What's happening with the EU's Entry Exit Scheme?
EES is now fully live across all Schengen borders. There's no nationality-based exemption anywhere, including Greece, but several countries are pausing biometric checks locally when queues spike.
The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) is now fully live. All 29 Schengen countries must register every non-EU traveller, including UK nationals, with biometrics at every border crossing. Greece tried exempting British travellers in April 2026 but was made to reverse this by the European Commission by the end of May: there is no nationality-based exemption anywhere, and Brits now go through exactly the same checks as everyone else. What does genuinely happen is local, temporary pausing of biometric collection when a specific border point is too congested to cope, regardless of nationality. Italy is doing this whenever queues exceed 45 minutes, a measure due to run until 30 September, and Portugal is doing similar at Lisbon, Porto and Faro. That flexibility mechanism is due to expire on 6 September, and nine countries wrote to the Commission on 7 July asking for it to be extended; a decision is pending. The tips that make the biggest practical difference are: travel carry-on only and sit near the front of the plane; time your flight to avoid peak landing windows; download the pre-registration app; and go straight to passport control once you're through security, duty-free and coffee can wait. Critically: fast-track security lanes do not speed up passport control. ETIAS, the separate advance travel authorisation UK visitors will eventually need, was targeted for Q4 2026 but is now widely expected to slip into 2027, so there's nothing to act on yet.
What you'll find in this article:
If you're heading to Europe this year, EES is now a firm part of the journey. The phased rollout that began on 12 October 2025 completed its mandatory full implementation on 10 April 2026, meaning every Schengen border point is now required to register all non-EU travellers biometrically. And they are, for the most part.
The one significant piece of wiggle-room is a flexibility mechanism that lets member states temporarily pause biometric collection at specific, congested border points until 6 September, with several countries now pushing Brussels to extend that deadline further into the autumn. Here's where things stand.
What is EES?
EES is a new digital border system for non-EU travellers (including UK citizens). On your first encounter you provide biometrics (fingerprints and a facial image); on later trips, the system matches your passport to that record automatically. It's designed to eventually replace manual passport stamping altogether, though several countries are still falling back to a stamp at busy border points during periods of high congestion.
The EU began introducing EES on 12 October 2025 and completed the phased rollout on 10 April 2026. From that date, all 29 Schengen countries must register every non-EU national at every border crossing, unless a member state invokes the specific, congestion-triggered flexibility provisions built into the legislation, which several are currently doing.
There's no pre-registration or fee for EES itself, and if you get a new passport you'll need to enrol again because your biometrics are linked to that document. A "Travel to Europe" mobile app (iOS/Android) lets you pre-enter passport details and, at some airports, upload a facial image before arrival, worth downloading before you fly.
What countries are affected?
Now mandatory at all borders: All 29 Schengen area countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland must now operate EES at every crossing point. Ireland and Cyprus remain outside the Schengen Area and are not affected.
Update: Greece's UK exemption was reversed, and no country has one now. In April 2026, Greece announced that British passport holders would be exempt from biometric registration. The European Commission stepped in within weeks, confirming there's no provision in the EES rules for exempting a single nationality, and by the end of May Greece had fully reversed the policy. British visitors to Greece now go through exactly the same registration as every other non-EU traveller, and no other Schengen country has attempted or been granted a nationality-based exemption since.
Most disrupted during the rollout: Lisbon (seven-hour queues in December 2025, system suspended for three months), Paris CDG/Orly (e-gates incompatible with UK passports until late March 2026), and Spain's major airports (processing times up 70% at peak periods). Several of these pressure points haven't fully gone away: Italy and Portugal are both still using the congestion-pause mechanism at their busiest airports as of summer 2026, reverting to a manual stamp whenever queues run too long.
- 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
Where is EES operating, and what's the current status?
With full mandatory implementation now in force, every major Schengen airport used by UK holidaymakers is live, though several are still using temporary local pauses when queues get too long. The picture below reflects what happened during the rollout and what's still ongoing as of midsummer. We'll keep this updated as the season develops, if you've been through an airport with news to share, head to our Facebook and let us know!
What do I need to do?
Build in extra time at passport control, that's the single most important practical action for any EU trip this year. There's nothing to apply for in advance and there's no charge for EES. But first-time biometric registration takes a few minutes per person, and at busy airports in summer that can mean substantial queues.
Unless you're travelling by Eurostar from St Pancras, the Port of Dover (coaches and freight), or the Eurotunnel in Folkestone, where the checks happen at the UK end, what you experience will depend on your destination airport. All airports are now supposed to be live, though the smoothness of the process varies considerably by location.
If you've already been through EES since October 2025, your biometrics are registered. Future crossings should be quicker, though some airports have been asking previously enrolled travellers to repeat the process if their systems aren't yet fully synced.
The EES data is linked to your passport, so if you get a new passport you'll need to provide your biometric data again. And every traveller, including children, now needs their own individual passport. Group or collective passports for school trips are no longer accepted under EES.
One practical heads-up specifically for departure queues: airlines including easyJet have issued formal warnings that the EES queue on the way out of Europe can also be lengthy, and the gate will not wait. Head to passport control well before your gate is announced, not after.
Is it going to disrupt travel to the EU this summer?
