The EU Entry/Exit System (EES)

The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is a system planned by the European Union (EU) to monitor and record electronically and automatically the border crossings of third-country nationals (those who are not EU/EEA/Swiss citizens) at all Schengen Area border crossing points.

The system, operated by eu-LISA, is being rolled out over 6 months, beginning on 12 October 2025 and ending on 10 April 2026. Once fully deployed on 10 April 2026, passport stamps will no longer be used when entering or leaving the Schengen Area.

The system stores information including name, date of birth, fingerprints and biometric data for facial recognition, together with the place and time of the border crossing, in the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) database.

An overview of the EES

Exemptions

The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) does not apply to the following groups of individuals:

• Nationals of the following countries and territories: (dual nationals need a valid European passport or national identity card)
  • The European Union (EU)
    • Áo (Austria)
    • Belgium
    • Bulgaria
    • Croatia
    • Cyprus
    • The Czech Republic
    • Denmark
    • Estonia
    • Finland
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • Ireland
    • Italy (Italy)
    • Latvia
    • Lithuania
    • Luxembourg
    • Malta
    • The Netherlands
    • Ba Lan (Poland)
    • Portugal
    • Romania
    • Slovakia
    • Slovenia
    • Spain
    • Sweden
  • EFTA
    • Iceland
    • Lieechtenstein
    • Na Uy (Norway)
    • Switzerland
  • Andorra
  • San Marino
  • Monaco
  • The Holy See
• Foreign nationals holding:
  • A residence permit or residence card issued by a European Union (EU) or Schengen country (including British beneficiaries of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement)
  • A long-stay Schengen visa
  • A valid local border traffic permit

European Union regulations

• Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2017 establishing the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) to register entry and exit data and refusal of entry data of third-country nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States and determining the conditions for access to the EES for law enforcement purposes, and amending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement and Regulations (EC) No 767/2008 and (EU) No 1077/2011 (OJ L 327, 9 December 2017, p. 20)
• Regulation (EU) 2017/2225 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2017 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards the use of the Entry/Exit System (OJ L 327, 9 December 2017, p. 1)