Introduction of European Entry-Exit Scheme (EES)

[Cloud Strife]

Just back from a trip (UK to Dublin) and I'm now wondering if this is a gaping hole in any EU tracking system.

Ireland is only partially in Schengen in terms of information sharing, but doesn't participate in other aspects such as the EES and the various databases that underpin Schengen.

Must be noted that if they cross the border into the UK, there's no record of that crossing so (a) we don't know they're here and (b) we don't, therefore, know how long they've been here. Obviously decent hotels will have some kind of record when they book in, but that won't apply if they stay with friends, family or even "wild". To be honest that shouldn't be an issue at all if they can support themselves, which makes it doubly crazy the EU putting restrictions on those of us that can support ourselves.

The general agreement between the UK and Ireland is that Ireland can't and won't restrict EU/EEA/CH citizens, but they cooperate when it comes to denying entry to anyone who looks like they might be going onwards to the UK. In general, the Irish border remains a massive problem in terms of border control.

Is there not API (Advance Passenger Information) sharing in the CTA?

There is, but Ireland only collects API on flights originating from outside the EU.

The problem is that Ireland has correctly taken it as a UK problem, and the UK can't and won't introduce border controls of any sort between NI and the other jurisdictions within the CTA. Most of the issues could be easily fixed by simply having police controls on exit from NI, which combined with API on RoI - Isle of Man / GB journeys would pretty much solve the issue of border control while maintaining the CTA. The police controls would only require some sort of identification, similar to the controls from Ceuta to mainland Spain, which would allow people to travel from NI to GB with the minimum of fuss.

 

[island]

There is, but Ireland only collects API on flights originating from outside the EU.

And the UK does not collect API on CTA flights.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Aug 2025 ==

Most of the issues could be easily fixed by simply having police controls on exit from NI

I beg to suggest that that would be not the least bit simple

 

[signed]

And the UK does not collect API on CTA flights.

How does overstay checking works on EU citizens doing EU-enter UK-RoI then?

Are the Irish sending back the entry (since there is always full border controls into Ireland from the CTA) to the Brits?

 

[berneyarms]

In general, the Irish border remains a massive problem in terms of border control.

I think you mean the UK border on the island of Ireland - it ain’t Irish by design in fairness!

The problem is that Ireland has correctly taken it as a UK problem, and the UK can't and won't introduce border controls of any sort between NI and the other jurisdictions within the CTA. Most of the issues could be easily fixed by simply having police controls on exit from NI, which combined with API on RoI - Isle of Man / GB journeys would pretty much solve the issue of border control while maintaining the CTA. The police controls would only require some sort of identification, similar to the controls from Ceuta to mainland Spain, which would allow people to travel from NI to GB with the minimum of fuss.

Given the extreme sensibilities involved, I think that your suggestion of implementing police controls between NI & GB would be anything but an easy fix!

 

[Cloud Strife]

How does overstay checking works on EU citizens doing EU-enter UK-RoI then?

It doesn't, basically. The UK doesn't have an effective way to police overstays, and there isn't even a functioning method of 'departing' the UK for EU citizens who might be going to Ireland. Someone who gets a six month visitor visa to the UK can depart after a week to Ireland and they won't be recorded, and if they do it via their own method of transport, it's impossible for them to even prove that they did it.

Are the Irish sending back the entry (since there is always full border controls into Ireland from the CTA) to the Brits?

Not a chance! Anyone entering the RoI with a travel document confirming they're EU citizens has freedom of movement, and Ireland couldn't care less if they've overstayed in the UK or not. It's why the entire system is a mess, because it's simply not designed for a situation where a large amount of people have the right to enter Ireland but not the UK.

I think you mean the UK border on the island of Ireland - it ain’t Irish by design in fairness!

Well, it also includes the Irish Sea border But agreed!

Given the extreme sensibilities involved, I think that your suggestion of implementing police controls between NI & GB would be anything but an easy fix!

I think a lot would depend on how these controls actually looked. If they adopted the CTA rules of allowing British / Irish citizens to travel freely, perhaps it wouldn't be such an issue.

 

[signed]

It doesn't, basically. The UK doesn't have an effective way to police overstays, and there isn't even a functioning method of 'departing' the UK for EU citizens who might be going to Ireland. Someone who gets a six month visitor visa to the UK can depart after a week to Ireland and they won't be recorded, and if they do it via their own method of transport, it's impossible for them to even prove that they did it.


Not a chance! Anyone entering the RoI with a travel document confirming they're EU citizens has freedom of movement, and Ireland couldn't care less if they've overstayed in the UK or not. It's why the entire system is a mess, because it's simply not designed for a situation where a large amount of people have the right to enter Ireland but not the UK.

Very interesting, thanks

 

[eoff]

Ireland is outside Schengen and your time there doesn’t count against the 90/180 rule in the zone.

Ah thanks, I thught the rule was for the EU in general.

 

[m0ffy]

Ah thanks, I thught the rule was for the EU in general.

