Dear travel partners,
As you may be aware, with effect from Wednesday, 8th April 2015 the UK government is imposing Exit Checks at all UK departure ports
This process, to be conducted at the port by the operator, is being demanded by the British Government, to confirm, as far as is practicable, that an individual has left the UK. This is achieved by verifying the passengers’ identity, collecting relevant information and transmitting the data to the Home Office.
From 8 April 2015, when travelling with DFDS Seaways from Dover, we would encourage coach operators to allow a little extra time to complete the new formalities. Coaches should arrive at our check-in booths no later than 1 hour prior to departure time or 90 minutes when travelling on peak departures.
An exemption for organised school groups has been agreed. Organised school groups are defined as being those where students are all aged 16 years and under and are travelling under the direction and care of one or more readily identifiable teacher or other responsible adult. This exemption will be facilitated by a manual declaration system. If a coach booking qualifies for this exemption, a marker signalling it as being an organised school group that meets the relevant criteria should be displayed. Such coaches will normally be allowed to proceed without exit checks being conducted on those aboard. However, random assurance checks may be applied.
We recommend that coach drivers should place a marker in the coach windscreen identifying their status. Coaches that fall into one of five categories and markers, should display a colour coded sign (available via email) In the absence of any marker, coaches will instead be subject to an additional stop to declare whether or not they are carrying any individuals subject to immigration control.
It is essential that a more detailed passenger manifest is accurately completed. This new format manifest is available on email. The new manifest requires the passengers’ full name, nationality, passport or identity document number, gender and date of birth. For the time being, the manifest can be submitted at check-in. Complying with the above will ensure that transit time through Dover is kept to a minimum.
For coach groups departing from Newcastle (North Shields) to Amsterdam slightly different arrangements will be in place. Groups are encouraged to check-in between 14:00-15:00 when a dedicated coach check-in desk will be open. A revised passenger manifest for the Newcastle-Amsterdam route is available on request.
With kind regards
Stuart Duddy
Head of Coach Sales and Contracts
Tel: 0871 521 1535
Email: uk.coaches@dfds.com
