Why France’s EES border checks are increasing

Many more travellers are undergoing fingerprinting and facial scans at France’s borders as the EU’s new Entry/Exit System increases in intensity.

From January 9 this year, at least 35% of non-EU passengers must be registered under the scheme, more than triple the previous requirement. The threshold will rise to 100% on April 10.

The acceleration of the EES is the result of deadlines linked to the ‘phased rollout’. 

The EES is designed to modernise border controls across the 29-country Schengen Area, gradually replacing manual passport stamping for short-stay non-EU visitors with a digital record of entries and exits, combining passport data with fingerprints and facial images. 

The system is intended to identify overstayers, detect identity fraud and strengthen security, while eventually speeding up border checks.

Non-EU citizens with visas and residency cards for the Schengen area are exempt from EES controls.

EES is to be followed by Etias, which will act as a fee-based travel authorisation for travellers who benefit from visa-free short-stay access to the EU. This includes Americans and Britons. Etias is designed to work in conjunction with EES, however full details will be revealed closer to the launch date, currently expected in the last quarter of 2026.

10% - 35% - 100% deadlines

During EES’s first phase, which began on October 12, 2025, border authorities were required to register a minimum of 10% of eligible travellers nationally. 

That initial period has now expired. Under EU rules agreed by the Council and European Parliament, the three-month mark triggers a sharp increase to at least 35% of passengers nationally.

In theory this should mean 35% of visitors from outside the Schengen area, over the age of 12, and without a visa or residency card, must now provide biometric data including facial scans and fingerprints at the Schengen border.

Those who undergo the process should no longer require a passport stamp on future visits to the EU. 

However, the EU-wide rollout has not been smooth. Faulty kiosks, software problems and staff shortages have slowed the process of capturing passenger data. 

In France, the issues have largely been confined to the Paris airports, and especially Charles de Gaulle, however, airport body ACI Europe said that several other French airports have reported issues with EES pre-registration kiosks and the use of Parafe passport e-gates.

Under interior ministry plans, France’s Parafe gates were supposed to be compatible with the EES, however the e-gates appear to be closed at present.

A legal expert for Union des Aéroports Français (UAF) told The Connexion in December 2025 that “IT developments are still underway and have proved more complicated than expected”.

At the Port of Dover, the planned introduction of EES checks for car passengers was postponed before it began and is due to be implemented “in early 2026”. French authorities are responsible for operating EES controls at Dover and at Eurostar terminals.

Where the system has been activated, queues have lengthened. At several Spanish airports, including Malaga and Alicante, travellers have reported waits of several hours. 

In Portugal, authorities temporarily reverted to manual passport stamping at Lisbon Airport after biometric checks caused severe congestion.

‘EES clearly struggling’

Airport operators say the impact is already significant. Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, has warned that border processing times have increased by up to 70% where EES is in use - including in Paris airports - with waiting times reaching three hours at peak periods.

He told The Telegraph that the EES was “clearly struggling”.

“This is wreaking significant discomfort on travellers and creating operational disruptions for airports,” Mr Jankovec said. 

The move to increase the threshold to 35% is likely to amplify those pressures.

While border authorities retain the power to suspend EES checks temporarily in certain circumstances, such as exceptionally long queues, that flexibility becomes harder to exercise as the proportion of passengers requiring registration rises.

The final phase of the rollout is scheduled for April 10, when 100% of eligible non-EU travellers must be registered under the EES. By that point, all manual passport stamping for short stays is due to end.

Whether that deadline will hold remains uncertain. The EES has already been postponed repeatedly, and transport operators are vocal about the risk of serious disruption, particularly ahead of the summer travel season.

Have you undergone processing by EES border controls when travelling by ferry, train or plane? Share your experience of the system at feedback@connexionfrance.com