Travel Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for road warriors and seasoned travelers. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I'm a non-EU citizen, I will be travelling from London to Paris next month, so I was wondering since most countries track entry and leave dates, if I use the train to switch these countries and they don't control it, my UK visa will seem like entry YES but no leaving. Same for the Schengen, I wouldn't have an entry date but I'll be leaving,
Will it be trouble later? Are they controlling this on trains? If not is there anything I should do before?
Travelling from London to Paris by Eurostar, you'll go through checkin, then security, then (as of 2015) a Eurostar-run UK exit check, then finally French Immigration. You won't see anyone from the UKBA, but you will see someone from Eurostar who'll scan your passport and send UKBA the details electronically, but won't stamp it. The only people properly checking your passport + stamping it if required will be French.
Travelling from Paris (or Lille) to London by Eurostar, you go through checkin, then French exit Immigration checks, then UK entry Immigration, then security.
The UK does not have formal exit immigration controls, but the UKBA do receive details of who goes from most transport providers. In the case of Eurostar, that's done by a member of Eurostar staff scanning your passport with a nifty handheld reader between security and French immigration.
France, following Schengen rules, does have formal exit immigration, with checks done by immigration staff.
So, UK -> France by Eurostar your checked "entering" France in London, France -> UK you're checked "leaving" France then immediately "entering" the UK (all in the station). All "entry" checks are juxtaposed border controls.
There is no check on the train like there used to be between other EU countries or Switzerland before Schengen. There is a full airport-like passport and security check at the train station so you will get Schengen entry/exit stamps every time (I don't know exactly how UKBA tracks exits but I don't think they stamp passports on exit).
In fact, standards regarding external borders were part of the Schengen agreement from the start so there are very few borders where this can realistically be a problem (I have heard about Andorra or Gibraltar…). In that case, you can always try to approach the border police yourself or keep any material evidence that documents your presence in and out of each country (including the train tickets).
