All you need to know about the new EU border system
The new EU digital border system will start operating on 12 October 2025, after years of delays. The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) will transform the way border checks are carried out on non-EU citizens travelling to the Schengen area for short-term visits.
It will replace the stamping of passports with digital records of travellers, which will be held on an EU-wide database to ensure that visitors do not overstay their visa limit or the 90 days in a 180-day period allowed for visa-exempt citizens.
Gradual introduction
The introduction of the system was delayed several times due to problems with the IT infrastructure that will gather the data from all Schengen countries. The European Commission therefore proposed a gradual implementation, with different border posts going live at different times, to avoid major disruptions.
Only Estonia and Luxembourg will start operating the EES at all border crossings on October 12th. All other countries will have different arrangements.
The Netherlands, for instance, will start at maritime borders. Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport will begin on November 3rd and gradually expand the use of the EES from December. Germany will launch at Düsseldorf Airport. France has installed pre-registration devices at several border crossing points. Italy will operate new checks on October 12th at Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa airports, and at the ports of Genova and Civitavecchia.
The UK will also be affected because of juxtaposed border controls for the Schengen area at the Port of Dover, St. Pancras International station in London and the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone.
The system will have to be fully in place across the Schengen area by 10 April 2026. During the six-month transitional period, manual passport stamping will continue.
Magnus Brunner, EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs said: “The Entry/Exit System is the digital backbone of our new common European migration and asylum framework. With its launch, we are modernising how we manage our external borders. Every person who arrives at an external border will – without exception – undergo identity verification, security screening, and registration in the EU databases. The six-month rollout gives member states, travelers, and businesses time to transition smoothly to the new procedures.”
Digital records
The EES will apply in the 29 countries part of the free from border checks Schengen area. These include EU member states except for Ireland and Cyprus, plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
It will register personal data of short-term non-EU visitors each time they cross an external Schengen border by air, land or sea. At the first crossing into the Schengen area, fingerprints and photos will be taken under the supervision of a border guard. After that, the passports will only be scanned and over time it will be possible for EES travellers to use e-gates, the European Commission confirmed.
EU-wide database
The data, which will include the traveller’s name, date of birth, type of travel document and number, date and place of entry and exit, and any refusals of entry, will be stored for three years on a rolling basis, re-starting at every entry.
The IT infrastructure will allow the central system to communicate with the national ones. These will also be connected with the Visa Information System (VIS), the Schengen Information System (SIS) and the European criminal records information system (ECRIS).
Checks in the UK
The UK faces a unique situation because an international agreement established that checks for France and the EU are operated at the port of Dover, the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London (and for the UK in Calais and at the Eurostar terminals in Paris and Brussels).
The Port of Dover, where extra lanes and a separate area for coaches have been created, will initially start checks on coach travellers. Eurotunnel, the company running the LeShuttle service between Folkestone and Calais, will begin implementing the EES on freight and coach traffic on October 12th, while passenger vehicles “will follow “a few weeks later.” Eurostar will offer frequent travellers to register on a voluntary basis and use the EES for all passengers as of January 12th.
The UK Home Office has announced a campaign to raise awareness about the EES among the British public. A recent survey by Co-op Insurance found that 60% of UK adults are unaware of the introduction of the new system.
Exemptions
Many people will be exempt, however. The EES will not apply to EU citizens and non-EU citizens with resident permits and long-stay visas in Schengen countries. Also exempt are non-EU nationals with a residence card and immediately related to an EU national or to a non-EU national who can travel in Europe like an EU citizen, those in Europe for intra-corporate transfers, research, study, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or au-pairing, as well as cross-border workers.
The group British in Europe has put together guidance on how the EES applies to British citizens living in European countries under the EU withdrawal agreement. The UK and EU governments have urged them to make sure they have the right residence documents to benefit from the exemptions.
Dual nationals will have to travel with their EU passport to avoid the EES registration.
Travel authorisation system (ETIAS) to follow
The EES is free of charge. The decision to launch it in autumn was made to avoid peak traffic times.
In autumn 2026, the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) is expected to be introduced too.
The ETIAS will require people from visa-exempt countries who travel to the Schengen area for short stays to apply for an authorisation before departure. Similar travel authorisations exist in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.
The ETIAS will cost 20 euros, but will be free for people who are under 18 or above 70 years of age, or for family members of EU and Schengen countries nationals.
Pre-registration app
The EU border agency Frontex has developed the ‘Travel to Europe’ mobile app that non-EU visitors could use for EES pre-registration. The app is available for Schengen countries, which will decide on a voluntary basis if and when to use it, and tailor it to their needs.
More information are available here.
Claudia Delpero, Europe Street News © all rights reserved
This article was published on 16 June 2024 and updated on 26 August with the EES launch date. Image by Yong Wang from Pixabay.
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