The European Union switched on its long-awaited Entry/Exit System on Sunday 12 October 2025, bringing fingerprints and facial scans to the Schengen frontier. Here is what changed for British and other non-EU travellers, and what to expect while the new borders bed in.
Estonia is set to become the first EU country with the new Entry/Exit System (EES) running at every air, sea and land frontier from 12 October. Most other Schengen states, including Germany, will start with only partial coverage.
The much-delayed Entry/Exit System will start applying to UK travellers on 12 October 2025, the EU has confirmed. The first six months will mix biometric and analogue checks before full operation on 10 April 2026, with the new ETIAS fee set to almost treble to €20.