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The EU’s Entry/Exit System is now live. From biometrics at borders to phased rollouts and links with ETIAS, here is how EES changes travel for business travellers.

The EU's Entry/Exit System started a phased rollout on 12 October 2025, introducing biometric checks at Schengen borders for non-EU nationals. Full implementation is expected by April 2026.

The EU's Entry/Exit System started a phased rollout on 12 October 2025, introducing biometric checks at Schengen borders for non-EU nationals. Full implementation is expected by April 2026.

Days before the EES launch, tests at Eurotunnel kiosks showed roughly two minutes of screen time per person. Getlink invested EUR 80 million in the infrastructure while Eurostar fitted 49 kiosks at St Pancras.

Days before the EES launch, tests at Eurotunnel kiosks showed roughly two minutes of screen time per person. Getlink invested EUR 80 million in the infrastructure while Eurostar fitted 49 kiosks at St Pancras.

As the EU's Entry/Exit System approached launch, traveller concerns shifted from the headline to the practical details. The key issues were not only when EES would start, but how passport stamping, biometric checks, eGates and transit rules would work in everyday journeys.

In the weeks before the EES launch, confusion around post-Brexit travel rules was still widespread. The practical issue for British travellers was no longer whether the system was coming, but how the new border process would work and what would follow after it.

For many travellers, 2025 was not about one new rule but several overlapping systems moving at different speeds. The key to making sense of the year was understanding that the UK's ETA, the EU's EES and the later ETIAS permit were separate changes with separate timelines.

The EU’s new biometric Entry/Exit System is expected to begin rolling out in 2025, changing how many non-EU visitors cross Schengen borders. Here is what travellers should know about eligibility, border checks and the phased launch.

In August 2024, European Commissioner Ylva Johansson confirmed that the Entry/Exit System was on track for a November 2024 start, with ETIAS to follow six months later. This article reflects the reporting at that time — note that the EES eventually launched in October 2025 and the ETIAS fee was confirmed at €20, not the €7 cited here.