EES entry/exit system: nine countries drop checks amid fears of queues - The Times

The introduction of Europe’s entry/exit system (EES) has been far from smooth. It has caused long queues across the Continent this summer as passengers wait to give their biometrics, and it has been beset by tech problems. Now, the EU has allowed nine countries to switch off their checks indefinitely while they ensure the digital border system, designed to track non-EU citizens, is working correctly.

The countries are understood to be France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland, which have been given the green light to switch off checks when they need to. Until September 7, all EU countries had the power to do this as part of the system’s built-in safety valve.

Broadly, the checks mean first-time visitors under the new system have to register passport information and biometrics, including a facial scan and fingerprints. This takes place through kiosks at airports, railway stations and ports. The data is then stored and kept on file. On future visits to the EU, those travellers must verify their details at a kiosk.

For many visitors, EES checks will take place on arrival at a European airport. In the UK, EES checks will take place at Dover, Folkestone and St Pancras, which have juxtaposed French borders. However, EES for car passengers has not yet been implemented at Dover and LeShuttle in Folkestone due to technical problems, and passport stamping will continue for now.

Separately, the Etias visa waiver, similar to the US Esta, which will compel Brits to pay €20 (about £17) to enter Europe, has been pushed back to 2027.

If you’re travelling to Europe, here’s what you need to know.

The EES tracks the entry and exit of “third-country nationals” — essentially anyone who isn’t an EU citizen, or who doesn’t hold either a long-stay visa or EU residency permit — in and out of the Schengen area, replacing the need for passport stamps. At present, eligible non-EU citizens are allowed to spend 90 days in any 180-day period in the EU without a visa; the EES will digitise travel records to ensure that this limit is not breached.

What it means in practice is that when travellers visit any of the 29 countries where the EES will be in operation — 25 of the 27 EU nations, plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland — they need to register their passport information and biometric data at a kiosk at the European border. In some cases, passengers might be asked questions about their trip and might have to provide proof of accommodation, a return ticket, travel insurance and evidence that they have enough money for their stay.

Data will normally be stored for three years (or until your passport expires — whichever is sooner). If you refuse to supply it, you will be denied entry.

On subsequent visits, on the way both into and out of Europe, travellers need to revisit the kiosks where passport information and a facial scan will be checked against their EES record. Only in rare cases, says the EU, will data be collected again. The EES will not be used in Ireland or Cyprus, where manual checks will continue to take place.

This process happens at EU borders, which for most travellers will be on arrival at a European airport. However, there are a handful of places on British soil where juxtaposed EU controls apply: Dover for ferries, St Pancras in London for Eurostar passengers and Folkestone for LeShuttle. On these routes, passengers register their details through the EES before departure.

At borders where EES has been switched off, the checks will be manual and involve a border agent checking your passport and stamping it.

Airports in Spain, France, Portugal and Italy have had the worst EES disruption, according to airlines that fly from the UK.

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, has named Tenerife South, Palma, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Krakow and Paris Beauvais as the airports with the longest queues this summer. Other airlines have named Lisbon, Porto, Rome and Naples as having long waits too. The chief executive of the Rome airports operator had said it might be forced to suspend checks this summer to mitigate long waits, blaming a “design flaw” in the EES system.

Airports Council International, which represents airports across Europe, said in an open letter to the European Commission at the end of June that waiting times had “increased significantly, now reaching up to five hours during peak traffic periods”.

It said: “These delays are impacting millions of passengers entering the Schengen area, including families travelling with young children, elderly passengers and persons with reduced mobility. At the same time, airports and airlines are experiencing growing operational disruption, including flight delays and missed connections and increasing pressure on frontline staff.”

Meanwhile, industry bodies Airlines UK and Airlines for America said in a joint statement that the rollout had been inconsistent and that it was causing confusion for passengers.

Rafael Schvartzman, the vice-president for Europe at Iata, the industry body for international airlines, warned that waits could be longer than expected due to some ports not having the right technology or sufficient staff; while Uku Sarekanno, deputy executive director of Frontex, the EU’s border security agency, said that disruption could last for two years.

The EU has informally extended the flexibility to these nine nations indefinitely, to revert to manual checks where necessary until their systems and technology is working correctly. It means that passports may be manually checked and stamped instead.

The EES will work in conjunction with the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias), which is a visa waiver similar to the US Esta. In July, it was pushed back until at least 2027. An Etias waiver for eligible non-EU nationals will cost €20 (about £17), will be valid for three years or until passport expiry (whichever is sooner), and should be applied for at least three days before travel.

