New Entry Requirements for Travel into EU

The Entry/Exit system (EES) will register all non-EU nationals (a traveler not holding nationality from EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland); applicable to both visa-free and short-stay visa-required travelers entering 29 European countries for a short stay (up to 90 days within any 180-day period). The EU have put this in place as a security measure so that there is more accurate data of who is entering and departing the EU.

EES will collect travelers’ passport details, as well as biometric information (i.e. fingerprints and facial image) and will replace the stamping of passports at the border with electronic recordings of entries, exits and refusals of entry. In Cyprus and Ireland, passports will continue to be stamped manually. There are also exemptions to which travelers do EES apply – check out: To whom does the EES not apply?

EES is planned to enter operations in November 2024 according to the announcement from the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.

Yes, since the UK left the EU, they will now be subject to these rules.

However, UK nationals and their family members who are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement will be exempt from registration in the EES if they hold a specific residence document (check out specific residence document options).

Airlines need to use the ‘carrier interface’ set up by the European Union Agency for Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), to verify whether travelers who hold a short-stay visa issued for one or two entries have already used the number of entries authorized by their visa before boarding. This is in addition to the pre-existing obligation for carriers to take all the necessary measures to ensure that traveler is in possession of the travel documents required for entry under Article 26 of the CISA.

For carriers to be able to use such interface, they must register with eu-LISA first.

Once the system is launched, passengers in the scope of EES will be subject to additional border control processes, especially on their first entry into the countries using EES. Those processes will take place at border crossing points of countries using EES and include scanning of fingertips or taking a photo of the passenger’s face. However, some of this data can be provided in advance if the EU App for passengers to pre-enroll is deployed and implemented by States wishing to do so.  Read How will the EES work? What is new during the border checks? for details.

The relevant authorities in European countries using EES such as border, visa and immigration authorities, will access passenger data to verify whether entry should be allowed. For details read Data held by EES.

Overall, the airline industry supports the implementation of electronic travel authorization systems, as they enhance border and flight security while easing the identification of potentially inadmissible passengers prior to boarding.

However, when it comes specifically to EES, the airline community has concerns over its implementation:

• Uncertainty over the real and effective readiness of border crossing points across countries using EES. No realistic and full end-to-end testing has been performed so far, preventing an accurate determination of how EES will impact border processing times. Real testing needs to be done as soon as possible to match border staffing and schedules accordingly.
• Lack of 24/7 phone line from the EU to carriers to be able to assist travelers should there be problems with the roll-out.
• Increased complexity for airlines running checks on travelers before flying to countries using EES. This is due to the many exceptions on the EES application as well as the pace in which different type of visas will be incorporated in EES.

Additionally, and from the traveler’s perspective, it is unlikely there will be an App for passengers to pre-enroll in advance before November. And the pace at which States will implement the App after November remains  uncertain.

The industry worries that the current patchwork of implementation across States, and the delayed communication campaign to the public, will worsen the impact that EES will have at border crossings and the overall traveler experience.

States and the EU need to clarify what support and alleviating measures will be in place before EES enters operations.