Twenty-nine European countries on Sunday began rolling out a new system requiring non-EU citizens to register their biometric data before entering Europe’s passport-free Schengen area.
The automated Entry/Exit System (EES) is designed to curb overstaying and identity fraud by replacing manual passport stamping with digital checks. Non-EU travellers will scan their passports and provide fingerprints and a facial image when crossing the area’s external borders.
The Schengen area includes most EU countries plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
The EES will be introduced gradually over the next six months, and fully replace traditional passport stamps on 10 April 2026. From that date, all non-EU nationals entering the Schengen area for the first time will need to register their personal data. The system will also record refusals of entry.
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“The EES is the digital backbone of our new common European framework on migration and asylum,” said European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner.
The EES has been in the works since April 2016, with a planned rollout for 2022, but its implementation has faced repeated delays.
Its introduction will also pave the way for the EU’s new travel authorisation system (ETIAS) for non-EU visitors, set to launch in 2025.
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