EES and ETIAS: Europe's new border checks, explained

Two new systems are changing how non-Europeans cross into the Schengen area. They get mixed up constantly, so here is the short version.

EES is running now. Since 10 April 2026 it has been fully operational at every external border crossing of the 29 countries that use it. It records your face and fingerprints, logs every entry and exit, and replaces the passport stamp. You do not apply for it. It happens to you at the border.

ETIAS is not running. It will be a €20 online travel authorisation for travellers who do not need a visa. On 30 September 2026 the official site says it is “currently not in operation” and that no applications are being collected. There is no start date.

Everything below was read on the EU’s own pages on 30 September 2026.

What the Entry/Exit System is

The EES is an automated IT system that registers non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay, each time they cross the external border of a country that uses it. “Short stay” means up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted as a single period across all of those countries.

It applies to you if you are a non-EU national who either needs a short-stay visa or does not. Both groups are registered. For the EES, “non-EU national” means anyone who is not a national of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.

According to the EU’s EES data page, the system collects and stores:

• the data in your travel document, such as full name and date of birth
• the date and place of each entry and exit
• your facial image and fingerprints
• whether you were refused entry

If you hold a Schengen short-stay visa, your fingerprints are already in the Visa Information System and are not stored again in the EES. The EES FAQ also says the fingerprints of children under 12 are currently not scanned.

If you refuse to give your fingerprints or have your photo taken, you will be refused entry. The page is plain about that.

Where it runs, and where it does not

The EES runs in 29 countries: the Schengen area.

Uses the EES	Does not
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland	Cyprus and Ireland, where passports are still stamped by hand. The United Kingdom is not part of it either.

That list matches the 29 members on our Schengen destination pages.

The start date, and where the rollout stands

The European Commission’s EES page gives the progressive start as 12 October 2025. The EES FAQ explains what that meant: the system was deployed gradually across the external borders over six months, the progressive phase lasted until 9 April 2026, and from 10 April 2026 the EES is fully operational at all external border crossing points.

So in September 2026 the rollout is over. If you land at any Schengen external border as a non-EU short-stay traveller, expect to be registered.

What happens at the border

The first time you cross after the EES started, officers take a photo of your face and scan your fingerprints, and a digital file is created. Your passport is not stamped, whether or not it is biometric.

On later trips your face and fingerprints are already on file. Officers only verify them, which the EU says takes less time. In rare cases they may collect them again.

You can speed the first registration up in two ways, where available:

• Self-service kiosks at the border crossing point, which let you register your data for an officer to check. If you hold a biometric passport and your file is clear, the EU says you will usually not need to see an officer on later crossings.
• The Travel to Europe app, which is official and run by the EU. It lets you pre-register your passport data and facial image up to 72 hours before you reach the border, and fill in the entry questionnaire in advance. It is optional, needs a biometric passport, and is only useful where the country supports it.

On 30 September 2026 the app page lists two countries: Sweden, where it handles passport data, facial image and the questionnaire, and Portugal, where it handles the questionnaire only. Other countries may add it later. Check before you rely on it.

How it replaces the stamp, and enforces 90/180

A stamp was the evidence of when you came and went, and days were counted by reading them. The EES does the count itself.

Because every entry and exit is logged, the system calculates how many days you have left in the rolling 180-day window. If you stay longer than you are allowed, you are identified as an overstayer and your data is automatically added to a list that border, immigration and visa staff can see. The EU lists possible consequences under national law: removal, fines, detention, or being prevented from re-entering.

You can check your own remaining days with the EU’s online tool on the check how long you can stay page, at equipment at some borders, or by asking the officer. Two caveats from that page:

• The count does not include any time in the Schengen area that began before 10 April 2026.
• Until 6 October 2026, the tool’s “OK” answer may be unreliable for holders of single or double-entry visas who used any of those entries between 12 October 2025 and 9 April 2026, because those entries were not recorded.

