How the new border controls work

The Entry/Exit System is a new electronic information collection system relating to visitors travelling to a Schengen country or countries for a short stay who are not EU nor EEA nor Swiss nationals and who do not live in the EU. 

It launched with a six-month ‘phase-in’ period starting on Sunday October 12, 2025. 

EES applies both to people who have a short-stay visa (required by some nationalities, such as Russians and Chinese people, for any visit) as well as those who are visa-exempt for a stay of 90/180 days, for example, Americans, Canadians, Britons etc. 

It is the nationality of the traveller that counts, not their point of travel departure. The European Commission first proposed the scheme in 2013 but a series of technical issues caused postponements. 

The system is deployed at Schengen entry and exit points (this does not include Ireland), but not on internal Schengen trips, such as between France and Spain. Any overstaying of the permitted 90/180 days is automatically tracked and flagged up by an automated calculator integrated in the system as is any previously refused entry. 

After the initial six months of phasing in it will be possible to track your remaining days at the EU’s main EES site and at pre-registration kiosks at some entry points. The online tool will say if your intended entry is ‘OK’ or ‘not OK’ and how many days you will be able to stay. 

You will need your passport and the three-letter code from it of the country that issued it (eg. CAN for Canada or GBR for the UK). 

EES collects and stores: 

• All the data from your passport (full name, date of birth etc)

• The date and place of each entry into or exit from the Schengen area

• A facial image and, apart from short stay visa holders who will already have provided them, a scan of the fingerprints of the right hand

There are no new physical documents to provide and no fee. EES applies to people of all ages, including babies, although under-12s do not have their fingerprints taken. 

Once a person is entered in the system, their details are kept for at least three years which should make future visits faster. The EU says that EES will modernise its borders as well as enhance security and the monitoring of who is in the zone.