On 12 October 2025, the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) came into partial operation. The EES will be fully introduced and applied at all Schengen borders over the next six months with the intention that it will be fully operational by 10 April 2026.
This blog has been produced to support MSPs who may receive questions from their constituents.
What is the Entry/Exit System?
The EES will apply to all non-EU nationals who travel to the 25 EU member states (Ireland and Cyprus are not included), Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein who make up the Schengen area for a short stay.
For those non-EU nationals who don’t require a visa arriving at the Schengen border (for the first time following the introduction of the EES), the EES will collect and store the following data:
- Data listed in your travel document(s) (e.g. full name, date of birth, etc.).
- Date and place of each entry and exit.
- 4 fingerprints and a facial image. For those arriving from countries that mean they require a visa, the EES will store on a facial image as fingerprints were taken at the visa application stage.
- Whether you were refused entry.
The personal data will be held for 3 years and one day which starts on the date of a person’s last exit.
If a person refuses to provide biometric data, they will be refused entry to the Schengen area.
Why has the EES been introduced?
The European Union has introduced the EES to “modernise” border management by “electronically registering non-EU nationals’ entries and exits, or entry refusals”.
Once the system is fully introduced and travellers are electronically registered the intention is that the necessary border checks should become quicker. In addition, the European Commission has suggested that the EES:
- Effectively combats identity fraud by collecting biometric data.
- Improves security within the EU.
- Helps combat terrorism and serious organised crime by acting as an identity verification tool.
The European Commission has argued that collecting biometric data are a reliable method of:
- Accurately identifying people – significantly reducing cases of mistaken identity, discrimination or racial profiling.
- Identifying undocumented travellers already present in the territory of the Schengen Area (irregular migrants).
- Matching entry and exit data for ‘bona fide’ travellers.
Will this apply to UK nationals?
Yes, because the UK is no longer an EU member state, the EES procedure will apply to UK nationals when they arrive in the Schengen area. As UK nationals don’t require a visa for short stay visits (up to a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period) to the Schengen area, the EES will store 4 fingerprints and a facial image.
Whilst Ireland is not a Schengen area member, Irish nationals, as EU citizens will not be subject to the EES procedure.
For UK nationals who are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU, they will be exempt from registration in the EES only if they hold a specific residence document.
Will registering for the EES be complicated?
According to the European Commission, for those with biometric passports, there may be dedicated equipment – a “self-service system” which would allow a person to:
- Register when crossing the border,
- check if your data is still recorded in the EES and, if no data is present,
- upload them for subsequent verification by a passport control officer.
After using the self-service system, a person can go to a border control lane, where the passport control officer will have already received the relevant information. According to the Commission:
“The automated border processes, before reaching the passport control officer, will help to gradually reduce queues. Automation replaces time-consuming manual checks.”
However, initially all non-EU nationals will need to provide their biometric details which is likely to lead to delays. And in cases where a self-service system isn’t available the information will need to be provided at the passport control officer’s desk.
For future visits to Schengen, which fall within three years of the previous visit, UK nationals should need only to present their passport to a passport control officer or use an e-gate. From April 2026, when the EES is fully operational it is likely that UK nationals will be able to use e-gates at the Schengen border.
Phasing in – where and when?
Estonia has confirmed it will be the first Schengen country to fully implement the EES system at all its external border control posts on 12 October 2025. Other Schengen countries have indicated they plan to phase in EES application.
Travellers to Schengen may not immediately see these new arrangements in place due to the phasing in of the EES, but by April 2026 all non-EU citizens travelling to the Schengen area will be required to comply with the EES requirements.
EES operation in the UK
Because the UK Government has an agreement with France allowing French border authorities to operate border checks at the Port of Dover and Eurostar and Eurotunnel terminals in the UK, the EES will operate in the UK.
From the beginning of the scheme on 12 October 2025, the French authorities will phase in the EES at its UK based borders.
Will there be disruption?
The Road Haulage Association prepared guidance for its members on the EES. In response to the question will the EES cause disruption, the RHA wrote:
“EES registration should only take around one to two minutes for each person to do, but they may lead to longer wait times at Border Control upon arrival in the Schengen area.
These are likely to vary from location to location and will depend on traveller volumes and processing capacities at ports.
At the juxtaposed border controls [Dover, St Pancras and Folkestone], registration will take a few minutes per passenger, prior to leaving the UK. This may lead to longer waits at busy times.”
An issue for UK tourists or businesspersons travelling to the EU may be the queues they face when arriving at Schengen area airports; Until the EES is introduced it is unclear whether delays will materialise and how long they might be for non-EU citizens. However, UK Government guidance on the introduction of the EES states:
“Whilst checks should only take 1-2 minutes for each person, they may lead to longer wait times at border control upon arrival in the Schengen area. At the juxtaposed ports, where checks are completed in the UK, prior to departure, there may be longer waits at busy times. Eurotunnel, Eurostar and the Port of Dover have plans in place to minimise disruption as much as possible.”
European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS)
The new EES is not to be confused with the European Travel Information and Authorization System which is due to be introduced in the last quarter of 2026.
The ETIAS will be a travel authorisation for non-EU citizens who don’t require a visa to visit the Schengen area. It will operate in a similar way to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) which is required to visit the United States for those non-US nationals who do not require a visa.
The process will be through an online application which will cost €20 for each application. Applicants who are under 18 or above 70 years of age will be exempt from the payment.
Iain McIver, SPICe Research