The New Entry/Exit System (EES)

The New Entry/Exit System (EES): A Modern, More Efficient Border Management System for Europe

The new Entry/Exit System (EES) will start operations on 12 October 2025. European countries using the EES will introduce the system gradually at their external borders. This means that data collection will be gradually introduced at border crossing points with full implementation by 10 April 2026. 

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay, each time they cross the external borders of any of the following European countries using the system.

For the purpose of the EES, ‘non-EU national’ means a traveller not holding the nationality of any European Union country or the nationality of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.

‘Short stay’ means up to 90 days within any 180-day period. This period is calculated as a single period for all the European countries using the EES.

Which European countries use the EES?

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Which countries’ nationals must be registered in the EES?

The system applies to you if you are a non-EU national who either:

• need a short-stay visa to travel to the European countries using the EES 

or

• do not need a visa to travel for a short stay in the European countries using the EES

Your entries and exits, or entry refusals will be electronically registered in the EES.

What are the benefits of the EES?

1. Making Border Checks More Modern and Efficient: The EES will gradually replace passport stamps with a digital system that records when travellers enter and exit, making border checks faster and helping staff to work more efficiently.
2. Making Travel Across Borders Easier and Faster: With EES, travellers will spend less time at the border thanks to faster checks, self-service options, and the possibility to give their information in advance.
3. Preventing Irregular Migration: The EES will help track who comes in and out of the Schengen Area, using fingerprint and face data to stop people from overstaying, using fake identities or misusing visa-free travel.
4. Increasing the security in the Schengen Area: The EES will give border officers and law enforcement authorities access to important traveller information, helping them to spot security risks and support the fight against serious crimes and terrorism.

If you arrive at a border crossing point for the first time since the EES started

You will have to provide your personal data. Passport control officers will take a photo of your face and/or scan your fingerprints. This information will be recorded in a digital file.

This process can be quicker if you register some of your data in advance. You can do this by using:

• the dedicated equipment (“self-service system”), if available at your border crossing point; and/or
• a mobile application – if made available by the country of arrival or departure.

In any of the instances above, you will meet a passport control officer.
 

If you have crossed the borders of the European countries using the EES more than once since the EES started

The photo of your face and/or your fingerprints will already be recorded in the EES. The passport control officers will only verify your fingerprints and photo, which will take less time. In rare cases, it may be necessary to collect and record your data again.

If you hold a biometric passport, you will be able to enter more quickly using the self-service system (if available at that border crossing point).

Which data are collected by the EES?

• Personal data from the travel document, such as full name, date of birth, nationality;

• Date and place of each entry to and exit from the 29 European countries using the EES

• Biometric data such as facial image and/or fingerprints;

• Information on refused entry, if applicable.

FAQs about the New Entry/Exit System (EES)

What does progressive start of the EES mean? 

The Entry/Exit System (EES) will be deployed gradually across the external borders of the 29 European countries over a period of 6 months. These European countries will introduce the different elements of the EES in phases, including the collection of biometric data, such as facial image and fingerprints. This means that travellers’ biometric data (facial image and fingerprints) might not be collected at every border crossing point right away, and their personal information may not be registered in the system. Passports will continue to be stamped as usual.  

This progressive implementation will last until 9 April 2026. From 10 April 2026, the EES will be fully operational at all external border crossing points of the European countries using the system. 

Legal base: Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 and Regulation (EU) 2025/1534 

What does the EES do?

The EES applies to you if you are a non-EU national travelling for a short stay to a European country using the EES and you either:

• possess a short-stay visa; or 
• do not need a visa to stay for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period.

Your travel document data and other personal data will be collected, including your entry and exit dates, and will be registered electronically in the system. This procedure will facilitate your border crossing.

If you overstay the period allowed in the European countries using the EES, the system will identify you and record this information. 

In the event that the authorities refuse you entry, the system will also record this information.

The period of 90 days in any 180 days is calculated as a single period for all the European countries using the EES.

What is the purpose of the EES? 

• Modernises border management across the European countries using the system; by electronically registering non-EU nationals’ entries and exits, or entry refusals;
• Makes border checks more efficient, gradually improving the experience for travellers;
• 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.

For most of the non-EU nationals, the EES:

• Provides precise information on the maximum duration of their authorised stays in the territory of all European countries using the EES;
• Replaces the need for passport stamping (unless exceptions apply);
• Gradually reduces waiting times in passport control queues by introducing automated border controls (where available and under the supervision of passport control officers).

The EES also makes it easier to identify people:

• Who have stayed for longer than permitted (overstayers);
• Who are using fake identities or passports;
• Who have no right to enter the European countries using the EES.

