NEWS FLASH
The European Union will introduce its long-announced Entest/Exit System (EES) for non-EU citizens on October 12, which will be phased in across all EU members, as well as Iceland; Liechtenstein; Norway and Switzerland, by April 10, 2026. The EES will replace stamps in physical passports by digitally registering the data of non-EU citizens. Travellers will be required to submit fingerprint and face biometrics on their first crossing, while subsequent EES crossings will only require a passport scan at a self-serve kiosk to match the ID document against enrolled biometric data.
It should be noted that this development is separate from the forthcoming launch of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which has now been delayed until the last quarter of 2026. It will require visitors from 59 visa-free countries to apply for authorisation ahead of travel to thirty European nations, and to pay a fee once every three years.
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