The Entry/Exit System (EES) is set to launch on 12th October 2025, requiring all non-EU citizens to register their personal information—including fingerprints and facial images—upon their first entry into the Schengen area, which covers all EU countries except Ireland and Cyprus, as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.
Data collection will be phased in at border crossings, with full implementation expected by 10th April 2026, ensuring smooth processing without long queues.
This electronic system will replace the manual stamping of passports at the EU’s external borders, creating digital records that link each travel document to an individual using biometric data.
The EU aims to modernise border management, prevent illegal migration, combat identity fraud, and track overstayers. It will verify that visa-free travellers adhere to the 90-day limit within any 180-day period.
It will monitor whether people who are travelling to the bloc without a visa are sticking to its up-to-90 days stay within any 180-day period rule.
Anyone arriving in the Schengen area for the first time will have to scan their passports, register their fingerprints and provide a facial scan. On departure, travellers’ details will be checked against the EES database to confirm compliance with existing rules on time limits of stay and register departure.
Subsequent journeys will only require facial biometric verification. Children under 12 will need to be registered under EES but will just have their photograph taken.
(Inputs from WAM)
