If you plan on visiting Europe, note that the Entry/Exit System — which is informally known as the EES — in Europe is finally operating effective as of Friday, April 10, 2026 after years of delays; but passengers have reportedly been experiencing mass confusion and widespread disruptions shortly after its inconsistent implementation, with wait times in queues as long as three hours. Issues with technology have also been reported and have been exacerbating the rocky start of this program.
Entry/Exit System in Europe Finally Operating — But Not Smoothly: Travel Alert
The Entry/Exit System is part of the mandatory European Travel Information and Authorisation System has been implemented after several delays and postponements. The initial cost for the privilege of using the European Travel Information and Authorisation System is seven euros, as the United States is one of 60 countries and territories that are eligible…
…but that fee is expected to increase almost 186 percent to 20 euros sometime later this year in 2026. Children younger than 18 years of age, senior citizens older than 70 years of age, and certain family members of citizens of the European Union are exempt from the fee.
The Entry/Exit System — which was initially expected to become effective as of Sunday, November 10, 2024 — is an automated information technology system for registering travelers from outside of the European Union each time they cross an external border of the European Union — whether the visitor holds a visa for a short stay or is exempt from needing a visa. It is designed to speed up the immigration process at customs while simultaneously reducing paperwork.
The elimination of passport stamps had been delayed indefinitely 2.5 years ago by 29 countries in Europe. Passport stamps were initially supposed to be eliminated in November of 2024. Now that the Entry/Exit System has been implemented, passport stamps have been eliminated by 29 countries as part of this initiative of the European Union.
The 29 countries of the Schengen Area of Europe — which celebrates 40 years of existence and includes 25 of the 27 countries of the European Union plus four countries which are not part of the European Union — are as follows:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Border controls and the requirements of passports for travel within the Schengen Area of Europe had been eliminated — for the most part — years ago. Romania and Bulgaria are the latest countries to officially join the Schengen Area, which occurred on Sunday, March 31, 2024.
The following information of each visitor to the European Union — in full respect of fundamental rights and data protection — will be registered with the Entry/Exit System:
- Name
- Type of travel document
- Biometric data — which includes fingerprints and captured facial images — to combat identity fraud
- The date and place of entry and exit
Once the aforementioned data is collected the first time, subsequent visits for travelers will be faster because their information will already be on file in the system.
Refusals of entry will also be recorded by the Entry/Exit System, which replaced the former system because stamping passports manually:
- Consumes too much time
- Does not provide reliable data on border crossings
- Does not allow systematic detection of travelers who have exceeded the maximum duration of their authorized stays
“EES will contribute to prevent irregular migration and help protect the security of European citizens”, according to the official Internet web site of the Migration and Home Affairs department of the European Commission. “The new system will also help bona fide third-country nationals to travel more easily while also identifying more efficiently over-stayers as well as cases of document and identity fraud. In addition to this, the system will enable to make a wider use of automated border control checks and self-service systems, which are quicker and more comfortable for the traveller.”
The Entry/Exit System does not apply to citizens of the European Union or to people who are traveling between countries and territories within the Schengen area of Europe.
“So the central system and every single border crossing point will all be online”, Ylva Julia Margareta Johansson — who formerly served as European commissioner for home affairs until Saturday, November 30, 2024 — said in a speech on Friday, August 16, 2024. “And when that happens, it will be goodbye to passport stamping, hello to digital checks. For all passengers from outside the EU. Making travel easier, and border checks gradually faster.”
The year 2025 set another record for tourism to the European Union, with almost 3.1 billion nights spent in lodging establishments across the European Union. This reflects an increase of 2.2 percent — or 66.4 million more nights — than in 2024, with approximately 793.5 million visitors having traveled to Europe in 2025.
Final Boarding Call
Give yourself plenty of extra time to pass through customs if you are traveling to the Schengen Area of Europe in the near future.
I have always enjoyed collecting stamps in my passport. For me, that is tangible proof that I have visited a country or territory — regardless of how many photographs I have taken while I was there or how long I stayed. I have mixed feelings about the indefinite delay of the Entry/Exit System: I like collecting passport stamps; but I dislike having to wait in line to get them — plus, no passport stamps are collected when traveling from one country to another country if they are both within the aforementioned Schengen Area.
Now that the electronic entry and exit systems are finally implemented and supposedly working as intended — with glitches in the system being reported — will other countries follow suit if similar systems can help keep a sovereign state more secure; process visitors in less time; and save money in the long run…
…and if that happens, will the passport as we know it become obsolete?
All photographs ©2016 and ©2018 by Brian Cohen.