As a result, the EES supports the identification of terrorists, criminals, suspects and victims of crimes.

Which biometric identifiers will the EES store?

The EES will store different biometric identifiers depending on whether or not you need a short-stay visa. 

• Do you need a short-stay visa to travel to the European countries using the EES?

In this case, the system will store only your facial image (your fingerprints were already registered when you applied for a visa).

• No need for a visa?

In this case, the system will store 4 of your fingerprints and your facial image.

Currently, the fingerprints of children below 12 years old are not scanned, even if they are subject to the EES.

Why is biometric data stored in the EES?

Biometrics 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. 

Biometrics can increase security in European countries using the EES by:

• preventing children from going missing or becoming victims of trafficking
• reducing the risk of people being wrongfully apprehended and arrested
• helping fight serious crime and terrorism.

Although collecting biometrics can have an impact on travellers’ privacy, the technology used in the EES ensures that people’s fundamental rights are protected.

How does automation ease border crossings for non-EU nationals?

European countries using the EES may decide to further automate their processes.  Automation means that, non-EU nationals are able to benefit from dedicated equipment – a “self-service system”. If available at the border crossing, the self-service system allows you 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, you can go to a border control lane, where the passport control officer will have already received:

• information from the self-service system (including checks against other databases)
• confirmation of your identity
• the remaining duration of your stay

The passport control officer can then ask further questions before deciding to grant or refuse you access to the respective territory. 

The automated border processes, before reaching the passport control officer, will help to gradually reduce queues. Automation replaces time-consuming manual checks. 

What kind of passport do you need to use the self-service system?

You need to have a biometric passport – a passport containing a chip with your biometric information collected from you at the moment you applied for the passport. 
If you do not have a biometric passport, you will not be able to use self-service systems.

Do I need a biometric passport to cross the borders of the European countries using the EES?

No. In principle, both biometric and non-biometric passports will be accepted when crossing the borders, if valid and all the other entry conditions are fulfilled.  

You only need biometric passport if you want to use automated ways to cross the borders (“self-service systems”), which are available at certain border crossing points. 
EU countries generally accept most travel documents, including non-biometric passports.

Will I be refused entry if I do not hold a biometric passport?

No. Your entry will not be, in principle, refused based on this reason, as valid biometric and non-biometric passports are accepted for travelling in the European countries using the EES.

Most travel documents, including non-biometric passports are accepted by the Member States.

Who counts as a family member of EU nationals or of nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland in the EES?

Family members include:

• a spouse, including a spouse of the same sex as clarified by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in its Coman judgment C-673/16;
• a registered partner, if the applicable legislation treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage;
• direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependants, and those of the spouse or registered partner;
• dependent direct relatives in the ascending line, as well as those of the spouse or registered partner.

General EES data retention rules (see section on data retention) and the automated calculator will not apply to you if you meet the following conditions:

1. You are a family member of a European Union citizen and Directive 2004/38/EC applies to you, or a family member of a national of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland who enjoys the right of free movement equivalent to that of EU citizens.

Important: This only concerns family members of citizens of the forementioned countries travelling to or residing in a country other than that of their nationality.

2. You do not hold a residence card pursuant to Directive 2004/38/EC or a residence permit pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002.

Example 1
You are an American citizen, living in New York City. You are 17 years old and the son of a German national. You want to visit your father, who does not live in Germany, but in Spain.
In this case, you will be registered in the EES as a family member. Reduced data retention rules will apply to you, while the automated calculator will not.

Example 2
You are an American citizen, living in New York City. You are married to a French national, and you want to visit them in France, where they live.
In this case, you will be registered in the EES as a regular traveller and not as a family member. The general data retention rules and automated calculator will apply to you.

How does the Entry/Exit System (EES) apply to the Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries and their joining family members?

UK nationals and their family members who are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement will be exempt from registration in the EES only if they hold a specific residence document:

• a valid Withdrawal Agreement residence document issued by the Member State that is their Withdrawal Agreement host State;
• a valid Withdrawal Agreement frontier worker document issued by the Member State that is their Withdrawal Agreement State of work;
• a valid special temporary Withdrawal Agreement residence document issued by the Member State that is their Withdrawal Agreement host State; or
• a certain valid residence permit.

Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries who do not hold any of the above documents will be registered in the EES. They can later ask to have their data deleted or amended in the system if they show that they hold any of the above documents.

Learn about how the EES applies to the Withdrawal agreement Beneficiaries. For more information, check the Guidance documents.

What kind of derogations from thorough border checks do you benefit from as a non-EU national being granted access to a national facilitation programme?

