Introduction of European Entry-Exit Scheme (EES)

[TheSmiths82]

I went through yesterday.
No registration, no fingerprinting no passport stamping - just the e-gates.
Through in 5 mins from check in to getting to the waiting area.

What time was that? I walked through St Pancras on Sunday to kill some time and the que to get into the Eurostar was all the way back to near where the Wetherspoons spoons is. I remember thinking I am glad I didn't go to Europe this summer although I do miss it and will hopefully go next year. It doesn't help that I can't get time off during term time.

 

[Peterthegreat]

What time was that? I walked through St Pancras on Sunday to kill some time and the que to get into the Eurostar was all the way back to near where the Wetherspoons spoons is. I remember thinking I am glad I didn't go to Europe this summer although I do miss it and will hopefully go next year. It doesn't help that I can't get time off during term time.

15.01 to Amsterdam.
I arrived about 14.00 queues moving smoothly.

 

[TheSmiths82]

I think I walked through about 11:30-11:45 (I can't remember the exact time) and that is when it was rammed. It is good to know it quietened down. I am tempted to get the first train out next time although I always like to make the most of my stay in London and if I had to be up at 4:00am I wouldn't be able to that. I did once sleep in St Pancras but I am too old for that now!

 

[lokiavivson]

I think I walked through about 11:30-11:45 (I can't remember the exact time) and that is when it was rammed. It is good to know it quietened down. I am tempted to get the first train out next time although I always like to make the most of my stay in London and if I had to be up at 4:00am I wouldn't be able to that. I did once sleep in St Pancras but I am too old for that now!

I've been on the first train last Tuesday and it only took 10 mins to get through!

 

[Mag_seven]

I went through Hanover airport in and out recently - passport stamp and fingerprints scanned at a manned booth in both directions. Machines not in use.

 

[island]

Then we need to change the regime for EU passport holders arriving here. Make them go through manual controls rather than e-gates, or put them all in a holding area for 90 minutes before going through the e-gates.

This should have been done after U.K. admission to Schengen was changed after Brexit.

Whilst I think it would be very satisfying to do so, particularly if named the EES Reciprocity Scheme, I fear it may be unlikely to achieve anything meaningful.

And many UK Ports of Entry don't have enough space for the resultant queues.

I recently entered the EU through Amsterdam Airport where all machines were turned off, including for EU citizens, and EES was not in use. On exit at the same airport there were e-gates for adults with EU and selected non-EU passports. No EES either. I subsequently entered the EU through St Pancras with e-gates operating for adults with EU and selected non-EU passports, and no EES, and departed through Brussels M/Z where there were no e-gates for anyone and EES was being performed at the passport control desks for those who were in-scope.

 

[fandroid]

I travel regularly to/from Germany and I'm still totally confused. I registered for their EasyPass scheme and use the e-gates if they're functioning. But I've had such a mix of experiences that I carry a written record of every Schengen entry/exit as well as keeping an app. up to date which calculates how many of the 90 out of 180 days I have used up.

From the last 3 visits I've received a total of two exit stamps in my passport and had biometrics checked twice. Sometimes the e-gates tell me to visit a human in a kiosk, after passing through the gate, sometimes they just let me through.

If the main purpose is to register all entries and exits then I cannot understand why the scanning of the passport isn't sufficient to provide the data needed, and all passport stamping should have ceased back in April.

 

[RT4038]

.

If the main purpose is to register all entries and exits then I cannot understand why the scanning of the passport isn't sufficient to provide the data needed, and all passport stamping should have ceased back in April.

It is also a main purpose to check that the person presenting the passport is the same person to whom the passport is issued. Hence the biometric information, facial recognition, fingerprints.

 

[The exile]

It is also a main purpose to check that the person presenting the passport is the same person to whom the passport is issued. Hence the biometric information, facial recognition, fingerprints.

Yes, but if that is being captured over and over again (as it appears to be), all it proves is that you’re the person whose biometrics were taken 2 minutes before.

 

[Class73Electro]

Yes, but if that is being captured over and over again (as it appears to be), all it proves is that you’re the person whose biometrics were taken 2 minutes before.

