From Sunday, October 12, European countries utilising the Entry/Exit System (EES) will commence new operations at their respective borders. The end of the week will see the gradual roll-out of changes that could result in more data being collected from travellers, including fingerprints.
The current plans are set to be fully implemented by April 10, 2026. EES is an automated IT system that applies to non-EU nationals travelling to a participating country for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.
As part of the EES process, UK travellers will be required to provide their biometric data, such as a facial image and fingerprint, at an automated kiosk or border control booth.
This data will then be used by the system to create a digital record linked to the traveller’s passport. Reportedly, this will allow future travel within participating countries to be streamlined.
How will my biometric data be kept?
According to the European Union, all data collected through the EES will be subjected to EU data protection laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This means travellers will have the right to access, correct, or request their data to be deleted under privacy laws.
However, bear in mind that some limited data could be shared with international organisations or non-EU countries in relation to these laws.
All the countries that use EES
Currently, the following countries will have the new changes applied to them:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Most travellers are not expected to see the new changes take place straight away, and only a small number are expected to go through a fully digitised process while it’s still being rolled out. It is understood that for the first six months of the scheme being rolled out, manual passport stamping will still be implemented alongside EES registration.
Who doesn’t need to register with EES?
Not all travellers going to EES countries will be required to provide their data in the new rollout. According to the EU website, you do not need to use EES if the following condiions apply:
- You are a national of a European country using EES, such as Cyprus and Ireland
- You are a non-EU national who holds a residence card and are immediately related to an EU national
- You are a non-EU national who holds a residence card or permit and are immediately related to a non-EU national who can travel through Europe like an EU citizen
- You are a non-EU national travelling to Europe as part of an intra-corporate transfer for the purpose of research, studies, training, pupil exchange, voluntary services, educational projects, or au-pairing
- You hold a residence permit or long-stay visa
- You are a national of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino and hold a passport issued by the Vatican City State or the Holy See
- People exempt from border checks dueto certain privileges e.g. a head of state
- Some diplomats on a short stay under certain conditions
Further details on EES can be found on the EU website here.