Introduction of European Entry-Exit Scheme (EES)

[ainsworth74]

Apologies, I have been trying to keep up with the thread but I find myself in a muddle as to what is actually supposed to happen (which might be a feature of the system rather than a bug!). So could someone explain for muggins here what you should expect to happen if you fly into say Riga airport as a UK passport holder now that EES is rolled out?

 

[Howardh]

Apologies, I have been trying to keep up with the thread but I find myself in a muddle as to what is actually supposed to happen (which might be a feature of the system rather than a bug!). So could someone explain for muggins here what you should expect to happen if you fly into say Riga airport as a UK passport holder now that EES is rolled out?

Only too pleased!

This is what should happen, assuming you've not already been "done". On arrival, you should be directed to a kiosk which is separate, and ahead of, the usual immigration e-gates/officials. There you place your passport down, or slide it in, and provide fingerprints and facial scan; and possibly answer four questions. Once done, that's your bios sorted for three years (put the date in your diary!)

Then you go to either the e-gates or passports control booth, where you slide your passport in, presumably with your fingers on the pad, and if cleared away you go with no need for stamping. On your way back to the UK at Riga you will probably have to do the same on your way out, a scan of your fingers and passport.

Then next time you travel, the first bit (the profiling's been done) so you should go straight to the e-gates and place passport down, fingers on the dirty scanner, and in you go. A lot depends in the next 6 months which airports are ready, and if you cahnge your passport before the three years is up, you have to "register" again.

Or...we could just skip all this and go back to the good old days of flashing our burgundy passport by rejoining the EU!!!

 

[Belperpete]

Apologies, I have been trying to keep up with the thread but I find myself in a muddle as to what is actually supposed to happen (which might be a feature of the system rather than a bug!). So could someone explain for muggins here what you should expect to happen if you fly into say Riga airport as a UK passport holder now that EES is rolled out?

EES is not yet fully rolled out. That should be April next year (but I suspect some countries are hoping for another delay). Until then, passport stamping is still happening.

While the EU has agreed that non EU citizens may use e gates after EES is fully rolled out, it is up to individual countries whether to do so or not. I understand that the UK is negotiating with various countries about this.

A feature of EES is that they check your biometric details both on arrival and departure, every time, to check that you are the passport holder. If a particular country allows use of e-gates, these should do that. But if not, then your biometrics will need to be checked. This may be done at the manned passport control booth, or it may need you to use one of the registration kiosks before going to the manned booth. Different countries are implementing it differently. As I previously noted, at Prague they have provided finger print readers and facial scanners at every booth for departures. But for arrivals, it looks like you will have to use one of the registration kiosks before going to the manned booth. I suppose this saves them having to provide scanners at all the arrival booths as well as on the kiosks, but it does mean that for countries that have implemented it this way, you will have to use the registration kiosks every time you arrive.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Apologies, I have been trying to keep up with the thread but I find myself in a muddle as to what is actually supposed to happen (which might be a feature of the system rather than a bug!). So could someone explain for muggins here what you should expect to happen if you fly into say Riga airport as a UK passport holder now that EES is rolled out?

Okay, so let's try and go through it:

- The border crossing may not have launched the EES yet, so in this case, you proceed to passport control as normal. I'm not sure which countries allow the UK to use the e-gates, so let's assume that every British citizen goes to the desks/booths for processing.

- If they have launched the EES, there are three main ways that it's being done:

1) EES registration (valid for 3 years) at a kiosk where you provide your biometrics, followed by a visit to the desk where you'll hand over your passport, you'll be asked questions and your biometrics will be checked. It's important to note that the biometrics being checked at the desk is not always done.

2) EES registration at a kiosk, pre-border control at the same kiosk (where you'll be asked questions) and then border control at the desk which will be expedited, i.e. you'll just have the documents scanned and checked to see that you're the same person as in the document.

3) EES registration and border control will be carried out at the desk together, no use of kiosks.

There are some alternatives in the works, such as the EES registration / pre border control being carried out via an app, or the EES registration being carried out on a tablet that is handed to travellers at land borders. There isn't a single unified EES process, each country is doing it in the way that they think is most suitable.

 

[Mag_seven]

A question about the 90 days in every 180 rule and EES suddenly occurred to me - obviously the EES system will calculate the days you have spent in Schengen per trip so passport stamping will cease next year. Will the system however assume 0 days in the last 180 when first used or will it have to be manually adjusted to take into account any days you have spent in the last 180 days under the old system?

 

[The exile]

What I found to be odd about Prague Airport was that the macbines were switched on and some people were using them on September 17th.

It did not look like there was any kind of enforcement, meaning someone who didn't use it would be asked to go back and use it, so it seemed somewhat voluntary.

But they were definately on. I even walked up to one and the screen worked and everything.

I found it to be interesting as it was before the official start date.

