IMPACT — MEDIUM

EU authorities have delayed the new border control Entry/Exit System until summer 2024.

Key Points:

• The EES is an automated system for registering non-EU nationals traveling for a short stay, up to 90 days in a 180-day period, that will record each time they cross external Schengen area borders. It will replace passport stamping and requires travelers to have biometric data (facial images and fingerprints) recorded upon entry.
• The system is intended to more easily identify travelers who have stayed in the EU longer than allowed, who do not have the right to enter the EU, or who are involved in criminal or terrorist activity.
• EES will not affect people traveling within the Schengen area; it only applies to third-country nationals as they enter the area.

Additional Information: The EES differs from the European Travel Information and Authorization System, which will require travelers from the 63 countries currently approved to travel into the EU visa-free to register for a visa waiver before arriving in the Schengen area. The registration will cost €7 (free for travelers under 18 or over 70) and will last three years. ETIAS is now expected to launch in summer 2024.