The EU's ETIAS system has been pushed back again and is now expected to begin in the last quarter of 2026. For visa-exempt travellers, that means more time before the new pre-travel authorisation becomes part of entering the Schengen Area.
A further delay to ETIAS does not mean easier travel to Europe in the meantime. The more immediate change is the phased Entry/Exit System, which is likely to bring extra checks, continued passport stamping and longer queues before ETIAS ever becomes compulsory.
Discover the security procedures and checks that apply to different categories of travellers entering or leaving the Schengen Area, and how systems like EES and ETIAS streamline the process.
The EU is upgrading how Schengen external borders work, including the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). If you travel visa-free, these changes will shape border checks and advance screening.
The EU is preparing to roll out its new Entry/Exit System for non-EU visitors. Here is what the biometric border process means for travellers, where delays may appear and why privacy advocates are watching closely.
Five years after the UK left the EU, mobility remains possible but less frictionless. New border routines, document checks, and incoming digital authorisation systems are reshaping how people move between Britain and Europe.
Five years after the UK left the EU, mobility remains possible but less frictionless. New border routines, document checks, and incoming digital authorisation systems are reshaping how people move between Britain and Europe.
At the start of 2025, the central message for British travellers was that the EU's next border changes were still delayed. The Entry/Exit System had to come first, and the later ETIAS permit could only follow once that system had been fully running for months.
The EU is introducing two new border management tools that will change how visitors travel to Europe: ETIAS and the Entry/Exit System. Both strengthen European security, but they operate in very different ways.
The EU is introducing two new border management tools that will change how visitors travel to Europe: ETIAS and the Entry/Exit System. Both strengthen European security, but they operate in very different ways.