Other people who have been through Prague Airport around September time are saying similar things on a travel group I'm part of on Facebook.

Yes - I had to do an e-gate style photo recognition at Prague on 14/9 (not fingerprints, though) I suppose it could be the equivalent of proving x thousand miles of fault-free running before it’s actually needed.

 

[island]

A question about the 90 days in every 180 rule and EES suddenly occurred to me - obviously the EES system will calculate the days you have spent in Schengen per trip so passport stamping will cease next year. Will the system however assume 0 days in the last 180 when first used or will it have to be manually adjusted to take into account any days you have spent in the last 180 days under the old system?

In theory the 6 month soft launch period when both EES and stamping are in use will cover this. In practice, I suspect assumptions will be made in passengers' favour unless there is readily available evidence that someone's gone over.

 

[Belperpete]

What happens the next time you enter the EU
The above is a link to what appears to be the French take on what will happen for subsequent entries and exits after you have registered. I can't comment on its accuracy, but it seems to be written by someone who knows what they are talking about (certainly more than what most of our press are saying).

Note that it says that your registration stays valid for 3 years, not after you register, but after your last border crossing. So as long as you travel to the EU at least once every 3 years, your registration should remain valid.

Slightly concerning is what it says about e gates. It says that non EU nationals will only be able to use egates at those sites where they have been modified to be compatible with EES. And it will still be necessary for us to use one of the kiosks to verify our biometrics before using an e gate.

 

[ainsworth74]

Thank you for the answers to those that gave them

Sounds like a bit of a dogs breakfast of confusion to be honest seeing as everyone can kind of do their own thing (within reason). Odd really, that nice Mr Farage assured me that Brussels was a straitjacket which controlled in minute detail how countries controlled their borders...

 

[Tester]

Thank you for the answers to those that gave them

Sounds like a bit of a dogs breakfast of confusion to be honest seeing as everyone can kind of do their own thing (within reason). Odd really, that nice Mr Farage assured me that Brussels was a straitjacket which controlled in minute detail how countries controlled their borders...

Surely not a terminological inexactitude?

 

[Barnsley]

I’m currently at Alicante waiting for my transfer, nothing has changed, all the new machines were out of service, so business as usual, use the e-gate (why) then I went to the desk to get stamp number 51 in my 4 year old passport!

 

[mrmartin]

Thank you for the answers to those that gave them

Sounds like a bit of a dogs breakfast of confusion to be honest seeing as everyone can kind of do their own thing (within reason). Odd really, that nice Mr Farage assured me that Brussels was a straitjacket which controlled in minute detail how countries controlled their borders...

In fairness this is a real example of where the Brussels goes wrong imo. It would be far better if Brussels did have more power and could do a centralized rollout would make more sense (more like the US where border controls are done/specified exactly by the federal government).

Instead you've got this worst of all worlds where there are minimum requirements of EES and then member states go further than that so there is strict requirements but no true harmonization.

Draghi identified this as a major problem in his report generally with a lot of EU decision making. Anyway, veering off topic here.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

No sign of EES at Munich airport last week, passport stamped in and out.

 

[Cloud Strife]

A question about the 90 days in every 180 rule and EES suddenly occurred to me - obviously the EES system will calculate the days you have spent in Schengen per trip so passport stamping will cease next year. Will the system however assume 0 days in the last 180 when first used or will it have to be manually adjusted to take into account any days you have spent in the last 180 days under the old system?

Basically, yes. They could theoretically adjust it, but it would involve finding stamps and it would just take far too long in general.

Slightly concerning is what it says about e gates. It says that non EU nationals will only be able to use egates at those sites where they have been modified to be compatible with EES. And it will still be necessary for us to use one of the kiosks to verify our biometrics before using an e gate.

The situation with the e-gates is a bit more complex, but in general, the EU is working towards having them compliant with the EES. The first registration will require a kiosk or at a desk, although there should be an app available in time which will do the same thing.

Sounds like a bit of a dogs breakfast of confusion to be honest seeing as everyone can kind of do their own thing (within reason). Odd really, that nice Mr Farage assured me that Brussels was a straitjacket which controlled in minute detail how countries controlled their borders...

It's basically how the EU works: there's a directive, but how you actually implement the directive is up to you. The UK was always guilty of a rather maximalist interpretation of directives, while other countries did the bare minimum. If it wasn't done this way, it wouldn't allow for innovative solutions like how the juxtaposed EES controls will be implemented.

In theory the 6 month soft launch period when both EES and stamping are in use will cover this. In practice, I suspect assumptions will be made in passengers' favour unless there is readily available evidence that someone's gone over.

I think the general view is that it's just not worth bothering people during this 6 month implementation period with overstays. The EES implementation is tricky enough as it is, and trying to somehow manually transfer information from national databases and stamps into the EES database is probably not worth the trouble.

