EU’s new Entry/Exit System has had a shaky begin. Right here’s what travellers must know

The EU’s long-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES) for non-EU nationals started being phased in final October.

The gradual scale-up of the biometric border expertise has already skilled teething issues, inflicting vital delays for air, ferry and Eurotunnel passengers.

A survey by Holiday Extras final 12 months discovered that 82 per cent of respondents have been unclear as to how the brand new EES will influence journeys, with 35 per cent unaware that the brand new guidelines come this weekend.

Nearly one in 5 holidaymakers has already modified or cancelled journey plans, with many citing worries about border delays.

If you’re attributable to journey to the EU quickly, this is how one can put together to make the method simpler.

Will the EES be in place in any respect airports this summer season?

The EES is being launched to bolster border safety and determine travellers who overstay their permitted time within the Schengen Area (90 days inside a 180-day interval).

The new system requires Europe’s border crossings to have devoted infrastructure put in, a course of which has proved difficult.

Many airports now have this expertise in place, which implies visa-exempt travellers from the UK, US and different non-EU nations should register their biometric information at devoted kiosks.

Initially, the brink for EU nations to register third-country arrivals was set at solely 10 per cent. From 9 January 2026, this elevated to 35 per cent.

The system is because of grow to be totally operational throughout the EU’s borders in April 2026.

This provides member states flexibility to handle the transition to biometric information assortment based mostly on how their transport hubs are coping.

For travellers, this implies you should still get your passport manually stamped at borders over the subsequent few months.

When will border checks start for Dover, Eurostar and Eurotunnel travellers?

For travellers leaving the UK by way of the Port of Dover, the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone and the Eurostar terminal at London St Pancras, EES registration will happen upon departure, overseen by French border officers.

At each the Port of Dover and the Eurotunnel terminal, solely freight and coach visitors is presently topic to EES checks.

Other visitors, together with the 1000’s of automotive passengers who use the crossings every day, was due to make use of the brand new system from 1 November.

However, port authorities have delayed the introduction of the EES for vacationers till “early 2026“.

As for Eurostar, from 12 October solely enterprise and premium class passengers have been topic to EES checks. For different passengers, they have been attributable to start in January 2026 however look like delayed.

What does the EES imply for travellers?

At borders the place the EES is in place, travellers from UK, US and different non-EU nations might want to scan their passports or different journey paperwork at a self-service kiosk. It won’t apply to authorized EU residents or residents or these with long-stay visas.

The system will register the traveller’s title, biometric information, and the date and place of entry and exit. Facial scans and fingerprint information taken through the first registration are saved within the EES database for 3 years.

During this era, travellers will solely want to supply a fingerprint or picture on the border when coming into and exiting, which shall be matched towards saved information.

Will the EES trigger border delays?

The new border checks are already inflicting complications for passengers, who’ve reported lengthy traces as individuals navigate the processing procedures for the primary time.

In some circumstances, delays have resulted in passengers lacking their flights.

A report printed on the finish of final 12 months from Airport Council International (ACI) Europe discovered that the progressive rollout of the biometric system has resulted in border management processing occasions at airports rising by as much as 70 per cent, with ready occasions of as much as three hours in peak visitors durations.

In December, Lisbon Airport was compelled to droop the EES for 3 months after “serious deficiencies” at border management resulted in extreme ready occasions, which reportedly reached seven hours.

Eurostar will double the variety of cubicles for EES launch

Cross-Channel practice service Eurostar has taken precautions to ease delays on the border.

Facing overcrowding because of the restricted capability of the historic London St Pancras station, it’s permitting passengers to board trains earlier.

Travellers can now take their seats half-hour earlier than departure, as an alternative of ready within the departure lounge.

The operator says the measure will keep away from extra delays for check-in, safety and border checks when the EES system launches, and later for the ETIAS.

Eurostar may also double the variety of border workers and handbook cubicles.

There isn’t area for all the new EES kiosks, as much as 49 from 24, of their regular location, so that they’ll be put in at numerous different locations across the station, presently utilized by each home rail operators and the HS1 service, a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel.

Eurostar has additionally assured passengers that there shall be “specially-trained staff available at all times​” on the new cubicles.

EES shall be adopted by ETIAS in 2026

The EES shall be adopted by the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) in late 2026, with a transitional grace interval of at the very least six months, which means it received’t be necessary till 2027.

This would require non-EU travellers who don’t want a visa to acquire authorisation earlier than coming into the Schengen Area.

This would require you to finish a web-based software, present private particulars, reply safety questions and pay a €20 price. This authorisation shall be linked to the traveller’s passport and shall be legitimate for 3 years or till the passport expires.

Travellers from 60non-EU nations might want to adjust to the ETIAS, however there are some exceptions. The price shall be waived for kids below 18 and adults over 70, though they’ll nonetheless want to use for authorisation.