Why was passport stamped when entering France?

Reader Question: I have been to visit my second home in the south of France twice in the past few weeks, and both times my passport was stamped when I came through the border controls. I thought the new EES system meant the end of stamping? 

You are correct that passport stamping is set to end for visitors to the EU, as the new Entry/Exit System (EES) digitises several aspects of border security for the bloc. 

Visitors will be tracked digitally through their passport and the information they give when registering for EES upon their first entry (or when they must re-register).

While border officials will still be able to check passports, manual ‘stamps’ will no longer be needed to track when a person entered and exited the bloc, as this information will be stored digitally and accessible via passport scans.

System still being rolled out

EES rollout began on October 12, however there is an initial six-month period where the system is gradually being phased in throughout Europe, with increasingly more border points and categories of traveller concerned.

At several entrypoints, systems are either not yet in use or can be temporarily switched off in the case of lengthy queues. 

The system will not be fully in place until April 10, 2026, and while it beds it passport stamping is expected to remain in widespread use. 

Only after this date is it expected to end completely.

In fact the EU regulation implementing the phased start, says: “Considering that the data recorded in the EES during the progressive start of operations of the EES might be incomplete, the travel documents of third-country nationals should be stamped systematically on entry and exit during that period.” 

It also says that border guards will be checking for EES data, but that in its absence they will continue to rely on passport stamps during the phase-in period. 

For travellers to France, EES implementation is currently still patchy. For example, it is still not yet in use for people in cars coming via the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel, and EES pre-registration kiosks have been out of action in airports due to technical difficulties (though these are hoped to be shortly resolved). 

If your passport is manually stamped upon arrival, therefore, there is nothing to be concerned about.

For those who have registered for EES on a visit to the EU since October 12, you can read about how subsequent arrivals are expected to work in our article here.