Germany Joins Spain, Italy, Romania, Greece, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands And More As Eu’s High-tech Travel Entry/exit System Sparks Urgent Warning For Uk Tourists

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

The EU’s New Entry/Exit System Set to Launch successful October: What UK Tourists Need to Know arsenic Passport Stamps Become a Thing of nan Past

Starting this October, nan European Union will rotation retired its Entry/Exit System (EES), a integer separator power inaugural that will destruct nan request for manual passport stamping. This alteration will straight effect UK travelers visiting EU countries, introducing automated checks and biometric information postulation astatine borders.

A sweeping translator of EU separator controls has received nan greenish ray from nan European Parliament, paving nan measurement for awesome changes that will impact British holidaymakers. In conscionable 3 months, starting October, nan caller Entry/Exit System (EES) will officially return complete from accepted passport stamping, introducing a afloat integer process astatine airports crossed Europe.

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is simply a caller integer level designed to show non-EU travellers—such arsenic those from nan UK—whenever they participate aliases exit immoderate of nan 29 countries successful nan Schengen Zone. This covers immoderate of nan astir celebrated European vacation destinations for UK travellers, including Italy, Greece, Spain, and France. The strategy will seizure and shop biometric data, including facial scans and fingerprints, for enhanced separator information and tracking.

Instead of manual passport stamping, nan Entry/Exit System (EES) will digitally log specifications from each traveller’s passport aliases recreation document, including nan clip and location of some introduction and exit wrong participating European countries. Travellers won’t request to complete immoderate steps successful advance, arsenic nan registration process will hap automatically astatine nan outer borders upon arrival.

Despite its technological advancements, nan Entry/Exit System (EES) has prompted concerns among separator power authorities, who fearfulness it whitethorn origin accrued hold times for passengers. Travel manufacture analysts be aware that erstwhile nan strategy is rolled out, visitors could acquisition importantly longer processing times astatine migration checkpoints upon presence astatine their European destinations.

Travellers heading to Schengen countries are being urged to let further clip for their journeys erstwhile nan Entry/Exit System (EES) goes live. Official guidance warns that passengers whitethorn brushwood extended queues astatine separator power upon presence owed to nan caller processing requirements.

Many travellers whitethorn besides beryllium alert of ETIAS—the European Travel Information and Authorisation System—which is simply a wholly abstracted request from nan EES. Once implemented, British nationals will request an approved ETIAS recreation authorization to participate 30 European countries. Unlike nan EES, which requires nary anterior steps earlier departure and registers travellers astatine nan border, ETIAS must beryllium applied for online earlier mounting off. The ETIAS is electronically linked to your passport and is expected to beryllium rolled retired astir six months aft nan EES, pinch some systems designed to heighten separator information and streamline recreation monitoring crossed Europe.

When applying for an ETIAS recreation authorisation, individuals will request to taxable a scope of individual details, including their location address, passport information, existent employment status, and immoderate history of recreation to conflict areas aliases anterior criminal convictions. However, nan ETIAS exertion does not impact collecting immoderate biometric accusation for illustration fingerprinting aliases facial nickname data.

What to Expect When nan EES Takes Effect

Once nan Entry/Exit System (EES) is implemented, travellers arriving astatine an outer Schengen separator for nan first clip nether nan caller strategy will acquisition a biometric registration process. Border officials will cod information specified arsenic facial images aliases fingerprint scans, which will past beryllium stored successful a unafraid integer record.

Travellers entering for short stays—up to 90 days wrong immoderate 180-day period—will besides person written accusation explaining really nan EES works, on pinch their authorities regarding nan handling and retention of individual data. If a traveller declines to supply nan basal biometric information, they will beryllium refused introduction into immoderate European federation enforcing nan EES system.

Which Countries Will Use nan Entry/Exit System (EES)?

The caller Entry/Exit System (EES) will beryllium implemented crossed 29 European nations, each of which are portion of nan Schengen Area aliases associated pinch it. These are nan aforesaid countries that will require an ETIAS recreation authorization, pinch 1 exception—Cyprus, which plans to adopt ETIAS but will not participate successful nan EES astatine launch.

Here is nan afloat lineup of nations wherever nan Entry/Exit System (EES) will beryllium implemented:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

Travellers heading to immoderate of these destinations should beryllium prepared for nan caller integer separator checks erstwhile nan EES goes into effect.