The European Union’s new Entry/Exit System

Automated collection of entry and exit data

(2 October 2025)

The new Entry/Exit System (EES) is an automated IT system that records the entry and exit of travelers from non-Schengen countries at the external borders of the Schengen Area. The fully automated EES replaces the time-consuming manual stamping of passports and simplifies the border control process.

The EES will take effect on 12 October 2025. The system will gradually be implemented at the external borders of those European countries using the EES*. Data collection will therefore be gradually introduced at the border crossing points. Full implementation will take place by 10 April 2026.

More information about the Entry/Exit System (EES) is also available on the European Union’s website.

More about the EES

Female hand holding personal passport scanning at the self service checkin counter for get boarding pass at the airport terminal.

^{1 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Important: there is, as yet, no EES in Cyprus and Ireland. Travelers’ passports are still being manually stamped.}

The Entry/Exit System (EES) applies to travelers who are not nationals of a European Union country or of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland (“third-country nationals”)² and who either:

require a short-stay visa to travel to the European countries using the EES, or
do not need a visa for a short stay of up to 90 days within any 180-day period in the Schengen Area.

Good to know: Entry into the Schengen Area always takes place at the first airport of arrival, even if a connecting flight within Europe follows. Exit is always recorded at the last airport before leaving the Schengen Area.

^{2 Third-country nationals: travelers who do not hold the nationality of a country in the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) or the nationality of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland.}

Passengers should ensure that they have all the necessary travel documents with them, including a valid biometric passport, and inform themselves about the current entry requirements.

How the Entry/Exit System’s registration process works

1

Travelers with a biometric passport scan their data themselves at a self-service system. A machine-readable biometric identity document is a prerequisite.

2

These self-service systems capture biometric data (facial images and fingerprints) together with the traveler’s name, passport details and their place of entry into and exit from the Schengen Area.

3

The route to the actual border control is signposted. The recorded data will be checked there. If there are no reasons for refusal, border control allows travelers to enter/exit. This, in turn, is stored in the EES.

Smart Borders Program from 2026 – ETIAS

In addition to the Entry/Exit System (EES), ETIAS will also soon be established. ETIAS stands for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System. From the end of 2026, visa-exempt non-EU nationals (e.g. from the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan) must apply for an ETIAS authorization – a new electronic travel authorization – before entering the European Schengen Area. Currently, travelers do not need to take any action. Details will be published closer to the start date.

Further information can already be found on the European Union’s website.

More about ETIAS