As a result of the agreements, when travelling from the UK to Belgium or France by Eurostar, immigration entry checks into the Schengen Area take place before boarding the train in the UK, rather than on arrival in Belgium or France. The Schengen immigration entry checks are carried out in the UK stations before embarkation by the French Border Police (which also carries out immigration entry checks on behalf of the Belgian Federal Police for passengers travelling to Belgium). PARAFE self-service gates are available at London St Pancras International station which eligible passengers (EU, EEA, UK, Andorran, Monegasque, San Marinese and Swiss citizens holding biometric passports) can use to clear French immigration checks (instead of using a staffed counter). UK Border Force officers do not carry out routine exit checks. Instead, starting from April 2015, Eurostar security staff scan passengers' travel documents when entering the departure area of the station and send the information (the passenger's full name, nationality, date of birth, gender and travel document number, type and country of issue) electronically to the UK Border Force.
When travelling from Belgium, the Netherlands or France to the UK by Eurostar, passengers clear immigration exit checks from the Schengen Area, as well as UK immigration entry checks conducted by the UK Border Force, before boarding the train. When departing from Paris Gare du Nord, eligible passengers (EU, EEA, UK, Andorran, Monegasque, San Marinese and Swiss citizens aged 18 or older and holding biometric passports) can use PARAFE self-service gates to clear immigration exit checks from the Schengen Area (instead of using a staffed counter). ePassport gates have been installed by the UK Border Force at both Paris Gare du Nord and Brussels-Midi, which eligible passengers (UK, EU, EEA, Swiss, Australian, Canadian, Japanese, New Zealand, Singaporean, South Korean and United States citizens (as well as other foreign nationals who have enrolled in the Registered Traveller scheme) aged 12 or over holding biometric passports) can use to clear UK entry immigration instead of using a staffed counter.
Customs checks on Eurostar passengers remain unaffected by the agreements, and continue to take place upon arrival after leaving the train.Additional Protocol to the Sangatte Protocol, Article 3
Between 2002 and 2003, 2,442 passengers were refused entry into the UK at the UK immigration checkpoints in Paris Gare du Nord and Lille-Europe stations on the basis that they had inadequate documentation. At Calais-Fréthun station, 56 passengers were refused entry into the UK at the UK immigration checkpoint there.
On 4 February 2020, the UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, announced that passengers travelling on Eurostar from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to London would no longer have to disembark at Brussels-Midi station, go through immigration checks and then board another train before continuing their journey to London. According to the announcement, starting from 30 April 2020, passengers would go through juxtaposed controls in Amsterdam Centraal station before boarding the train, and starting from 18 May 2020, passengers would go through juxtaposed controls in Rotterdam Centraal station before boarding the train. However, the inauguration of juxtaposed controls in Amsterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Centraal was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Direct service between London, Rotterdam and Amsterdam subsequently commenced (together with the launch of juxtaposed controls) on 26 October 2020.