It doesn’t help that much of the press around it conflates Schengen and the EU.

 

[Howardh]

Coming into Ibiza last Saturday, no-one on my flight got their passport stamped - I asked but no luck. Apparently they aren't stamping you out either, however it was scanned on a new machine so presumably they are EES enabled?

 

[D6130]

My wife and I travelled from London to Paris last Tuesday - and on to Italy the following day - and had our passports stamped in what is now the normal way. The EES entry terminals adjacent to the Eurostar travel centre were powered-up, but not in use. Does this mean that we shall have to register for the EES at Gare du Nord in Paris on our return to the UK in December?....or when we next depart from the UK for the Schengen zone?

 

[Cloud Strife]

Coming into Ibiza last Saturday, no-one on my flight got their passport stamped - I asked but no luck. Apparently they aren't stamping you out either, however it was scanned on a new machine so presumably they are EES enabled?

Very likely that they're already EES enabled if they weren't giving stamps. Did you see if they had a physical stamp at all?

 

[Howardh]

Very likely that they're already EES enabled if they weren't giving stamps. Did you see if they had a physical stamp at all?

No-one got a physical stamp, I even went to the booth but was waved on.

Assume I swipe on the way out; would be helpful if the authorities actually told us in advance!

 

[m0ffy]

Spain has been hit or miss on stamping for a while, especially at island airports.

I’m driving to the Netherlands in November, so I’ll be interested to see if/how it’s implemented at Hoek van Holland - an excruciatingly slow experience at the best of times.

 

[Mag_seven]

No-one got a physical stamp, I even went to the booth but was waved on.

Assume I swipe on the way out; would be helpful if the authorities actually told us in advance!

Could have caused problems if you took a flight from Ibiza to another Schengen country - how would you explain when you went to leave that Schengen country for the UK that you had no entry stamp?

 

[Howardh]

Could have caused problems if you took a flight from Ibiza to another Schengen country - how would you explain when you went to leave that Schengen country for the UK that you had no entry stamp?

Yes, I thought of that, especially as my passport is completely blank! Read that your inbound ticket should do if asked, but it could be a very awkward encounter.

 

[Mojo]

Stamping at the Balearic Islands airports has always been intermittent since mass tourism picked up again in Summer 2022 as far as I’m aware. With the majority of tourists being British, they just don’t have the capacity at busy times to be stamping en-masse.

I wouldn’t have thought it had anything to do with the upcoming launch of EES, given that even at enabled airports, customers are still going to be stamped through to Spring 2026 anyway.

 

[styles]

Perhaps a contrarian opinion, but the less my passport gets stamped, the better. The last time I renewed my passport it was because I had insufficient empty pages for entry to a couple of countries. Most of my stamps were just entry and exit to EU countries. A return trip to France or Netherlands for work is half a page. That's before the leisure travel, and countries who use stamps which effectively take up a whole page when entry+exit are combined; or countries where the border control mess up their stamp and one entry can take up a whole 2 pages.

The quicker we move to an online system, the better.

 

[Tester]

Perhaps a contrarian opinion, but the less my passport gets stamped, the better. The last time I renewed my passport it was because I had insufficient empty pages for entry to a couple of countries. Most of my stamps were just entry and exit to EU countries. A return trip to France or Netherlands for work is half a page. That's before the leisure travel, and countries who use stamps which effectively take up a whole page when entry+exit are combined; or countries where the border control mess up their stamp and one entry can take up a whole 2 pages.

The quicker we move to an online system, the better.

I'm not a fan either.

When I was working in Hong Kong and doing a lot of Asian travel, I got through passports about every two years - I could have done without.

 

[styles]

I'm not a fan either.

When I was working in Hong Kong and doing a lot of Asian travel, I got through passports about every two years - I could have done without.

And some Asian countries can be very particular about the state of the passport, which has caused me issue with the 'gold' leaf has worn off the front of my UK passport.

The whole system is very antiquated. Passport stamping being online for EU travel is a good step forward imo.

Fingerprints/biometrics, another issue perhaps.

 

[Gordon]

The whole system is very antiquated. Passport stamping being online for EU travel is a good step forward imo.

Fingerprints/biometrics, another issue perhaps.

Fingerprints/biometrics - yes please bring it on.

In USA and Canada during the transition my wife and I had one really long wait in Vancouver for both Canadian and US immigration (for Alaska) for fingerprints and biometrics, but since then all our transits of US and Canadian borders have been seamless as the US DOHS and Canadian authorities now have our biometric details

 

[styles]

Fingerprints/biometrics - yes please bring it on.

In USA and Canada during the transition my wife and I had one really long wait in Vancouver for both Canadian and US immigration (for Alaska) for fingerprints and biometrics, but since then all our transits of US and Canadian borders have been seamless as the US DOHS and Canadian authorities now have our biometric details

I don't relish my biometrics being taken but honestly I think I've got to the point where I'm fine with it for.smoother travel across borders.