If either applies to you, count the days yourself. Our guide to the 90/180 rule shows how.

How long the EES keeps your data

Record	Kept for	Counted from
Entries, exits and refusals of entry	3 years	The date each record was created
Your individual file	3 years and 1 day	Your last exit, or your refusal of entry
If no exit is recorded	5 years	The date your authorised stay expired

That is the table on the EU’s data page. Overstaying keeps you in the system for five years, not three.

Who the EES does not apply to

The exemptions page lists, among others:

• nationals of the countries using the EES, and of Cyprus and Ireland
• holders of residence permits and long-stay visas
• non-EU family members of EU citizens who hold a residence card
• nationals of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino, and holders of Vatican passports

If you live in a Schengen country on a residence permit, the EES is not for you.

What ETIAS is

ETIAS is a travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers. It is not a visa. It is linked to your passport, and it lets you enter as often as you like for short stays, normally up to 90 days in any 180. It does not guarantee entry. The border guard still decides.

ETIAS will cover 30 countries: the 29 that use the EES, plus Cyprus. Ireland is not one of them.

Who will need it. Nationals of the visa-exempt countries listed on the who should apply page. That list includes the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Brazil and Mexico, among many others. The page says UK nationals will need one for short stays.

Who will not. You do not need ETIAS if you need a visa. The same page exempts nationals who need a visa to travel to the ETIAS countries, and holders of a uniform (Schengen) visa, a national long-stay visa, or a residence permit issued by an ETIAS country other than Cyprus.

If you need a Schengen visa, you do not need ETIAS. A Nigerian or Ghanaian passport holder going to France applies for a visa, as before. Nothing about ETIAS adds a step. Our Schengen visa guide covers that route.

The fee, the exemptions and the validity

	What the official site says
Fee	EUR 20
Who pays nothing	Applicants under 18 or above 70, and family members of EU nationals who meet the conditions
Validity	Up to three years, or until the passport expires, whichever comes first
Decision	Most within minutes. Otherwise within four days, extendable by up to 14 days if more information is asked for, or up to 30 days if you are invited to an interview
Where to apply	The official ETIAS website or the official ETIAS mobile app

When ETIAS starts

It has not. On 30 September 2026 the official ETIAS website says ETIAS is “currently not in operation” and that no applications are collected. It says the EU “will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch.”

That is all it says. It gives no date, month or quarter. The EES FAQ says only that ETIAS is expected to launch “soon after the EES”.

Any site that tells you a firm ETIAS date, or offers to take an ETIAS application today, is not working from the official page. We will update this guide when the EU announces a date.

Watch out for unofficial ETIAS sites

The EU’s own FAQ is direct about intermediaries. Applying directly costs EUR 20. Anything charged on top goes to the intermediary. It advises you to be careful whom you pay or share your personal data with, and to make sure you personally have access to the email address on the application, because every message about your authorisation goes there.

The official site is travel-europe.europa.eu. The domain ends in europa.eu. If it does not, it is not the EU. And right now, no one can legitimately sell you an ETIAS at all.

Checklist

• Visa-exempt traveller, now. You need no ETIAS yet. Expect fingerprints and a face photo at your first Schengen crossing since the EES started. No stamp.
• Visa holder, now. Get your Schengen visa as usual. The EES will register you too. You will never need ETIAS.
• Crossing into Cyprus or Ireland. No EES. Your passport is stamped by hand.
• Arriving in Sweden or Portugal. Consider the Travel to Europe app, up to 72 hours before.
• Counting your days. Use the EU’s online tool, but count yourself if you were in the Schengen area before 10 April 2026, or used a single or double-entry visa between 12 October 2025 and 9 April 2026.
• Do not overstay. It is recorded automatically and kept for five years.
• ETIAS later. Apply only at travel-europe.europa.eu or the official app. EUR 20. Free under 18 and over 70. Valid up to three years or until your passport expires.
• Ignore anyone selling ETIAS today. It is not open.