 

[mrmartin]

It's basically how the EU works: there's a directive, but how you actually implement the directive is up to you. The UK was always guilty of a rather maximalist interpretation of directives, while other countries did the bare minimum. If it wasn't done this way, it wouldn't allow for innovative solutions like how the juxtaposed EES controls will be implemented.

EES is a regulation not a directive, but still no true harmonization...

 

[eoff]

Just back from Schiphol. There are a lot of covered machines in the D split passport control and a few at the end of the lower D pier...




The agents told me the system starts next month. Eventually you will be able to exit from the Schengen area by passing throught the e-gates.
But on entry you will still have to see an agent. (In the interim period the need to keep passport stamps for the phase-in stops this happening immediately.)

On the way out I was also chatting to one of the staff who said they are delayed and then mentioned a lot of staff had been trained up but then let go and they could not get them all back as people had moved on to other jobs.

 

[TEW]

EES registration appeared to be in place at the French entry checks at Lille Europe this evening. All non-EU passport holders had a face and fingerprint scan at the manned passport booths. The non-EU passport queue was moving very slowly.

 

[island]

EES registration appeared to be in place at the French entry checks at Lille Europe this evening.

Exit checks I presume you mean?

 

[Benjwri]

Exit checks I presume you mean?

Likely registration. St Pancras isn’t doing EES yet so most will probably not have registered yet. Even though they’re exiting the EU they still have to have biometrics registered when they aren’t yet.

 

[TEW]

Exit checks I presume you mean?

Sorry, yes, exit checks.

 

[Hadlow Road]

Just back from Schiphol. There are a lot of covered machines in the D split passport control and a few at the end of the lower D pier...


View attachment 191143

The agents told me the system starts next month. Eventually you will be able to exit from the Schengen area by passing throught the e-gates.
But on entry you will still have to see an agent. (In the interim period the need to keep passport stamps for the phase-in stops this happening immediately.)

On the way out I was also chatting to one of the staff who said they are delayed and then mentioned a lot of staff had been trained up but then let go and they could not get them all back as people had moved on to other jobs.

Intrigued by the “Stop & Go” tile on the floor. That would appear to cover everything?

 

[Mike395]

Intrigued by the “Stop & Go” tile on the floor. That would appear to cover everything?

I believe these are checkpoints that Schiphol's nifty little automated mobility vehicles can stop at (presumably those kiosks will be designated for self-serve accessible shuttles to drop off/pick up at - they're currently temporarily out of use apparently to be reprogrammed to accommodate the EES kiosks in the preset routes to gates)

 

[FinsburyPark]

One thing that will be interesting is to see how it works once EES becomes a thing for all passengers in the Port of Dover. From my understanding all car passengers do it on the 12th Nov.

I'll be flying to Krakow, Poland on the same day, so I'll let you know if its running there.

 

[Full Standing]

One thing that will be interesting is to see how it works once EES becomes a thing for all passengers in the Port of Dover. From my understanding all car passengers do it on the 12th Nov.

I'm interested as well. I'll pass through Dover towards Europe by coach around 17th Nov and will provide a report.

 

[1D54]

So do we have an official date when we need to make a payment to have the visa put on our passports?

 

[signed]

So do we have an official date when we need to make a payment to have the visa put on our passports?

The ETIAS official site says:

European Union - EES / ETIAS

travel-europe.europa.eu

ETIAS will start operations in the last quarter of 2026.
No action is required from travellers at this point.
The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch.

But there will be 6 months, as with EES, transitional period where it will be in force but not mandatory to allow people to adapt, and it won't be a physical visa in any case.

 

[kje7812]

One assumes it's partly dependent on the full launch of EES being done by April '26.

 

[signed]

One assumes it's partly dependent on the full launch of EES being done by April '26.

It has to be wholly dependent, I would assume

 

[Zerothebrake!]

I passed through Stockholm Arlanda yesterday morning in transit to Kiruna with SAS arriving into Terminal 5.

On arrival there were three booths open for non EU passport holders with a member of staff directing you to which line to stand in.

When called up it was a photo of my right eye and a scan of the four fingers of my right hand followed by a few questions like are you travelling alone?, the length of stay and your intended return date etc.

The officer stamped my passport and I was free to go but to make my connecting flight I had to leave the terminal and re-enter through a security check on the Departures level.

The whole process took about 20 minutes.

 

[gswindale]

Flew into Lisbon yesterday. Was just the old-fashioned stamping in operation for those of us unable to use the e-gates (travelling with an under 18), so reasonably quick to get through.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Nov 2025 ==

Returned from Lisbon today. easyJet had recommended allowing extra time, however that was only really needed due to their lack of check-in staff on the bag drop.

No kiosks in use again and so just the visits to the border officials to get the stamps.