Travelers in certain European countries will soon go through a new border control process as Europe’s long-awaited new entry/exit system (EES) will begin launching this fall. The launch of the system will use biometric data to register access to non-EU travelers, which has been delayed several times as it was initially expected to begin in 2021.
For all non-EU nationals, EES is mandatory and you cannot choose to capture biometric data. If you refuse, you will be denied entry.
What is EES?
EES is an automated information technology system designed to register non-EU nationals traveling in any of the 29 countries using the system. All European countries using EES, “short stay” is defined as a maximum of 90 days in a time period of up to 180 days. One of the main functions of the system is to identify those who have overdue allocated time.
According to the EU’s official website, “EES enables border management by improving the efficiency and quality of the process at the border. This also simplifies travel and makes it safer.”
The countries using the system are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lechtonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Malta, New York City, Northwestern, Novi, Poland, spen, spen and spen and spen and spen and portugal and rovean and slof and slof and slof and slof and slof and slof and romania, spen and romania, spen, romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and romania and
The EES countries include 25 of the 27 EU member states, with only Cyprus and Ireland not participating. These countries will continue to implement manual border passport checks. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are non-EU countries, but they are members of the Schengen region and comply with short-term rules.
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When will it start?
The system will be launched in phases within six months. Starting from October 12, 2025, data collection will be gradually introduced at border crossings. It is expected to be fully implemented by April 10, 2026.
During the launch period, travelers may not collect their biometric data at every crossing point at each border or at the system, and their passports will continue to be stamped as usual.
How will American travelers be affected
When you first arrive at the border crossing point after the start of EES, you will have to provide your personal data from your passport, including your full name and date of birth. Passport Controllers will scan your four fingerprints and/or take photos of your face to store them in digital files, called biometric matching services. Children under 12 years of age will not scan their fingerprints.
While Traveler navigates the new system, it is not clear whether the rollout will cause longer waiting times for the boundaries. If you are going to have one in the country, you can pre-register with some data from the self-service system. You still need to see the passport control officer.
EES will track the date and location of each entry and whether entry has been denied. The entry, exit and rejected records will be kept for three years and will be automatically deleted. Travelers can ask for access to their data, request corrections and request that their data be deleted.
Bottom line
EES is not the only change in European travel. The European Travel Information and Authorization System is still expected to be implemented for visa-free travelers in the last quarter of 2026. However, the application fee just announced will now be 20 euros (about $23), an increase from the initially announced 7 euros (about $8).
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