What the EU Entry/Exit System Will Mean for Travellers

European Union ministers have cleared the way for the bloc's new digital border system, paving the road for a launch in autumn 2025. Meeting at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Wednesday, governments backed a gradual rollout of the Entry/Exit System (EES), although no precise start date has yet been fixed.

The EES will change the routine for millions of non-EU visitors. Instead of a passport stamp, third-country nationals will have their fingerprints scanned and a facial photograph taken when they arrive, with the rules applying to stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period.

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What the EES changes at the border

Magnus Brunner, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, described the EES as "the most technologically advanced border management system in the world". He argued that it would strengthen the effectiveness of border controls, help detect and prevent serious crime and terrorism, and combat irregular migration.

In practice, the system replaces manual stamping with a digital record. Each time a visitor enters or leaves, their biometric data and the date and place of the crossing are logged automatically. Supporters say this gives authorities a far more reliable picture of who is in the Schengen area and for how long.

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Data protection and rights concerns

Not everyone is convinced the benefits come without cost. Julia Behrens of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) noted that the database could actually help travellers prove they are present legally, since stamps are sometimes wrong or illegible and passports can be lost.

Yet she warned that collecting biometric data on this scale creates a power imbalance between the individual and the state, with potential risks for discrimination, asylum rights and children's rights. Behrens pointed out that biometric processing "does not work as well on people of colour", and that while fingerprints are only taken from the age of 12, there is no age limit on facial images, so even babies can be photographed. She called on border guards to be more aware of these issues.

What it means for tourism and what comes next

The travel industry is cautiously optimistic. Tom Jenkins, chief executive of the European Tourism Association (ETOA), expects the process to be slow at first as fingerprints and photos are taken, but believes it will smooth out over time. His bigger frustration is uncertainty: after several postponements, the sector still does not know exactly when the system will go live.

Robert Baltus, head of operations at the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), cautioned that rolling out a major IT project across so many states and entry and exit points makes day one hard to predict. The EES was first conceived in 2016 and has been delayed repeatedly to give member states time to prepare and to resolve technical problems.

The border overhaul is only the first step. Nationals of 59 visa-exempt countries will soon need prior authorisation through ETIAS to travel to 30 European countries, although that start date has also yet to be confirmed. For a plain-language summary of how these systems fit together, our ETIAS and EES overview explains what is coming and when.