New border rules are in place across Europe. British passport holders and other third-country travellers are subject to the Entry/Exit System (EES) when travelling to countries within the EU or Schengen area. The system does not apply for travel to Ireland or Cyprus.
EES replaced passport stamping with digital records of third-country passport holders’ visits to the Schengen area. It includes taking fingerprints and facial images from travellers. The system was phased in from October 2025 and came into full effect in April.
Some travellers have experienced problems when providing their biometrics. Most recently, The Telegraph has spoken to older travellers who found that their fingerprints were too “faded” and that they were being rejected by the EU’s biometric kiosks.
Politico has reported on a case in which EES was confused by identical twins.
The introduction of EES initially led to long queues. In July, trade body Airports Council International published an open letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, in which it said: “Since the full rollout of the EES in April, waiting times at border control have increased significantly, now reaching up to 5 hours during peak traffic periods.”
