EU rolls out new Entry Exit System marking major shift in border checks

The European Union began rolling out its new border control processes on 12 October 2025. The Entry-Exit System (EES) requires visitors to the bloc from outside EU and Schengen Area to provide passport details, have photographs scanned for facial recognition purposes, and have fingerprints taken at EU entry and exit checkpoints. 

The identity information given by all so-called all non-EU citizens or “third-country” travellers will be stored for three years and creates a digital record allowing the EU to track visitor movements. Children under 12 years of age will also need to have their details registered although they do not need to provide a photograph.

Update for non-EU nationals travelling to 29 European countries for short stays!

Once it goes live on 12 October, the Entry/Exit System will gradually record:
🔸arrival/departure dates
🔸travel document and biometric data

In line with EU data protection rules ↓ #TravelToEurope

— EU Home Affairs (@EUHomeAffairs) September 20, 2025

Covering the “Schengen Area +” (25 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland but excluding Cyprus and Ireland), the new process is a replacement for manual passport stamping. It is intended to “modernize border management, strengthen security, and detect overstayers” the European Commission explains, thanks to the way it automatically monitors whether visa-free visitors have respected their 90-day limit within any 180-day period. 

EES registration points are being set up at international airports, seaports, train and shuttle stations, and land borders in a phased way over the next six months, meaning the EES is due to be fully operational by April 10, 2026. Border officials also have the discretion to pause the process if long queues arise and warnings have been issued that delays of up to four hours could ensue at some locations. 

Despite the phased introduction, it is best for travellers to ensure they are prepared to go through the process straight away. It is already fully operational at UK departure points, as well as in Estonia, at Germany’s Düsseldorf Airport, in the Czech Republic, and in Luxembourg. At Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, launch is taking place from 3 November 2025. France’s major airports such as Paris Charles de Gaulle and Nice are ready, and border control software in Greece and Poland has been updated.

In Belgium, “to support the Federal Police, Brussels Airport has provided the necessary infrastructure for this new border control system. Twelve new border control boxes have been installed on Arrivals, increasing capacity, and all border control boxes at the airport have been fitted with cameras for a facial image (33 in total). In addition, 61 self-service pre-registration kiosks are provided that can be used to allow non-European passengers to register certain data,” explains the Brussels Airport in a press release.

EES is a pre-cursor to another change coming later in 2026. The European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) will require citizens from visa-free countries to obtain pre-travel authorization by paying a €20 fee and providing basic personal and trip details online. Once issued, ETIAS will last for three years or until the passport document expires.

For British people, the EES (and later ETIAS) represent some of the biggest impacts of Brexit which means all Brits became considered third-country citizens by the EU. At the “juxtaposed” passport controls that have long existed at major UK departure and arrival points such as the Port of Dover, the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone, or the Eurostar terminal at London St Pancras, Brits will need to have their biometric data collected on the UK side before boarding. Irish passport holders are not affected.