A start date for Europe's much-delayed new system of automated border crossings has been announced.
According to the European Union, the bloc's Entry/Exit System (EES) will finally begin rolling out Sunday, October 12, with full implementation expected to be complete by April 10, 2026.
What is Europe's EES?
The system will use travelers' biometric data to register the border crossings of non-EU citizens, including Americans. That means no more passport stamps in the 29 countries participating in the EES.
Instead, non-EU travelers will have to scan their fingerprints and allow a facial photo to be taken at the first European border crossing point they encounter. That biometric data is then stored by the EES for the next 3 years, tracking the traveler's entries, exits, and any refusals of entry.
You'll only have to do the fingerprint-and-photo thing the first time you cross a European border and not again until the 3 years have elapsed.
Which countries are using the EES? And can travelers opt out?
There is no fee for the EES, but there's no opting out, either. If you refuse to provide biometric data, you will be denied entry into any country using the EES. (Kids under age 12 will not have to scan their fingerprints.)
A total of 29 nations have signed on to participate in the EES: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Of EU member states, only Ireland and Cyprus decided to sit this one out.
The system has missed previous implementation start dates, most recently in November 2024, due to "technological delays," as the BBC puts it.
What's the point of the EES? And will it cause long lines at airports?
Improved border security is the goal of the new system. Long wait times for travelers could be an unintended consequence, especially during the rollout this autumn, when multitudes of non-EU visitors will be getting their faces and fingerprints scanned by passport control officers for the first time.
After that, and for the next 3 years, officers will only need to "verify your fingerprints and photo, which will take less time," explains the EU.
Also potentially speeding things up at border crossing points: self-service kiosks, when available. And some European countries might soon have mobile apps for submitting your biometrics in advance.
What's the difference between the EES and ETIAS?
Note that Europe's EES is not to be confused with ETIAS, which stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System. ETIAS is a digital travel permit that non-EU citizens (including Americans) will need to apply for in advance and pay a fee of €20 ($23) to get.
However, ETIAS isn't expected to get going until the "last quarter of 2026," per the EU.
In the meantime, the EES will begin rolling out at European border crossings October 12 of this year, officials say, and passport stamps in all of the countries using EES will be a thing of the past by some point in the spring of 2026.
For more information on the European Union's Entry/Exit System, go to the official EES website.