I have been closely following the rollout of the EU’s new entry and exit system, as I will have entered and exited the Schengen Area 5 times between its launch on October 12 and the end of 2025. Since its launch on October 12, I have seen several articles stating queues of up to three hours on arrival at some European airports, but the general impression is that the rollout of the system is going well and outbound migrants generally do not encounter large queues.
Still, I wanted to stay informed, so a few days before my flight from Brussels to Toronto on October 20, I checked the Brussels Airport (BRU) website and social media and searched for the latest news articles or press releases about the rollout of the immigration system. I found no information or reports of note, so I assume implementation of the system is well underway, or may not have started yet. After all, some entry/exit points opt for partial or delayed rollouts.
Unfortunately, my immigration wait time in Brussels was so long that I almost missed my transatlantic flight. Despite being faster, the queue back to Brussels was still longer than usual. As more airports begin to implement the new system, here is my experience and advice if you plan to visit the EU with a non-EU passport in the coming months.
My experience of emigration in Brussels
On October 20, I took a 9:40 AM flight from Brussels to Toronto. From where I live, I can take a train to the airport every 30 minutes. Therefore, I decided to take the train that arrived at the airport 110 minutes before my flight. Considering I hadn’t read any negative reports about BRU immigration, I figured this would give me enough time to endure the slightly longer than usual immigration queue and visit the lounge before boarding.
However, the train I had planned to take was canceled at the last minute and Google Maps showed the drive would take about the same amount of time as waiting for the next train. Even though the train was cancelled, I arrived at the airport 80 minutes before departure and queued up at immigration 62 minutes before departure.
When I left Brussels, only EU passport holders could use the self-service immigration kiosks. I noticed this because TPG’s Eric Rosen, a US citizen, was able to use such a kiosk while traveling from Amsterdam on October 13th. But when I left Brussels a week later, all non-EU passport holders were being processed by just two police personnel (as I approached the front of the queue, a third started processing travelers).
As the line moved slowly, I nervously compared my progress to the time that had passed and began to get a frustrating feeling: I wouldn’t make the flight.
Airport representatives in the immigration area told passengers worried they would miss their flights that airlines would reserve planes for passengers stranded at immigration. I suspected that was not the case, but luckily a kind passenger at the front of the line told me to go ahead of him.
When I contacted the immigration police, he asked no questions, collected any biometric data, or even looked through my passport. Instead he said the computer worked fine on my passport and stamped my passport. Whatever the computer was doing, it took about five times as long as entering or leaving the Schengen Zone.
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Once I cleared the immigration booth, I ran towards the gate. When I scanned my boarding pass, there was an error and the gate agent pointed out that the check-in agent marked me for late check-in. This surprised me because the check-in agent didn’t tell me this and I checked in well before Air Canada’s bag check deadline. Luckily, the gate agent was still able to get me and my checked bag onto the plane.
Based on the minimal number of passengers boarding after me, and the fact that I was notified that boarding was complete just minutes after I boarded, I was one of the last passengers to board. As I suspected, Air Canada was not waiting for passengers stranded at immigration; A flight attendant told me that 25 passengers missed their flight, including four in premium economy.
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My immigration experience in Brussels
On my way back to the EU, I took a flight from London to Brussels at noon on October 24th. After experiencing the immigration queues leaving Brussels a few days before, I was prepared for a long wait at immigration upon arrival. On the British Airways flight to Brussels, I chose a seat near the front, got off the plane and quickly made my way from the plane to the immigration processing centre.
There are 12 self-service immigration kiosks in the arrivals area, but only EU passport holders can use these kiosks. When I arrived, there were nine counters staffed by immigration agents, but two were reserved for EU passport holders who couldn’t use the kiosks, and five were reserved for travelers requiring visas.
This left only two counters for non-EU passport holders who did not require a visa, so queues were long and movement was slow. Even though I believed I was the first person in line on the flight, it still took me 40 minutes to clear immigration. While I was inside, the line got noticeably longer as passengers from my flight and a few others joined the crowd.
As when I left a few days ago, the immigration agent did not collect biometric data or ask questions. Instead, agents appear to have simply used the new computer system and stamped passports. As before, the staff barely flipped through my passport before stamping a page and waving me through.
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Lessons Learned and Advice
The 29 countries using the new immigration system have until April 10 to fully integrate the system. So you never know what you might get when entering or leaving one of these countries between October 12th and April 10th. You may get it before October 12th. 12 systems and experience, you may gain full experience with biometric data collection and problems, or you may face problems somewhere in between.
Therefore, it is impossible to know how long you will have to wait before departure or after arrival. So please don’t make my mistake. Instead, give yourself plenty of time when arriving in or departing from one of the 29 participating countries. And then…well, find a lounge to visit after clearing immigration.
Likewise, please give yourself plenty of time to clear immigration upon arrival. After clearing immigration and customs, I needed to take the hourly train from Brussels Airport to Rotterdam, Netherlands. I could have saved money by buying tickets for specific trains in advance, but I opted for a more expensive flexible ticket that allowed me to take any train that day because I couldn’t predict how long I would have to wait in the immigration queue.
However, it is worth checking your entry and exit point’s social media and website to see if they have any updates or useful information about the entry and exit system. For example, the Amsterdam Airport website states that the immigration system will not be implemented until November 3rd. Luckily, I’m leaving from Amsterdam on November 6th.
Likewise, check to see if anything can be done to speed up the immigration process. For example, if you’re entering or leaving Sweden, consider downloading the Travel Europe mobile app. Hopefully more countries will start using this app to collect data, and I expect it will unlock some shorter queues for travelers who choose to use it.
If you purchase a short-haul connecting flight on a single ticket, the airline may protect you if you miss your connecting flight due to long connecting entry queues. However, if you are using the new immigration system to enter or leave any of the 29 European countries during your layover, I recommend booking a transfer of at least 4 hours to save you the hassle of changing and rebooking if you encounter long queues.
If possible, you might want to hold off on visiting these 29 countries until they perfect their systems. Many countries collect biometric data and passport scans on arrival and departure – including Canada, Singapore and Australia – but queues are thin. I expect that over time the EU entry/exit system will accelerate.
Of course, you may not want to or be able to avoid visiting the Schengen Area anytime soon. For example, there are several events that will take me back to Europe this fall and spring. So, if you must go, give yourself plenty of time.
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bottom line
Bad luck with train cancellations and underestimating the time it would take for immigration out of Brussels almost caused me to miss my transatlantic flight. This would be a costly mistake as I would probably need to buy a new ticket since it was my fault (not the airline’s fault) that I missed the flight.
So while the Schengen Area countries iron out the bugs in their systems, be prepared for immigration to take longer than you expect. And, especially if you’re flying on a wide-body aircraft, consider choosing a seat toward the front of the plane so you can be one of the first passengers on your flight to arrive at the immigration checkpoint.
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