Short answer: quite possibly, yes. Industry bodies ACI Europe and Airlines for Europe have jointly warned the European Commission that passengers could face significant waits at peak summer border points. During the winter rollout phase, processing times already increased by up to 70% at some airports, with waits of up to three hours at peak periods, and that was before full mandatory enforcement kicked in.
The most severe case was Lisbon, where waiting times reached seven hours in December 2025, forcing a full three-month suspension and the deployment of 80 additional border officers. In France, CDG and Orly's Parafe e-gates remained incompatible with UK and US passports until late March 2026. In Spain, airports including Málaga and Alicante saw passengers miss flights due to queue lengths.
The good news is that the legislation includes a built-in pressure valve: member states can partially suspend EES checks for up to 90 days after the April 10 deadline, with a possible 60-day extension, to manage peak congestion. Italy and Portugal are the two countries making most active use of this right now, pausing biometric collection at specific congested airports rather than exempting anyone by nationality. That combined window is due to run out on 6 September, and on 7 July nine countries, including Italy, Portugal and Greece, wrote to the European Commission asking for it to be extended further into the autumn. Brussels hasn't confirmed either way yet. What this means in practice is a patchwork: one airport might be fully enforcing EES on a given day while another nearby invokes a pause during a surge. We'll keep this page updated as the situation develops.
The safest assumption for the rest of summer 2026 is to plan for delays and be pleasantly surprised if they don't materialise.
Can I complete the biometric checks before I travel?
There's no formal pre-registration in most countries, but the official "Travel to Europe" mobile app (iOS/Android) lets you pre-enter passport details and, at some locations, upload a facial image ahead of arrival, worth downloading before you go. Some departure airports also have pre-enrolment kiosks; check with your specific airport before travelling.
What if I don't want my biometric data stored by the EU?
Then you won't be admitted. Many countries (like the USA) already require biometrics for visitors, EES brings a similar approach to Schengen borders. Data is stored for up to three years (longer for overstays or security issues) and then automatically deleted. The system complies with EU GDPR standards.
What's it actually for?
People who don't live in the EU, which includes UK nationals, can visit for 90 days in any 180-day period. EES creates an electronic record of entries and exits so authorities can enforce that rule and reduce fraud. Once fully bedded in, it should speed up repeat trips, the first registration is the slow part.
This also paves the way for ETIAS, which was originally due later in 2026 but now looks set to slip.
What's ETIAS?
It's a visa-waiver-style travel authorisation that non-EU, visa-exempt visitors (including UK travellers) will need before they go. It was targeted for the last quarter of 2026, but Financial Times reporting in July 2026 says the EU agency building it, eu-LISA, has concluded a 2026 launch isn't feasible and a slip into 2027 now looks likely, with the chaotic EES rollout cited as a factor. The Commission has yet to update the official timeline and says it will confirm the specific launch date several months in advance. The fee is confirmed at €20 (roughly £17); under-18s and over-70s are exempt from paying, though they'll still need to apply. Authorisation lasts for up to three years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
Unlike EES, you apply for ETIAS in advance online. EES enrolment happens at the border the first time you encounter it. ETIAS has now been delayed from its original 2021 target six times, most recently pushed back because its prerequisite, EES, has had such a difficult rollout of its own.
Fraud warning: unofficial websites are already charging for "ETIAS registration" that doesn't exist yet. Only ever use the official EU portal at travel-europe.europa.eu/etias when applications open.
How do I avoid the whole thing?
There's no nationality-based shortcut for anyone, UK travellers included: Greece tried exempting Brits from biometric checks in April 2026 and was made to reverse it within weeks. If you want to sidestep EES altogether, the reliable option is to pick a destination outside the Schengen Area entirely. Within four hours from a UK airport you can fly to Ireland, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Albania, Morocco or Tunisia. Or go further afield, everywhere outside Europe from Canada to Bali is unaffected.
There are a few places outside the EU affected indirectly, such as the Vatican, Andorra, Monaco and San Marino, because reaching them usually means passing through an EES country.
If you are heading into the Schengen zone, you can still get lucky: Italy and Portugal are both currently pausing biometric checks at specific airports whenever queues run too long, which occasionally means a quicker passage than expected. But that's a byproduct of congestion management, not something you can plan a trip around, so treat any tips below as a bonus rather than a booking strategy.
Tips to avoid EES delays
- Allow at least 60 to 90 minutes extra at passport control during peak summer travel, on top of your usual wait, on both arrival and departure.
- Download the "Travel to Europe" app and pre-enter your passport details before you fly.
- Head straight to passport control as soon as you've cleared check-in and security, don't leave it until your gate is called.
- Have your accommodation address ready, EES means border officials are more likely to ask Schengen Border Code questions about where you're staying.
- Every child needs their own individual passport, collective school trip passports are no longer valid.
- Check your passport validity, a new passport means a fresh EES enrolment and longer first-time processing.
- At Dover, Eurotunnel or Eurostar, EES checks happen before you leave the UK, arrive earlier than usual.
- Consider travel insurance that covers missed connections caused by border delays.
- Monitor the news close to your travel date: Italy and Portugal in particular can invoke congestion pauses at short notice, which could actually work in your favour on the day.
- Prague has been running more smoothly since its rocky start; Lisbon, Málaga and Paris CDG were the biggest stress points over winter and Lisbon and Rome/Milan remain the ones most likely to see a local pause this summer, factor that into destination or routing choices.
