EU Introduces Automated Entry-Exit System for Non-EU Travellers
Starting 12 October 2025, non-European Union citizens visiting the Schengen zone will need to use a new automated biometric system for border checks. The Entry/Exit System (EES) is being introduced across 29 Schengen countries and is expected to be fully operational by 10 April 2026.
The EES will track short-stay entries and exits for travellers who do not hold EU, Icelandic, Liechtenstein, Norwegian, or Swiss nationality. This includes citizens from countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, even if they normally do not require a visa for short stays. The system will not apply to residents of Ireland or Cyprus, certain special passport holders, or individuals on specific long-term permits or privileges.
At airports, train stations, or bus terminals, non-EU travellers will have their personal and biometric data, including facial images and fingerprints, recorded upon entry. Children under 12 are exempt from fingerprinting. Once recorded, a traveller’s data will be used to verify subsequent entries, with biometric information stored for three years, or five years in case of overstays.
The EU Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems (eu-LISA) will manage EES. Frontex, the bloc’s border agency, has also launched an EES app allowing travellers to pre-register their details, reducing queues at entry points. Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Hungary, and Greece are among the countries considering using the app, with Sweden confirming its use at selected airports.
The system aims to improve border efficiency, reduce identity fraud, and prevent visa overstays, while ensuring free movement within the Schengen zone remains intact. Asylum seekers’ data will continue to be processed under the separate Eurodac system, though experts caution about potential privacy and access concerns if EES usage expands.
Privacy protections are governed by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and access to traveller data will be limited to border, visa, immigration, law enforcement authorities, Europol, and transport companies reporting overstays. In special cases, data may be shared internationally.
The EES will eventually complement a new visa waiver system, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), for citizens of countries exempt from short-stay visas. Applicants will pay a 20-euro fee, with certain groups exempt, and approved waivers will be valid for three years or until the travel document expires. ETIAS waivers, however, will not guarantee entry, as border officials retain the authority to verify eligibility.