Technically, since Brexit, European border officials have been able to ask non-EU passengers about their trip — including the reason for travel, proof of accommodation, insurance, a return ticket and to confirm they have enough money — but in practice they often don’t bother unless suspicious about someone. There is no set amount of money passengers have to show, but officials can ask for evidence of access to further funds if they believe passengers cannot support their trip. Likewise, not having an onward ticket won’t automatically deny you entry, but you may be directed to a border guard to discuss your holiday in more detail.

EU-LISA, the EU agency managing the EES, confirmed there is no legal requirement under the scheme for passengers to hold a return ticket: “As set out in the Schengen Borders Code, travellers must be able to demonstrate, if requested by border guards, that they fulfil the entry conditions, including that they will leave the Schengen area within the permitted 90 days in any 180-day period. A return or onward ticket is one common way of doing so, but it is not a legal requirement under the EES regulation. Other means of proof, such as showing sufficient financial means or evidence of family ties and previous lawful travel, may also be accepted.”

EES officially launched on October 12, 2025. However, only one border point in each country was required to be live on the launch date, which increased to 35 per cent by January 9, 2026. Different borders went live at different times. On April 10, all countries had their ports switched on and were fully operational, although there remained the transition period until September 7, 2026.

The EES is in place for 25 of the 27 EU member states — Ireland and Cyprus will continue with manual checks — plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, as they’re part of the border-free Schengen area.

Within the UK, EES kiosks are at the Port of Dover, St Pancras for Eurostar and Folkestone for LeShuttle where passports are checked prior to travel.

In theory, the EES should eventually speed things up at border crossings and make entry into and exit from European countries much easier. For regular travellers to the EU, it should also mean more space in passports, as these won’t be stamped for each border crossing. However, travel association Abta has warned that travellers could face potential delays when they register for EES for the first time, because they will need to supply fingerprints and have a photo taken. Children under 12 won’t have to provide fingerprints.

Some non-EU nationals are exempt from EES. This includes those who hold a residence card and are immediately related to an EU national; those travelling to Europe for certain specific reasons such as research, study or training; and those who hold residence permits and long-stay visas or a valid local border traffic permit.

At Dover, passengers are directed to a new EES registration area in the Western Docks, where there are 84 kiosks to register before proceeding to French border control. The area, which is about the size of five football pitches, was the old Granville Dock and has been filled in to create new land. However, due to technical problems, EES has not yet been implemented for passengers in cars.

Eurostar has 49 EES kiosks spread around three different areas of the station, where passengers register their passport information, facial scan and fingerprints before continuing to departures. Eurostar is also adding nine more manual checking booths (bringing the total to 18) and e-gates, as well as extra staff to help with the EES registrations. Once registered, passengers visit the kiosks before each subsequent trip to Europe to verify their details and undergo facial recognition.

Eurostar has said this new process won’t add to journey times, but it’s likely that it will take a couple of minutes to visit the kiosks before travel. At Paris Gare du Nord and Brussels Midi, which have juxtaposed UK borders, Eurostar has added new kiosks and manual checking desks where passengers will need to verify their details when leaving Europe.

Cars carrying LeShuttle passengers are directed to a bay in a separate drive-through zone that is big enough for 53 cars at a time and has 224 EES registration kiosks. Passengers register their details here before continuing to the European border agent before boarding their service. On subsequent trips, passengers will still need to visit the kiosks, but the process should be faster with less information processed.

Getlink, the owner of LeShuttle, says it can handle 700 cars and 2,000 passengers an hour and the EES checks will take two minutes per person. A similar zone has been set up at Coquelles, on the French side. Due to technical issues, EES has not been implemented for car traffic yet, and manual checking and passport stamping will continue to take place.

There will be dedicated kiosks on arrival at European airports, which passengers will use before continuing through immigration. However, not all airports — particularly smaller European hubs — will have the registration kiosks. In this case, details and biometrics can be taken at the immigration desk.

If your cruise starts and ends in the UK, you don’t need to complete EES, even if you’re getting on and off the ship for European day trips. If you’re flying into Europe to start the cruise, EES applies at the arrival airport; and if you’re leaving Europe by air, exit information is checked when departing.

There have been instances of passengers missing flights because the wait to go through EES checks when leaving the country have been too long. In April 2026, more than 100 people travelling with easyJet to Manchester from Milan Linate Airport were left behind because of a three-hour wait at passport control.

Airlines typically won’t wait for late passengers. It’s also unlikely that you’ll be covered by travel insurance, as it’s generally considered the traveller’s responsibility to get through the airport on time. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says: “Travel insurance is unlikely to cover any losses incurred as a result of delays caused by EES queues. Be sure to plan in advance, allow enough time for delays, or book earlier travel if you need to arrive somewhere abroad at a certain time (for example, a cruise departure).”