I also assumed that was what the chip in the passport was for, holding a digital photo, which is what the eGates in UK airports checked against

 

[fandroid]

E-gates on the Schengen border (where they existed) have been working on facial recognition for years. Why they have to have to totally duplicate the facial recognition systems is beyond me. Also, I would have thought that random fingerprint checks would be sufficient to deter real dodgy characters. Anyway, if said dodgy character had gone through the EES registration process with his fake passport then the system has his deception fully baked in and no amount of further checks is going to catch them out!

There's a "border mentality" in officialdom that insists on huge resources to check every traveller every time, when a targeted system would catch almost as many with a small fraction of the effort.

 

[Class73Electro]

Arrived at Lyon airport yesterday. First in the queue! Passport stamped and sent on my way - fingerprints or photo. Less than a minute!

 

[uglymonkey]

This whole thing does worry me, the delays ,the crowds ( I'm disabled). Yes I know I can get assistance if required to bypass most of it, but it still worries me to the point of not travelling ( which maybe is the point?).

 

[FinsburyPark]

E-gates on the Schengen border (where they existed) have been working on facial recognition for years. Why they have to have to totally duplicate the facial recognition systems is beyond me. Also, I would have thought that random fingerprint checks would be sufficient to deter real dodgy characters. Anyway, if said dodgy character had gone through the EES registration process with his fake passport then the system has his deception fully baked in and no amount of further checks is going to catch them out!

There's a "border mentality" in officialdom that insists on huge resources to check every traveller every time, when a targeted system would catch almost as many with a small fraction of the effort.

As an EU citizen, the EU and many of the countries within it can be beaurocratic.

I also think that this 'double up' is due to the fact that EES was someone's pet project and the EU has now spent tons of Euro and other local currencies on all this equipment and can't let it go to waste in thier mind.

I also think that the EU on some level has tried to copycat the USA immigration system.

EES holds some noticeable similarities to USA border control and ETIAS holds some noticeable similarities to the US ESTA visa waiver programme. While they are not identical, the similarities are glaringly obvious.

None of this takes away from my passionate love of the EU but EES not entirely well thought out.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Yes, but if that is being captured over and over again (as it appears to be), all it proves is that you’re the person whose biometrics were taken 2 minutes before.

Repeatedly taking the biometrics does serve some purpose: it helps to detect if the biometrics slightly change. It's the same principle behind the blood passports you get in professional cycling.

Not that I think for one second that the system is a) advanced enough to do this, or b) was designed with this in mind.

There's a "border mentality" in officialdom that insists on huge resources to check every traveller every time, when a targeted system would catch almost as many with a small fraction of the effort.

That's because an official who makes a mistake and lets someone dodgy in will be heavily penalised and will likely lose their job. That goes all the way up the chain and so you end up with an organisational culture that everyone going through your border is a wrong 'un. All that happens is you end up interrogating some old lady who's arrived for a river cruise and whose obvious intention is simply to look at some pretty cities then drink their body weight in gin and slimline.

 

[jmh59]

Off to Vienna next month so of course my mind is set on EES again... but anyway I came across this website, didn't spot it mentioned in the thread so apologies if it is old news:

EES Watch — Live Airport Passport Control Wait Times

Real-time EES passport control queue times at major European airports. Crowdsourced wait times for UK, US, and non-EU travellers.

www.eeswait.com

 

[chrisjo]

Off to Vienna next month so of course my mind is set on EES again... but anyway I came across this website, didn't spot it mentioned in the thread so apologies if it is old news:

EES Watch — Live Airport Passport Control Wait Times

Real-time EES passport control queue times at major European airports. Crowdsourced wait times for UK, US, and non-EU travellers.

www.eeswait.com

Seems to be saying you need to check-in/bag-drop 4 hours before your flight at every airport I looked at, which we all know is impossible, and there's no real data at all for tourist hotspots like Malaga, Alicante or Palma. I guess it's early days and its usefulness will depend on how many people use it (as in send in reports), which is a bit circular.

Also note that you need to search for 'Düsseldorf', for example, as 'Dusseldorf' without the accent cannot be found, which is sloppy programming.

Edit: search on airport code such a AGP works fine, even if 'Malaga' doesn't.

​

 

[eoff]

Do I understand correctly that a visit to Gibraltar by a UK citenzen not resident there adds to the EES count for the EU?

 

[Mike395]

Do I understand correctly that a visit to Gibraltar by a UK citenzen not resident there adds to the EES count for the EU?

Correct, you now enter Schengen alongside entering Gibraltar.

