Italy, France, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Belgium, Hungary, Norway, Poland And More Join Twenty-nine Countries Moving Toward Electronic Borders, With The Uk Also Implementing New Rules

Published on August 7, 2025 |

By: TTW News Desk

Italy, France, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Belgium, Hungary, Norway, Poland, and nan United Kingdom, on pinch 18 different European nations, are group to destruct accepted passport stamps arsenic they adopt caller biometric and physics separator systems. This modulation intends to modernize separator controls by replacing beingness stamping pinch automated integer search of travelers’ biometric data, improving information and speeding up processing times, signaling a awesome alteration successful nan early of world recreation crossed Europe.

Passport stamps, agelong regarded arsenic cherished souvenirs and impervious of world adventures, are connected nan brink of disappearing crossed Europe. This translator is driven by nan European Union’s determination to instrumentality a state-of-the-art biometric separator power strategy crossed 29 personnel countries, marking a awesome displacement from nan accepted paper-based migration process to a afloat digitalized introduction and exit procedure.

For decades, travelers crossing world borders wrong Europe and beyond person enjoyed nan ritual of having their passports physically stamped by migration officers. These stamps often served arsenic tangible keepsakes, capturing memories of journeys to different countries and regions. However, this acquisition is now group to go a relic of nan past pinch nan rollout of nan EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES), a biometric and physics separator guidance strategy designed to streamline recreation and heighten information crossed nan Schengen Area and different participating nations.

The EES task has faced aggregate delays complete nan years but is now slated to commence connected October 12, pinch afloat implementation expected by April 10, 2026. The modulation to this caller strategy will hap successful phases to guarantee soft take and minimal disruption for travelers and separator authorities alike.

Under nan EES, non-EU citizens visiting nan EU for short stays — typically up to 90 days wrong a 180-day play — will nary longer person a accepted ink stamp successful their passports. Instead, their presence and departure will beryllium recorded electronically done biometric information capture, including facial images and fingerprints. This information is linked pinch recreation archive specifications and nan precise dates and locations of separator crossings.

The superior goals of nan EES are to modernize separator management, trim forbidden overstays, and bolster information by enabling authorities to accurately way introduction and exit times of travelers. This strategy will besides facilitate faster separator checks by automating information postulation and verification, helping to trim queues and processing times astatine airports, onshore crossings, and seaports.

The 29 European countries preparing to merge this biometric separator power strategy are:

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

Many of these countries are portion of nan Schengen Area, a area of passport-free recreation wrong overmuch of Europe. The EES strategy complements nan existing Schengen model by digitally search entries and exits without needing to physically stamp passports, preserving nan rule of free activity for EU citizens while managing and monitoring non-EU visitors much effectively.

Europe is not unsocial successful embracing integer translator astatine its borders. The United Kingdom, which is nary longer an EU member, introduced its ain physics recreation authorization strategy successful January. Known arsenic nan Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), this strategy requires travelers from visa-exempt countries to get an online licence earlier arriving successful nan UK. The ETA collects basal individual information, including name, day of birth, passport number, and recreation itinerary, alongside a processing interest of astir \$22.

This pre-authorization process enables UK separator officials to execute information screenings successful advance, allowing them to place imaginable risks earlier travelers arrive. By conducting these checks beforehand, nan UK intends to amended separator information while expediting nan introduction process, minimizing hold times and enhancing nan wide recreation experience.

Similarly, nan United States has been advancing biometric exertion to amended airdrome information and separator management. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has expanded nan usage of facial nickname systems successful airports nationwide. Programs for illustration Clear Plus let travelers to velocity done information checkpoints utilizing fingerprint, iris, aliases facial scans alternatively of accepted recognition methods. These biometric devices are designed to summation information efficiency, trim beingness contact, and streamline rider flows.

Globally, nan move distant from beingness passport stamps is becoming a communal trend. Countries specified arsenic Australia ceased stamping passports backmost successful 2012, opting alternatively for physics record-keeping of entries and exits. Other awesome world destinations for illustration Hong Kong, Singapore, and Argentina person already transitioned to physics systems that destruct nan request for beingness stamps.

In nan United States, nan usage of accepted passport stamping has besides been decreasing steadily. According to investigation from Harvard University, U.S. migration authorities are progressively phasing retired nan believe arsenic integer search and biometric recognition technologies go much prevalent and reliable. This world displacement reflects broader changes successful world travel, focusing connected enhancing security, expanding efficiency, and leveraging technological advancements.

While immoderate travelers whitethorn consciousness nostalgic for nan beingness passport stamps that erstwhile chronicled their journeys, nan integer translator of separator controls promises important benefits. By reducing nan request for manual checks and insubstantial documentation, countries tin amended allocate resources, amended nan accuracy of migration data, and heighten information measures. Automated biometric systems are besides expected to support governments successful combating forbidden migration and overstays by providing precise, real-time accusation connected travelers’ movements.

However, nan preamble of biometric separator systems besides raises important questions astir privateness and information security. Storing delicate individual accusation specified arsenic facial images and fingerprints requires stringent safeguards to forestall misuse aliases breaches. European authorities person emphasized that nan EES complies pinch information protection regulations for illustration nan EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), aiming to equilibrium information needs pinch respect for individual rights.

For travelers, nan displacement intends adapting to caller processes. Instead of receiving a stamped passport, visitors will person their biometric information collected during separator power checks. While this whitethorn region a beingness keepsake, it should besides consequence successful quicker and smoother transition done borders successful nan agelong run.

Italy, France, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Belgium, Hungary, Norway, Poland, and nan UK are among 29 countries group to switch accepted passport stamps pinch precocious biometric separator systems, modernizing recreation crossed Europe.

In summary, nan disappearance of passport stamps successful Europe marks nan extremity of an era and nan opening of a caller section successful separator management. The European Union’s take of nan biometric Entry/Exit System is simply a awesome measurement toward digitizing travel, enhancing security, and modernizing really countries show cross-border movement. This improvement aligns pinch world trends arsenic much nations clasp technology-driven solutions to meet nan evolving challenges of world recreation and information successful nan 21st century.