 

[Gordon]

I don't relish my biometrics being taken but honestly I think I've got to the point where I'm fine with it for.smoother travel across borders.

Unfortunately, whatever anyone says, just being on the internet and contributing to this forum is probably revealing your details across the world just as much (or maybe more so) as any biometrics held by a country's customs authorities.

 

[stadler]

Is the plan to completely scrap stamps and remove them from border offices once EES is fully rolled out and in operation? Or will stamps still be kept as a back up option?

If they are being kept as a back up then is it likely that a policy will be in place to stamp on request? So could somebody request entry and exit stamps even though it will be recorded on the EES system?

Some countries have completely gotten rid of entry and exit stamps but have policies that anyone can request a stamp if they wish. Australia is an example of this. Australia no longer stamps anyone but yet they have kept stamps in offices and you can request both entry and exit stamps if you wish. They have a policy to always give entry and exit stamps if you ask.

It would be nice if the Schengen introduces such a policy to give entry and exit stamps on request. It is much easier for people to keep track of their travels and how long they have spent in the Schengen when passports are stamped. How are you meant to remember how many days you have used up without stamps to remind you. It will result in people forgetting how many days have been used up and accidentally overstaying.

 

[brad465]

Stamping at the Balearic Islands airports has always been intermittent since mass tourism picked up again in Summer 2022 as far as I’m aware. With the majority of tourists being British, they just don’t have the capacity at busy times to be stamping en-masse.

I wouldn’t have thought it had anything to do with the upcoming launch of EES, given that even at enabled airports, customers are still going to be stamped through to Spring 2026 anyway.

When I was last in Majorca in March I got stamped both ways, however March isn't peak season so maybe they had the capacity. However, for Lanzarote (Arrecife) in June 2024 I had no stamps, which was just an electronic scan in both directions. Arrecife airport also is laid out in a way you can't have separate departure zones for EU/non-EU travellers, so the border staff just occupy a booth and scan at the same time boarding passes are scanned at the gate.

 

[zero]

Fingerprints/biometrics - yes please bring it on.

In USA and Canada during the transition my wife and I had one really long wait in Vancouver for both Canadian and US immigration (for Alaska) for fingerprints and biometrics, but since then all our transits of US and Canadian borders have been seamless as the US DOHS and Canadian authorities now have our biometric details

This is something I don't quite understand. So far the countries I have provided my fingerprints to enter are several Asian ones and Oman. But for all these countries the process was exactly the same on my first entry when biometrics started being taken, as on all my subsequent entries. So those countries holding my biometrics did not make it any more or less seamless to enter on the subsequent visits.

From what I have heard EES will require a registration of biometrics separate to the actual entry process (and based on the above post, it seems it's also the case for Canada and the US), which raises the question why other countries don't need to do that.

Unfortunately, whatever anyone says, just being on the internet and contributing to this forum is probably revealing your details across the world just as much (or maybe more so) as any biometrics held by a country's customs authorities.

Well I don't see how Oman holding my fingerprints reveals my details anywhere. When I was in Oman I used a roaming SIM purchased with cash in a different country that didn't require registration, and I was able to use the internet with a VPN, so there is no way these would have been linked. OK potentially my phone's IMEI could have been tracked by the Omani telecoms towers.

If I was already under surveillance by a country with a sophisticated intelligence agency then yes they may have been able to defeat my use of a VPN. To be honest I think the UK did surveil me but stopped when they did not find what they thought they were looking for.

 

[styles]

Unfortunately, whatever anyone says, just being on the internet and contributing to this forum is probably revealing your details across the world just as much (or maybe more so) as any biometrics held by a country's customs authorities.

Indeed, I am Matt Quinn, nemesis of Ian and Elizabeth.

 

[route101]

I believe stamping will continue to the end of the 6 month transition phase.

I arrived at Harwich and had a few questions where I was travelling, as a lone traveller I do get it when travelling to EU.

The officer said my chip on passport is not working, will see if works in the e gates next time.

 

[Mike395]

I believe stamping will continue to the end of the 6 month transition phase.

I arrived at Harwich and had a few questions where I was travelling, as a lone traveller I do get it when travelling to EU.

The officer said my chip on passport is not working, will see if works in the e gates next time.

If the chip in your passport has failed (particularly if verified next time by e-gates too) I'd look at getting a new one; coming back into the UK, there's a good chance of a significantly extended wait as its usually only a single officer manning the 'reject' lane.

 

[gswindale]

It is much easier for people to keep track of their travels and how long they have spent in the Schengen when passports are stamped. How are you meant to remember how many days you have used up without stamps to remind you. It will result in people forgetting how many days have been used up and accidentally overstaying.

Is it? I can work out how many days I was in Gran Canaria last year much easier by looking at my photos on my phone or checking the calendar (on my phone) than rifling through my passport to find the relevant pages that the border officials stamped and then counting the number of days.

 

[eoff]

I recently replaced my passport, the old one has 56 EU stamps in it.
I would rather my new one does not get filled up with them.