 

[Howardh]

I went through Hanover airport in and out recently - passport stamp and fingerprints scanned at a manned booth in both directions. Machines not in use.

If you are EES'd at a booth going in, and you leave by a different airport which merely stamps you - the "system" won't know you've left (will it??) so next time you re-enter, especially if the 90 days have passed, won't it flag you as still being there and you need further questioning, - or will the fact that you are trying to get in means you must have left...but it won't know when you left??

 

[route101]

Arrived at Lyon airport yesterday. First in the queue! Passport stamped and sent on my way - fingerprints or photo. Less than a minute!

Surprised France is still stamping.

 

[TheWierdOne]

Surprised France is still stamping.

I’m more surprised Lyon Airport can process a plane that fast, whatever the system. Treasured memories from my year studying in Grenoble of standing waiting ages for a PAF officer to rock up to the desk after our plane had landed. I took the train to Grenoble most times but the occasion I did fly stuck in my head

 

[signed]

Biarritz airport on the 1st

Non-EU line was maybe 20 people when I arrived, EU line was 5 people but it took 15min to go through as the EU counter was busy processing a 5 people UK family with the whole registration, which took under 10min

 

[eoff]

Which? are saying the EES mess now means ETIAS will be delayed.

European visa waiver no longer confirmed for 2026, amid EES chaos​

The Commission told Which? that: 'Preparations for the launch of ETIAS are ongoing. Obviously, as with any large-scale IT system, many factors come into play when deciding when to launch it.'

European visa waiver no longer confirmed for 2026, amid EES chaos - Which?

Everything UK travellers need to know about Etias

www.which.co.uk

 

[Howardh]

Which? are saying the EES mess now means ETIAS will be delayed.

Doesn't surprise me; can't see it being brought in until every single visitor has access to working EES machines. The ETIAS is actually a bit easier than the EES, just fill in the form online, pay, and it's linked to your passport for three years, but if introduced now, how can it be implemented when many travellers can't use the EES kiosks and have to be processed manually?

 

[Belperpete]

Off to Vienna next month so of course my mind is set on EES again... but anyway I came across this website, didn't spot it mentioned in the thread so apologies if it is old news:

I wouldn't rely on it. My experiences of going through Prague have been VERY different, depending on how busy the airport is. Entering the EU, nothing much you can do other than be prepared for more delay getting through passport control than you experienced before EES. Leaving the EU, arrive at the airport about the time that bag-check opens (no point in arriving any earlier).

 

[sprunt]

If you are EES'd at a booth going in, and you leave by a different airport which merely stamps you - the "system" won't know you've left (will it??) so next time you re-enter, especially if the 90 days have passed, won't it flag you as still being there and you need further questioning, - or will the fact that you are trying to get in means you must have left...but it won't know when you left??

The person stamping you out would also scan your passport through their computer wouldn't they? That should record you as leaving and hopefully feed through into the same system that the EES uses to check if you're within the limit.

 

[Howardh]

The person stamping you out would also scan your passport through their computer wouldn't they? That should record you as leaving and hopefully feed through into the same system that the EES uses to check if you're within the limit.

Yes, passports are read on a machine that harvests the data.
So, no need for the EES!

 

[Spamcan81]

Registered my details on the Travel to Europe app for my arrival in Sweden on Thursday and journey submitted. Went to enter details for departure but when I get to the point of departure section, it doesn’t recognise Arlanda or anywhere else in Sweden for that matter.

 

[Adsy125]

Had to wait for over an hour both entering a leaving Copenhagen airport recently, neither of which was much fun. Arrivals seemed very poorly organised, with 3 lines feeding to 5 manned passport control booths, and the staff deciding to send people from 2 of the lines to one booth each, while the third line went to 3 different booths!

Departures weren't much better, with the queue extending far beyond where the barriers end. As much as it pained me to do so, arriving 3 hours before the flight was clearly necessary.

It was clear from talking to the staff that the airport was really struggling to cope with the numbers, and probably needed to put a cap on the number of non-schengen flights they are willing to accept. It's my first experience entering the EU where I've been asked so many questions, which didn't seem to be unique to me. I'm certain this isn't helping the queues.

It's such a poor welcome to a country when it's clear that they can't anticipate demand and provide suitable infrastructure for their visitors. It's quite a contrast to the experience at St Pancras where I've never been waiting more than 30 minutes to get through the whole lot.