EES — the EU Entry/Exit Systembiometric border delays across Europe, by country and airport
The EES registers non-EU travellers — fingerprints and a facial image — every time they cross the Schengen external border, replacing the passport stamp. Rolled out from October 2025, it added queue time at airports and ports while first-time arrivals enrolled. Here’s where the delays bite, country by country.
What the EES is. The Entry/Exit System is an EU-wide database that logs every entry and exit by non-EU nationals on short stays. On your first crossing after go-live you complete biometric enrolment; later crossings are checked against your record. It applies across the Schengen area — the EU Schengen states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Ireland stays outside and still stamps passports.
Why it causes queues. Capturing biometrics takes longer than a stamp, so when a bank of non-EU arrivals enrols at once, lines build. The figures below are editorial estimates of added time at peak — there is no public live EES queue feed yet.
EES by country
Spain handles huge volumes of UK and other non-EU holidaymakers, so its Mediterranean and island airports were among the most exposed to EES first-entry queues at peak season.
France runs EES both at its airports and at the juxtaposed UK controls for Eurostar and Le Shuttle, making it the country most associated with EES queue stories.
Italy’s major gateways at Rome and Milan see heavy long-haul non-EU traffic, where first-entry EES enrolment added the most time during arrival peaks.
Germany’s Frankfurt and Munich hubs are major long-haul connection points, so EES registration of transferring non-EU passengers is the key queue factor there.
Amsterdam Schiphol is one of Europe’s busiest transfer hubs, and EES registration of non-EU connecting passengers is the main driver of arrival-hall queues.
Portugal’s Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports carry strong UK and Brazilian traffic, and EES first-entry enrolment lengthened non-EU queues during summer peaks.
Greece’s seasonal island airports handle concentrated bursts of non-EU holiday arrivals, where EES enrolment at limited booths drove the sharpest first-entry queues.
Switzerland is a non-EU Schengen member and runs EES at its borders. Zurich, its main hub, reports live passport-control waits, so arrival-immigration delays there are directly observable.
Croatia joined Schengen in 2023 and now runs EES at its coastal airports, where summer non-EU arrival peaks at Dubrovnik and Split concentrate enrolment queues.
EES by airport
Dover, Eurostar & Le Shuttle. These UK departure points use juxtaposed controls, where French officers run EES registration on UK soil before you leave. Coach passengers at the Port of Dover and Eurostar passengers at London St Pancras were flagged as the highest-risk pinch points, because large groups enrol biometrically at the same time.
EES questions
- What is the EES (Entry/Exit System)?
- The EES is the EU’s automated Entry/Exit System. It records non-EU travellers crossing the Schengen external border — capturing four fingerprints and a facial image on first entry, then logging each entry and exit electronically instead of stamping passports.
- When did the EES start?
- The EES began a phased roll-out on 12 October 2025 and reached full operation across participating countries during spring 2026. Travellers are now registered biometrically at most Schengen external-border crossings.
- Does the EES cause longer queues at the border?
- First-time registration takes longer than a passport stamp because biometrics are captured, so airports and ports saw the biggest delays during the initial roll-out and at peak banks of arrivals. Once you are enrolled, later crossings are faster. Our per-country and per-airport estimates flag where first-entry queues are heaviest.
- Which countries use the EES?
- The EES applies across the Schengen area — the EU Schengen states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Ireland is outside Schengen and continues to stamp passports. The biggest non-EU traveller volumes are at hubs in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece and Croatia.
- Do UK and US citizens have to register for the EES?
- Yes. The EES applies to non-EU nationals on short stays (up to 90 days in any 180), which includes UK, US, Australian, Canadian and most other visa-exempt visitors. You complete biometric registration the first time you enter after the system went live.
- Is the EES the same as ETIAS?
- No. The EES is a biometric entry/exit record taken at the border. ETIAS is a separate, pre-travel authorisation (similar to the US ESTA) that visa-exempt visitors will buy online for around €20 before they travel. ETIAS is expected to start after the EES is fully bedded in — currently signalled for late 2026.
- How long does EES biometric registration take?
- The capture itself is quick — fingerprints and a photo take roughly a minute per traveller at a kiosk or booth. The delay comes from throughput: when a wide-body bank of non-EU arrivals all enrol at once, queues build. Allow extra connection time at large hubs during your first post-roll-out trip.
- Will the EES affect Dover, Eurostar and Le Shuttle?
- Those UK departure points use juxtaposed controls, where French border officers process EES registration on UK soil before you leave. Coach passengers at Dover and rail passengers at London St Pancras (Eurostar) were flagged as the highest-risk pinch points during roll-out because large groups register at once.