Your next trip to Europe could soon involve a few more steps at passport control. Non-EU travellers will have to provide their ‘biometric data’ to enter the continent as part of the brand-new EU Entry/Exit system, commonly known as the EES.
That might sound very intense, but don’t worry; there’s no skin grafts or fluid samples required here. Instead, you’ll just have to (literally) hand over your fingerprints, as well as have your face scanned at the border when you would usually just get your passport stamped.
The EES will come into effect in phases, beginning on October 12. By April 2026, every airport, train station, and nautical border point in the Schengen area will have the system up and running. Only two nations have plans to introduce the EES to every access point from day one.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the EES coming into effect across the Schengen zone this October.
What is EES?
The EES is basically just a new sort of passport, or an addition to your passport, but it’s all digital and only applies to the Schengen zone. That encompasses most EU countries.
All your information, once collected at the border, will be stored for three years. Then, the next time you visit you’ll just need to scan your passport and provide a fingerprint for access. This will also mean that passport stamps in many countries will become redundant.
You don’t need to do anything to register for the EES, other than travel with a valid passport. But which countries are rolling out the new system first?
Which countries are introducing EES in October 2025?
A total of 29 nations will begin introducing the EES this October. They are:
- 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
Which country will introduce the EES first?
Estonia will be the first to see a full rollout of the EES, according to a report from the Independent. A spokesperson for the eastern European nation said that ‘all our border control points will start using EES from day one’ including at the central Tallinn airport.
Luxembourg will also be able to fully operate the EES from October 12, although it obviously requires less work to implement there than in larger nations.
Every other country will introduce the EES in waves, likely starting in major airports until every border point is covered.
Who will the EES apply to?
Any non-EU citizen will need to be registered on the EES for entry to the Schengen area. This includes those who don’t need a visa to enter the EU, such as UK passport holders – although they will need to apply for a waiver called the ‘European Travel Information and Authorisation System’ (you can learn more about that here).
Irish passport holders will not need to go through the EES, because the country is still in the EU, even though it’s not in the Schengen area.
Here are all the European airport, airline and transport strikes to watch out for right now.
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