After many delays the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) is formally scheduled to launch on 10 November 2024 according to European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson with a ‘last resort’ back-up date of 17 November. The system was originally planned to launch in 2021.

The EES will replace stamps in physical passports by digitally registering the data of non-EU citizens whenever they enter and exit external Schengen borders, to ensure they don’t stay in the Schengen area for more than 90 days in any 180-day period. Travelers will be required to submit fingerprint and face biometrics on their first crossing; subsequent EES crossings will only require a passport scan at a self-serve kiosk to match the ID document against enrolled biometric data.

However, travellers with certain EU identity documents, will be exempt from the biometrics requirement. In France, for example, qualifying documents include all forms of Withdrawal Agreement residency permits, such as temporary, five-year, ten-year, and permanent residence permits. Other valid residency permits issued by France or any other EU member state will also ensure exemption from EES.

UK nationals who retain rights under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement will be exempt from EES registration, provided they carry the correct documentation. A list of those exempt from application of the EES can be found here.

The EES will require travellers arriving from non-EU countries who do not require a visa, including the UK and the U.S., to register each time before they cross the Schengen border.

And then ETIAS

Johansson also noted the forthcoming launch of the associated European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which is set to go live in 2025. This will require visitors from 60 visa free countries to apply for authorisation ahead of travel to 29 European nations for a fee of € 7.