New border control systems: EES is first to launch

Two new border control systems are due to come into force soon for non-EU citizens visiting the Schengen area.

The first to be deployed will be the European Entry-Exit System (EES), which should start from October 12, 2025. The system is now expected to be gradually ‘phased in’, starting at only some border points or only with a limited number of passengers, and then expanding over six months.

Six months after EES becomes completely operational (so in April 2026) the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) is scheduled to follow. This will be an online application for permission to enter the Schengen area with a fee to be paid.

Note: Neither change should apply to non-EU citizens who live in France or other Schengen states but under-18s who do not have a carte de séjour will need a DCEM (see page 18) to prove they are resident and therefore exempt.

What is EES?

The Entry-Exit System (EES) is an electronic data collection system that will apply to non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for short stays. It includes:

1: Those who hold a short-stay visa (required by some nationalities)

2: Those who are visa-exempt for up to 90 days in any 180-day period

The system will be deployed on both entry and exit to/from the area. Any overstaying of the 90/180 days will automatically be flagged and recorded, as will any previously refused entry.

EES will collect data including name, passport details, fingerprints and a photo (the last two will be taken on entry to the EU or exit if you are already in the Schengen area when the requirement begins) as well as date and place of entry and exit. Photos/prints might not be collected in the first two months of EES. Once a person is in the system, their details will be kept for three years after their last exit from the area, enabling faster future visits. Passport stamps should end after EES is fully operational.

To ease passenger flows, larger airports and Eurostar and Eurotunnel terminals will offer kiosks where travellers can enter some data – including answering short questions about their travel plans – and have a photo and prints taken before they pass to an official’s desk for a final check that they are the person on the passport.

Britons, Americans and many other nationals will be able to avoid this second step after first entry and subsequently use Parafe passport e-gates. Some ferry ports will also have kiosks while others will have helpers with tablet computers to input people’s data.

The same process will be carried out where French checks are completed on UK soil, including outbound to France from Dover and London St Pancras, and on boarding LeShuttle for France.

It is hoped that a solution will also be found so residents with long-stay visas and/or cartes de séjour exempt from EES can move through swiftly.

The launch was put off several times from an original date of May 2022 due to concerns about the readiness of the IT infrastructure and of the ports and airports, and also due to the Paris Olympics. Declarations of readiness for EES have now been provided by France, Germany and the Netherlands, whose insufficient preparation was one reason for the last planned launch date being missed.

The EU has produced an app called Travel to Europe, which should allow users to submit information in advance, however in France it is still undergoing trials and is not yet ready to use here.