Update, October 11, 2024: Authorities announced they will not meet the November deadline, and implementation of EES is delayed. 

The European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, has officially announced the start date of its upcoming Entry/Exit System (EES), which will change the way international passports are processed for visitors to the EU’s member states. 

The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, confirmed in a speech that the EU intends to implement the new system on November 10, 2024.

“After intense dialogues with Member States, with you, with the different stakeholders, I have decided that the Entry/Exit System will enter into operations on the 10th of November,” said Johansson, according to Schengen.News. “Different steps are legally required before the Commission could take the formal decision, but I am proud to reveal today that the 10th of November is the target day.”

What is Europe’s new Entry/Exit System (EES)?

Europe’s new Entry/Exit System is intended to replace passport stamping by electronically registering the arrival and departure of international visitors to and from most EU member states. 

Upon arrival in Europe, passport control officers will scan your face, record a digital scan of your fingerprints—these scans will be mandatory—and not stamp your passport. 

When visitors leave Europe, they’ll scan face and fingers once again to register their departure. 

Visitors will be able to speed their first arrival at a European border by pre-registering using a mobile app (not yet available) or the automated kiosks (which the EU calls “self-service systems”) installed at major border entry ports such as airports. 

Once you’re registered with EES, the next time you cross an external European border, you’ll only have to scan your face and fingers for reentry. 

What’s the difference between EES and ETIAS?

The EES is distinct from Europe’s upcoming European Travel Information and Authorization System, or ETIAS.

One system (ETIAS) will validate approval to travel; the other (EES) is for registering a person’s arrival once travel begins and, later, departure once the visit is over. 

While EES functions as a tracking system for people once they arrive in Europe, ETIAS will function as a pre-authorization to travel to Europe to begin with, and will require more personal information from travelers, including occupation and some travel history.

EES will be used to register visitors every time they enter or leave Europe. ETIAS, on the other hand, must be applied for only once every 3 years before travel begins and is not slated to enter into force until 2025 at the soonest. 

Who is required to use Europe’s new Entry/Exit System (EES)?

Every person crossing an external European border who is not also an EU national—which by definition includes every tourist staying for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period—will be required to register with the new EES. In other words, pretty much everyone who goes to Europe on vacation. 

Visitors who fall outside the category of tourist, such as people who hold residence permits or long-stay visas, will be exempt from the EES. 

Travelers who carry biometric passports (all U.S. passports issued since 2007 are biometric) can also speed through the automated “self-service system” kiosks (a prototype is pictured above) once those travelers’ details have been registered in the database for the first time.   

The EES will be used at the border of 29 EU nations (listed here). Cyprus and Ireland are members of the European Union, but in those countries passports will still be stamped manually.

Authorities say the EES will fall under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that promises personal data will only be used for immigration and security purposes. 

“Safeguards are in place to ensure the rights of travelers as regards the protection of their private lives and personal data,” the EU claims. “Their personal data will only be retained in the EES for as long as necessary and for the purpose(s) for which it was collected.”

The EU has not announced that it expects crowds at border entry points to become backed up in late 2024, after the EES comes online. Still, Frommer’s recommends that travelers allow for a little extra time when entering Europe after November 10. Collecting photos and fingerprints in a new system for every incoming tourist is bound to generate some operational challenges at first. Once more visitors are registered and kinks are worked out, the automated “self-service system” kiosks will be able to process people at faster rates. 

The United States began requiring non-Americans between the ages of 14 and 79 to submit fingerprint scans and facial images nearly 20 years ago.