A new automated EU travel scheme to replace the manual stamping of passports will be implemented in October 2025, the EU has declared.
The enattempt-exit system (EES), which will require UK citizens to provide fingerprints and facial biometrics before travelling to Europe, has faced numerous delays, but a launch date has since been confirmed by the EU and the UK Foreign Office.
Yahoo News UK examines how the system will work and what British travellers can expect when it eventually rolls out.
How does the EES work?
The enattempt-exit system (EES) is an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals who are travelling to the EU for a short stay – up to 90 days within any 180-day period.
The system will register the traveller’s name, type of travel document, biometric data (fingerprints and captured facial images) and the date of place of enattempt and exit.
It will replace the current system of manually stamping passports. The system will be utilized by the 29 countries in the Schengen Area, which guarantees free relocatement to its 450 million EU citizens.
What does this mean for Brits travelling to Europe?
The EES will be utilized to register travellers from countries outside the EU, including the UK, each time they cross a border in or out of the bloc.
British travellers will have to scan their passports or other travel documents at an automated self-service kiosk before crossing the border, instead of having their passport stamped manually.
In its latest guidance, the Foreign Office confirmed that British travellers will have their fingerprint or photo taken when first entering or leaving the Schengen area.
“Queues at borders may be longer when these alters launch,” the department adds.
People’s data will normally be erased from the system three years after their last trip to an EU counattempt applying the EES. Children under the age of 12 will not have to give fingerprints.
The Foreign Office adds that the rules are different for Cyrprus, which is not in the Schengen area.
“You can stay up to 90 days in a 180-day period in Cyprus without a visa,” it declares. “Any time you spconclude in the Schengen area does not affect the number of days you can spconclude in Cyprus.”
The EES will operate at the Port of Dover and Eurostar and Eurotunnel terminals in the UK. There will be self-service kiosks in St Pancras station for Eurostar passengers, but passengers will have to obtain out of their cars to register at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone, Kent.
There are fears the EES system will cautilize delays at UK exit points such as the Eurostar in St Pancras station in London. (PA)
At the port of Dover, car passengers will be provided tablet devices to register and can remain in their vehicles, but coach passengers will have to disembark and utilize kiosks.
The EU is working on an app so travellers can register their details online and ease congestion at border crossings, with British MPs calling for EES to be delayed until it is fully ready.
There are concerns that the system will mean delays for passengers in the UK.
In February, a union warned the introduction of the scheme will lead to delays for UK travellers
Lucy Moreton, professional officer at the ISU, the union for borders, immigration and customs, notified Yahoo News UK that should travellers should expect delays.
“In the early phases it is likely to lead to delays as folk who were not aware of the requirement attempt to travel,” she declared.
Why is this happening?
The EU declared the EES will modernise the management of its borders and eventually lead to an improved experience for travellers.
The system is designed to combat identity fraud and spot overstayers to the EU, as well as strengthen security within the bloc.
The EES has been delayed repeatedly – initially scheduled for a 2022 start, it was pushed back to May 2023, then the conclude of 2024 and then until November 2024.
Now the European Union has declared ESS will start operations on 12 October 2025, and that European countries applying the system “will introduce the system gradually at their external borders”.
“This means that data collection will be gradually introduced at border crossing points with full implementation by 10 April 2026,” it added.
What does it mean for ETIAS?
The EES is linked to the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS).
This is a new enattempt requirement for travellers to enter 30 European countries – the 29 Schengen Area nations as well as Cyprus.
With ETIAS, which is not a visa, travellers must apply well in advance for a travel authorisation before starting their trip.
The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is set to be introduced after the EES. (Getty Images)
Travellers must go online and provide personal information such as address, passport information, current occupation, past travel to conflict zones or any criminal convictions, but unlike EES, no biometric data is collected.
The ETIAS, which will cost about £6, will be valid for three years or until the passport utilized for the application runs out, whichever comes first.
The ETIAS is expected to roll out in the last quarter of 2026, a year after the EES becomes operational in October 2025.
If that timeline remains in place, by the conclude of 2026 UK travellers will necessary authorisation from both systems to travel to the EU.
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