EU’s biometric Entry/Exit border system set to launch in 2025: Who’ll need to use it?

After numerous delays and setbacks, the EU’s long-awaited Entry/Exit System (EES) may soon be rolling out at a border near you.

On 4 December, the European Commission (EC) proposed a progressive start of operations for the EES, Europe’s new digital border system for non-EU nationals.

Once the proposal has been approved and the EC has set a start date, member states will have six months to deploy it.

Yesterday, the EU’s official EES website confirmed the system will begin in 2025, though no exact date was given. Meaning that nearly nine years after the EES was proposed, it might finally happen.

Here’s what you need to know about how Americans, Brits and other non-EU countries will cross borders into the bloc

What is the EES?

The Entry/Exit System will be an automated registration system for UK and other non-EU travellers who don’t require avisa to enter the EU.

Travellers will need to scan theirpassports or other travel document at a self-service kiosk each time they cross an EU external border. It will not apply to legal EU citizens or residents or those with long-stay visas.

The system will register the traveller’s name, biometric data, and the date and place of entry and exit.Facial scans and fingerprint data will be taken every three years and are valid for multiple trips within that period. 

Why is the EES being implemented and in which countries?

The EES will apply to non-EU citizens - including UK nationals - who come to the bloc for visits, holidays or business and stay for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.

EU officials say the system is being introduced to bolster border security and identify travellers who overstay their permitted time in the Schengen Area (90 days within a 180 day period).

“With the EES, we will know exactly who enters the Schengen Area with a foreign passport,” Ylva Johannson, the EU’s former home affairs commissioner, said in an August speech at eu-LISA, the agency overseeing Europe’s large-scale IT systems.

It will apply when entering all EU member states, apart fromCyprus and Ireland, as well as four non-EU countries in the Schengen Area:Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

The EES has faced delay after delay

At eu-LISA in August, Johansson declared that the EES would be ready to launch before her five-year tenure would end in November.

“The moment is finally here,” she said. “There may have been times you believed it [would] never happen. But it is going to happen. Everything is coming together.”

But two months later, Johansson announced that the system’s 10 November launch date would be delayed again. It marked the fourth time the rollout had been pushed back.

Johansson noted that France, Germany and the Netherlands – countries that collectively receive more than 100 million tourists per year – told the EC they were not ready to implement the system, voicing concerns about a lack of practical testing. 

Previous delays have been blamed on IT issues and the installation of new automated barriers required at all international land, maritime and air borders in the Schengen Area. Some airports reported having to reinforce their floors to accommodate the heavy new scanners.

What entering the Schengen Area will look like in the years ahead

While an official launch date has yet to be announced, there was never any question of whether the EES would eventually happen.

The gradual approach appears to give the participating nations more flexibility to fine-tune their technology and navigate unexpected issues.

The goal, according to the EC, is to have the new system working at 10 per cent of border crossings in every member state on day one. During this soft launch period, travellers’ passports will continue to be stamped, as well as electronically recorded.

After six months, the EC expects the EES to be fully operational.

Another six months after the EES is up and running, travellers will also need to apply for the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), a visa-waiver programme for travellers between the ages of 16 and 70. 

The ETIAS will cost €7 and be valid for three years.

While an app designed to streamline entry and exit from Europe is also in development, its ability to capture required biometric data such as fingerprints remains unclear.