Get your Europe ETIAS & EES online

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is a digital system that replaces the manual stamping of passports with an electronic biometric registration. Launched on 12 October 2025 with a phased rollout across 29 European countries, the EES automatically records every entry and exit of non-European citizens crossing an external border of the Schengen area.

In practice, on your first crossing of a European border after the EES deployment, border authorities will collect your biometric data and the information from your travel document. This information, retained for 3 years (and up to 5 years where no exit record is created, i.e. in the event of a presumed overstay), will replace the physical stamps in the passport and allow authorities to more easily detect overstays (the 90 days in 180 days rule), combat identity theft and strengthen border security.

The EES applies to third-country nationals travelling for a short stay (90 days in any 180-day period) who cross an external border of the Schengen area, whether they are subject to a Schengen visa requirement (short-stay visa) or exempt from a visa. It is triggered at every border crossing, whether by air, land or sea. The EES therefore affects a far larger number of travellers than ETIAS.

One essential point that is often left out: not every non-European traveller is registered in the EES. The regulation provides for several permanent exemptions, which notably cover the millions of third-country nationals living in Europe.

ETIAS will affect nationals of 59 countries currently exempt from a visa for the Schengen area. Among the most affected nationalities in the Americas: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Venezuela. In Asia-Pacific: Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. In Europe outside Schengen: the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia. In the Middle East and elsewhere: the United Arab Emirates, Israel and various island nations.

Important: citizens of the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland are not affected by ETIAS. Travellers subject to a Schengen visa requirement (short-stay visa) are not affected either: they will continue to apply for a standard visa at an embassy or consulate.

ETIAS will be required to enter 30 European countries. The geographical scope is not that of the European Union: it covers the Schengen area, plus Cyprus — and it is not the same as the EES scope either, which is operated by 29 countries only.

The 29 countries of the Schengen area (25 EU member states and 4 EFTA states) are included: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland (EFTA), Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein (EFTA), Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway (EFTA), the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland (EFTA).

Added to these is Cyprus, the only non-Schengen country on the ETIAS list — 30 countries in total. Cyprus is not yet part of the Schengen area: on 14 July 2026 the European Commission adopted a positive assessment of its readiness, and the decision now rests with the Council of the EU, which takes it up from September 2026. Until accession takes effect, Cyprus keeps its own border checks and its national visa, and does not operate the EES: passports there are still stamped manually.

Two points that are often misunderstood. Ireland, an EU member state with a Schengen opt-out, operates neither the EES nor ETIAS: its entry rules are unchanged, and travel between Ireland and the United Kingdom falls under the Common Travel Area (CTA). The micro-states — Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican — appear on neither list: they have no controlled border with the Schengen area, so it is your entry into the Schengen area (via France, Spain or Italy) that triggers the EES, and ETIAS in due course.

The two systems — EES and ETIAS — are complementary. ETIAS checks travellers before their arrival in Europe, while the EES registers them at the time of the border crossing. Together, they will allow the EU to reliably track entries and exits, detect overstays and strengthen security without compromising the flow of travel.

For travellers, whether or not they are required to apply for a Schengen visa, these systems will mean simplicity and fluidity in the medium term, despite the initial deployment difficulties. In 2024, Europe welcomed 747 million international visitors according to UN Tourism, confirming its position as the world's leading tourism region. ETIAS and the EES aim to manage this influx more efficiently and securely.

The now-completed entry into force of the EES and the future arrival of ETIAS — whose date has not yet been set — are concretely changing how travellers prepare for a trip to the Schengen area. Whether you are currently subject to a standard visa or exempt from a visa, here are the key points to anticipate in order to avoid unpleasant surprises at the borders.

If you are a national of a Schengen visa-exempt country (one of the 59 nationalities concerned by ETIAS), you will absolutely need to obtain your electronic travel authorisation before boarding from the moment the system goes live — a date still to be announced. A 6-month transition period is planned, during which no entry refusal will be issued for lack of ETIAS, but it is better to anticipate and avoid last-minute uncertainties.

If you are subject to a standard Schengen visa, your process does not change fundamentally: you will continue to obtain your visa from the competent embassy or consulate. However, the physical border crossing will be modified by the EES, which will collect your biometric data on your first crossing.