If you’re a regular traveller, you probably consider passport stamps a badge of honour. Physical evidence of everywhere you’ve visited, and how many adventures you’ve been on. Unfortunately, however, they could soon become a thing of the past – at least for travellers passing through the EU.
The Entry/Exit System (EES) and European Travel Information and Authorisation Systems (ETIAS) are due to come into effect, and with it, 29 countries will phase out passport stamps. These physical markers will become redundant thanks to the new visa system being introduced to the EU, which will require all visitors from outside of the European Union to register online before their visit.
Once approved, travellers will have their biometric data held on file, which will mean that manually operated passport desks, and by extension stamps, can be replaced by electronic gates. The goal is to speed up and modernise the passport control process as well as ‘improve border security’. You can learn more about the details of the EES and ETIAS on our guide.
So, the following countries will be doing away with physical passport stamps this October. The 29 nations in the Schengen area – 25 in the EU and four outside of it – will be adopting the new systems, and they are as follows:
The EES is scheduled to be introduced on October 12 2025. Whether you think scrapping stamps is taking travel into the future or discarding a cherished memento, you have one month left to collect them before they go.
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