Europe's Entry/Exit System is running, and ETIAS still has no start date

The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) replaced passport stamps for non-EU visitors on 10 April 2026, after a phased start that began on 12 October 2025. The European Commission says it now runs at the external borders of all 29 countries that use it: the EU minus Cyprus and Ireland, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Cyprus and Ireland still stamp passports by hand.

What the system records

Each crossing logs your name and passport details, a facial image, your fingerprints, and the date and place of entry or exit. Refusals are recorded too. If you travel without a visa, EES stores four fingerprints plus your face. Visa holders give a photo only, because their fingerprints are already on file from the visa application. Children under 12 are not fingerprinted. Registration is free and there is nothing to apply for, but refusing the biometrics means being refused entry. The record is kept for three years, or five if no exit is logged.

Who registers

Every non-EU national on a short stay registers, with or without a visa, including British, American, Canadian and Australian passport holders. Citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are exempt, as are residence-permit and long-stay visa holders. So are Britons with a Withdrawal Agreement residence document.

At the airport

Your first crossing takes longest. An officer, or a self-service kiosk where one exists, scans your passport, takes your photo and records your fingerprints. Later trips only check you against the stored file. Kiosks need a chip passport. The optional Travel to Europe app lets you pre-register up to 72 hours ahead, but on 12 October it covered only entries to Sweden and, for the questionnaire alone, Portugal.

Officially the system has run at every external crossing since April. In practice it has been patchier.

Politico Europe reports that some countries switched it off at peak times over the summer, and that passengers at Brussels Airport queued for up to five hours in September. On 14 September the Guardian reported that nine countries, including France, Greece, Italy and Portugal, had told Brussels they needed more time to fingerprint at some crossings, although the temporary right to suspend checks expired on 6 September. Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner told Politico on 11 October that member states "had enough time to prepare themselves" and must clear the queues before Christmas.

Eurostar, Dover and Folkestone

Leave Britain by Eurostar from St Pancras, by Eurotunnel at Folkestone or by ferry from Dover and the EES check happens before you depart, GOV.UK says. Eurostar says there is nothing to do in advance: arrive at the time printed on your ticket.

Dover is behind. French officers there logged passengers over the summer without taking fingerprints or photos, and France's interior ministry told the BBC in September that "flexibility is being granted until the end of the year."

The 90/180 rule

The rule has not changed: 90 days in any 180, counted as one total across all 29 countries. EES now does the counting and flags overstayers. Its online stay checker ignores any visit that began before 10 April 2026, so if you were in Europe earlier in the year, do the sums yourself.

ETIAS has no start date

ETIAS, the online authorisation that visa-exempt visitors will need for 30 European countries, is not operating. Its official site says no applications are being taken and that the EU will announce a start date "several months prior to its launch." The site dropped its late-2026 target in July, the House of Commons Library notes, and Euronews has reported that 2027 looks more likely. Nothing official confirms a date. When it starts, ETIAS will cost €20 for applicants aged 18 to 70 and last three years or until your passport expires. Most decisions should take minutes; some could take up to 30 days.

One official page is out of step. GOV.UK's EES guidance, last updated on 10 April, still says ETIAS operations are expected to start in autumn 2026. It also warns that any website selling ETIAS now is doing so fraudulently.