Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and more Set to Launch Biometric Border Checks for UK Tourists Under New Entry/Exit System

Thursday, July 17, 2025

Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Sweden are among 21 other European countries to bring the new Entry/Exit System into effect from October, rendering passport stamps obsolete as the UK tourist is subjected to more advanced biometric border checks. This significant development seeks to improve travel security and modernise border controls through the collection of facial images and fingerprints of non-EU citizens at borders in the Schengen Area to enable the recording of the duration of their stay, thus decreasing the risk of document fraud and overstaying.

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What Is the Entry/Exit System (EES)?

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an advanced digital border management system to record the border crossings (entry/exit) of all non-EU national citizens— including British citizens—coming from third countries to the Schengen area. Rather than the current method of manual passport stamps, EES will record biometrics and passport information on entry automatically.

The following information will be documented in EES:

Facial images (Real-time acquired)

Fingerprints

Name, passport number, and nationality in full.

Date and place of border crossing (arrival and departure)

Period of stay in the Schengen countries

The information will be kept to facilitate short stays (of up to 90 days in any 180-day period) and improve borders across the Schengen zone.

How Will It Impact UK Travellers?

The EES will apply to all British visitors to the Schengen Zone for tourism, business and short visits. With the current regime, travellers won’t have to deal with manual passport stamps. Their biometric information and arrival/departure will instead be automatically recorded at the first point of entry to the destination country.

For UK citizens, this means:

Longer waits in airports, at least in the short term

Compulsory biometric data (face and fingerprints) scanning is required.

No pre-registration necessary before traveling

No immediate action required unless directed during border checks

Why the EES is being introduced?

In order to:

Strengthen border surveillance throughout the Schengen zone

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Reduce overstay, facilitate better enforcement of the 90/180 days rule

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Increase security overall by incorporating biometric monitoring

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is designed to help authorities identify travellers who exceed permitted stay limits and detect individuals attempting to enter the Schengen Area with forged travel documents.

Who Will Visit the EES?

When it becomes operational in October, the Entry/Exit System will apply in 29 European countries of the Schengen Area. That means most of the UK’s most popular travel destinations:

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Italy

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Cyprus will not become an EES member, but will join ETIAS.

What is ETIAS & How It’s Different from EES?

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is a different project to EES, which will begin six months after EES, around 2025. ETIAS will require that British and other non-EU citizens apply for travel authorisation before travelling to the Schengen Zone, the EES does not dispense with the necessity to make a pre-travel move.

Key Features of ETIAS:

Linked to the traveller’s passport

Requires an online application

Around €7 (as of now)

It remains active for up to three years or until the associated passport expires, depending on which occurs earlier.

Compulsory for travellers between the ages of 18 and 70

Application Requirements Include:

Full name and date of birth

Passport details

Address and current occupation

History of travel to areas of conflict.backward for 5–21 y.

Information on criminal convictions

ETIAS will not store biometric information (e.g. fingerprints or facial images) and is strictly a system for pre-travel authorisation.

What Occurs at the Border Under EES?

When you reach the Schengen Country Border at a country you are a Citizen, EES will apply as follows:

First-time visitors will be required to submit biometric data.

Border officers will handle the facial recognition and fingerprint scanning.

Travellers will be given a leaflet or digital message with their rights and information on data protection.

The EES database will keep that information safe.

Refusal to comply – no biometric scan, no entry.

The system is only designed for short stays (less than 90 days over 180 days). Visas will still be required for longer stays for work, study or residency.

Will EES Cause Travel Delays?

Yes—at least temporarily. Travel and border officials have warned that the implementation of EES could result in longer lines and longer wait times at air and land ports of entry. An influx of inexperienced travellers could create traffic jams, particularly at large airports and in busy travel seasons.

Officials at the UK have issued advisories telling those travelling that they may need to schedule more time to get into Europe. Even though the system is intended to increase efficiency in the long run, the transition phase has the potential to be very slow.

What Should Travelers Do to Prepare?

Although the EES does not require travellers to do anything before they go, here are some sensible steps that UK holidaymakers can follow:

Get to the airport earlier than you would otherwise, especially during the first few months of the rollout.

Ensure that your passports are both up to date and not damaged for easy biometric scanning.

Keep up to date by checking travel advisories and airline alerts before your trip.

Patience and expect longer waiting times in Schengen countries on arrival.

Know the ETIAS regulations before it’s launched in 2025.

Effects on Travel ND Tourism Business

The EES is likely to also cause disruption for airlines, airport employees and tourism operators, who will need to adjust to new rules around their systems and staff training. Investment in infrastructure like e-gates, self-service kiosks and biometric scanners will be increasingly common at European airports. Tour operators and travel companies will need to offer new information to clients heading to the EU.

Key Takeaways for UK Travellers

The Entry/Exit System is scheduled to go live in October 2025, ushering in a phased transition away from traditional passport stamping toward fully digital border verification.

Non-EU travellers will also have to submit biometric data at the border (based on the face and fingerprints).

The system will be available for use in 29 European countries including popular destinations Spain, Italy, France and Greece.

Six months later the ETIAS system will come into effect and require online travel authorisation in advance.

EES does not require advance registration, but ETIAS will entail a formal application.

Anticipate time lapses and longer lines in the transition.

Keep an eye on official UK and EU travel advice.

With the implementation of the Entry/Exit System, the way UK nationals and other non-EU citizens travel to the Schengen Area will change. Keyed to modernizing travel, and improving border safety, while phasing out legacy technologies like passport stamping, the EES looks likely to bring us something closer to a digital future for European travel. The process, however, will take patience, planning and vigilance on the part of travelers, at least in the first few months of the new regulations.

Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and additional European countries are due to activate the Entry/Exit System (EES) by October, which will roll out facial recognition and fingerprint checks for UK travellers. It does this through a biometric update that will replace manual passport stamps, increase general security at the frontier, speed up the process of access and make it easier to track short stays in the Schengen area.

The good news for UK travellers jetting off to hotspots across the continent is that those getting used to technology to recreate international mobility can be a case of this too shall pass – as long as they are prepared to get clued up, organise for new procedures and enjoy a smoother, more organised, and above all else, safer journey into Europe. aware travellers.