‘Phased’ or ‘progressive’ start - what does it mean?

EES was ‘phased in’– what does this refer to and which passengers were affected first?

The EU passed a new law to allow the new EES checks to begin in a ‘progressive’ way. 

This allowed for the scheme to start initially at some Schengen border points and not others and/or for only a certain percentage of passengers at a given border point to be checked.

This plan was worked out after several postponements and amid concerns that some ports and airports reported not having had enough time to prepare and that long queues might form if everyone had to be registered immediately.

There were also concerns over the ability of the central IT systems to cope. If countries opted for this ‘phased-in’ (France is among those that did), it means EES can gradually increase operations so that only after six months will it apply fully at all border points for all relevant passengers. 

This was considered to help towards a ‘soft’ launch, especially if some countries or ports/airports/stations were ready before others. It also allowed time to ease any teething issues.

The start of the ‘phasing in’ (or full operation) was October 12, 2025, and most of France’s border crossing points started a gradual implementation from that date. 

By April 10, 2026 EES was intended to be operational at all of France's borders and for all eligible passengers. 

Even so, contingency measures through the summer of 2026 allowed for (in theory, short and temporary) stoppages of taking and checking biometric data, when long queues built up. 

France and several other countries lobbied the EU to continue with these 'flexibilities' into the autumn, however, there is as yet no official news that this has been confirmed, and it is not provided for in the regulations. 

What happens now? 

In theory, from September 7, 2026 it is intended that the EES should be fully operational with biometrics at all borders, for all passengers.

Long queues are not a reason to skip EES registration.

If the EES system has a technical failure, officials should record the information through backup electronic systems or store it locally and upload it later.

Only if all electronic options fail can officials record passport details manually, omit biometrics and stamp the passport instead, entering the information into EES later.

Normal biometric exceptions remain: children under 12 do not provide fingerprints, while someone temporarily unable to provide fingerprints can have this recorded and provide them on a later crossing.

Where biometrics are required, refusal can result in refusal of entry.