What the new European travel rules mean for you
Travel rules throughout Europe are set to change this month as new border rules come into place.
New rules, which are designed to speed up border crossings, improve security and replace manual passport stamping, were introduced on October 12.
The Extry/Exit System or EES will be gradually rolled out at border crossings in the 29 countries of the Schengen Area.
Travel rules throughout Europe are set to change this month as new border rules come into place. Pic: Shutterstock
It applies to ‘third-country’ travellers, including UK passport holders, or those who don’t hold a passport from a country in the EU or the Schengen Area.
Travellers are not required to prepare anything for EES registration, but they are advised to allow time for delays on arrival in the Schengen area.
UK travellers and other ‘third-country’ nationals will still have their passports stamped on arrival and departure from the Schengen Area until the rollout is completed and in place across all 29 countries.
New rules, which are designed to speed up border crossings, improve security and replace manual passport stamping, were introduced on October 12. Pic: Shutterstock
The EES will register non-EU and non-Schengen Area travellers who visit or transit through any of the 29 European countries for a short stay.
It will also record a photograph of each person’s face, record their fingerprints, and the date they entered and left the region.
An employee scans fingerprints during a demonstration of the new Entry/Exit System, known as EES. Pic: Jaimi Joy/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Each traveller’s facial image, fingerprints, and other recorded data on entries, exits, and refusals of entry will be held for three years from the date they were created.
Then, from 10th April 2026, this will replace manual passport stamping to record travellers’ movements in and out of Schengen.
It will be used to check that ‘third-country’ travellers do not remain within the block for more than the permitted 90 days within any 180-day period.
The new rules will apply to travel within the 29 countries in the Schengen Area.
They are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
