Handbook passport stamps will likely be changed by a digital report, and biometric information — together with facial scans and fingerprints — will likely be required.
All non-European Union residents travelling to Schengen international locations might want to present biometric information, in addition to entry and exit dates.
For the aim of the EES, a non-EU nationwide is outlined as any traveller who doesn’t maintain the nationality of a European Union nation or of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland.
The EES is free for non-EU travellers visiting Schengen Space international locations for a brief keep. This covers visits of as much as 90 days inside any 180-day interval.
How biometric checks will work
In accordance with the official EU web site, biometric information — together with fingerprints and facial scans — will solely have to be collected on the primary go to after October 12.
The EU defined: “You’ll have to present your private information. Passport management officers will take a photograph of your face and/or scan your fingerprints. This data will likely be recorded in a digital file.
“This course of might be faster when you register a few of your information upfront. You are able to do this through the use of devoted gear (‘self-service programs’), if accessible at your border crossing level, or a cell software if made accessible by the nation of arrival or departure. In any of the cases above, you’ll meet a passport management officer.”
On subsequent visits, border checks will likely be faster.
The EU added: “The photograph of your face and/or your fingerprints will already be recorded within the EES. The passport management officers will solely confirm your fingerprints and photograph, which is able to take much less time.
“In uncommon circumstances, it might be crucial to gather and report your information once more.
“In the event you maintain a biometric passport, it is possible for you to to enter extra shortly utilizing the self-service system, if accessible at that border crossing level.”
What information is collected
Travellers should present their private information every time they cross the exterior borders of the international locations utilizing the EES. The system collects, information, and shops:
- Information out of your journey paperwork, together with full identify and date of delivery
- Date and place of every entry and exit
- Facial picture and fingerprints
- Information of any entry refusals
Guests who maintain a short-stay visa to enter the Schengen Space will have already got biometric information saved within the Visa Info System (VIS), and won’t have to be saved once more within the EES.
Why the EU launched the EES
In accordance with the European Fee, the brand new system goals to:
- Modernise border administration by electronically registering non-EU nationals’ entries, exits, or entry refusals
- Make border checks extra environment friendly and enhance the traveller expertise over time
- Fight identification fraud by amassing biometric information
- Improve safety throughout the EU
- Assist the battle in opposition to terrorism and critical organised crime by enhancing identification verification
International locations utilizing the EES
The brand new guidelines apply to guests getting into or exiting the next 29 international locations:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
EES rollout timeline
The Entry/Exit System will likely be deployed progressively throughout the exterior borders of the 29 collaborating European international locations over a six-month interval.
Every nation will introduce the system in phases, together with the gathering of biometric information similar to facial photographs and fingerprints.
Border officers might not accumulate travellers’ biometric information at each crossing level instantly, they usually might delay registering some private data within the system in the course of the early rollout.
Border officers will stamp passports till the brand new system is absolutely applied.
This phased implementation will final till April 9, 2026. From April 10, 2026, the EES will likely be absolutely operational in any respect exterior border factors of the collaborating international locations.
Emirates points journey advisory
Emirates has suggested travellers to count on longer border checks when visiting Europe as soon as the EES goes dwell.
In an announcement, the Dubai-based provider mentioned: “From October 12, 2025, the European Union will start introducing a brand new Entry/Exit System (EES) at Schengen borders.
“This method replaces the guide passport stamping course of with a digital report of your entry and exit, together with primary particulars and biometric information similar to fingerprints and a facial picture.
“If you’re a non-EU or Schengen nationwide travelling to or from the Schengen Space for a brief keep (as much as 90 days in any 180-day interval), the EES applies to you.
“If you first arrive, border officers will accumulate your biometric information alongside together with your passport particulars. This will likely be saved securely within the EES database.
“On subsequent visits, you’ll not must repeat the complete course of — your information will already be within the system. Your entry and exit will merely be recorded digitally.
“EU residents, Schengen residents, and people holding long-stay visas or residence permits should not affected.
“Please enable additional time for border checks, particularly in your first journey after the system goes dwell.”
What comes subsequent
The European Fee has confirmed that the EES will pave the way in which for the European Journey Info and Authorisation System (ETIAS), a brand new pre-travel authorisation anticipated to launch in 2026.