If you have been granted access to a national facilitation programme, the passport control officers in the respective territory may not need to verify:

• Your point of departure and destination
• The purpose of your intended stay and the corresponding supporting documents, if necessary
• Whether you possess sufficient means of subsistence for the duration and purpose of your intended stay, your return to the country of origin, or transit to a third country (or whether you are able to acquire such means lawfully).

How does the EES guarantee that data protection rules, the principle of ‘purpose limitation’ and fundamental rights will be respected?

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ‘purpose limitation’ is a requirement that personal data be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and not be processed further in a manner incompatible with those purposes. The EES complies with this and other data protection principles, such as “data protection by design and data protection by default”, and the requirements of necessity, proportionality, and data quality.

Safeguards are in place to ensure the rights of travellers as regards the protection of their private lives and personal data. Their personal data will only be retained in the EES for as long as necessary and for the purpose(s) for which it was collected.

Read more on biometrics and data held on the EES.

What other EU border management information systems are relevant to non-EU nationals?

In addition to the EES, there are currently 3 main centralised information systems that have been developed by the EU with respect to its borders:

• Schengen Information System (SIS)
• Visa Information System (VIS)
• European Asylum Dactyloscopy Database (EURODAC)

These 3 systems are complementary, and – with the exception of SIS – primarily target non-EU nationals. They also help national authorities fight crime and terrorism.

It is expected that a 4th centralised information system – the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) – will be launched soon after the EES and will concern visa-exempt non-EU nationals. Unlike the Visa Information System (which contains information related to Schengen visas), ETIAS will contain information dealing with travel authorisations for non-EU nationals travelling visa-free to the 30 European countries implementing ETIAS. 

The Entry/Exit System and the abovementioned systems will be part of the interoperability between the EU information systems framework that will further help to correctly identify persons whose data are stored in these IT systems, therefore contributing to combating identity fraud.

What are the obligations on transport carriers for the implementation of the EES?

According to Article 26 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement and Article 13.3 of the Regulation (EU)2017/2226, before boarding transport carriers are obliged to verify that:

• non-EU nationals requiring a short-stay visa have one
• the number of entries authorised by their visa have not been exhausted.

As passport stamping will no longer exist once the EES is operational, carriers must use an online interface to perform these checks instead.
For more information, please check the FAQ in support of carriers

Will the EES affect the rules of short stays for truck drivers in the Schengen area?

The implementation of the EES changes nothing to the rules on short stays: these rules are harmonised in the Schengen Borders Code and allow periods of stay for 90 days in any 180 days. The EES introduces the electronic data registration of third country nationals who cross the external borders within the framework of a short stay, including the date and place of entries and exits. Before the implementation of the EES, those person’s passports were stamped. Passport stamping and electronic registration will coexist during the 6-month progressive period. As of 10 April 2026, when the progressive period ends, the manual stamping of passports will be abolished. At that time the automated calculator and the list of overstayers will start functioning. Excessive stay of over 90 days in any 180 days is subject to EU and national rules.

Truck drivers can be exempted from registration in the EES only in case:

• They apply for and are granted a residence permit in a Member State, allowing them long-term stay in that Member State and free movement within the Schengen area for 90 days within any 180 days. There would be no EES registration upon border crossing.
• Member States’ border guards could give facilitations at border crossing points for truck drivers they recognise as “cross border workers” as defined in the Schengen Borders Code, Annex VII  point 5. In that case, there would only be random checks upon border crossing and no EES registration. The maximum duration of stay of 90/180 days in the Schengen area continues to apply.

What happens if a third country national is stopped and it’s established that he/she stayed more than 90 days?

The person who is illegally staying in the Schengen area must be subjected to return procedures in accordance with the Return Directive 2008/115. As a general rule, preference will be given to voluntary departure.

Can a person who has overstayed in the Schengen area and was returned, travel again in the Schengen area? Does he/she get a “black stamp” in his passport? Does he/she get an SIS entry, etc.

Return decisions under the Return Directive 2008/115 shall be accompanied by an entry ban in certain cases (where no period for voluntary departure has been granted, or if the obligation to return has not been complied with), and in other cases an entry ban may be issued. Both entry bans and return decisions will be entered into the SIS. The length of the entry ban shall be determined with due regard to all relevant circumstances of the individual case and shall not in principle exceed five years. 

What happens if a person who has already stayed in the Schengen area for 90 within 180 days tries to enter again?

The person will be refused entry at the border. Also, the data on refusal of entry shall be registered in the EES or, where the person is not subject to EES registration, a cancelled entry stamp shall be affixed in the passport.

More info at https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees