New Schengen Entry/Exit System 'to launch in summer 2025': What it means for travellers

TRAVELLERS from outside the European Union will no longer have their passports stamped when they enter the Schengen zone once the planned automated 'Entry/Exit System', or EES, goes live.

But its launch has been delayed for the fourth time since 2022.

According to official EU sources, the EES was due to become effective on November 10 - just a month and a half after the announcement - although travellers will now have until next year to plan for the changes.

The European Commission estimates the registration system will be up and running in summer 2025, meaning its introduction will probably coincide with that of the automated visa waiver programme ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System).

Once the EES is finally in place, it will mean visitors' photographs and fingerprints are taken at the border upon entry, and these will be stored in the shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS) database.

Showing a passport will still be required, as the sBMS will store details such as the traveller's name and date of birth.

The move will affect all citizens of countries outside the 27 EU member States, whether they are on short-stay visas or are visa exempt.

British nationals are included in this description, even if they are registered as legal residents in an EU country.

What is the EES for?

Set up in line with European Union Regulation 2017/2226, the Entry/Exit System is aimed at preventing unauthorised inward immigration, identifying travellers who do not have the right to enter the Schengen zone, or who have overstayed either their visa time or the visa-exempt limit of 90 days in any 180-day period, according to the EES website.

Overstayers, and those previously denied entry, will be recorded as such on the sBMS database, along with the reasons for their not being permitted to cross the border.

The EES will, additionally, help with cracking cross-border crime, such as terrorism, smuggling, and people using fake ID.

From the traveller's viewpoint, it means less queueing time at passport control, since it will eliminate the need for stamping passports upon entry and exit.

How does the EES affect third-country visitors to Spain and other EU countries?

Some of the more stringent requirements for entry to Spain for non-EU/EEA passport-holders – such as having to show proof of accommodation, including a 'letter of invitation' signed by a notary from friends or family they are staying with – are likely to become redundant. Instead, the EES biometric data stored will allow authorities to trace them if they are not registered as having left the Schengen zone within the 90-day limit.

Those who refuse to provide their fingerprints and be photographed will be denied entry at passport control, and anyone who overstays will be required to leave – possibly with a temporary ban on returning.

After giving fingerprints and being photographed, all travellers will be given written details of their rights under the EES.

These rights include information about where their data are stored, and how they can apply to access it.

British residents in EU warned to get a TIE

A British passport-holder entering the Schengen zone – comprising all EU member States except Cyprus and the Republic of Ireland – will be treated in the same way as any other non-EU national, as has been the case since the Brexit transition period ended in January 2021.

Any UK national who lived in Spain before Brexit and still holds a 'green certificate' – given as proof of residence to non-Spanish EU citizens – is urged to swap it for a Foreigners' Identification Card (Tarjeta de Identificación de Extranjeros, or TIE) if they plan to visit their home country from summer 2025 onwards.

At present, and since Brexit, exchanging the 'green certificate' for a TIE has been optional, and showing it at the border when returning to Spain from outside the Schengen zone should have been accepted as proof of residence.

The 'green certificate' remains valid within Spain as proof of residence for UK nationals, and exchanging it is not compulsory if they have no plans to travel outside the Schengen area.

But any Brit in Spain planning to visit family back home next year will need to have a TIE – or they could be refused entry upon their return.

The TIE houses the holder's biometric data, and is valid for EES purposes.

Once the EES is eventually in operation, those Britons who attempt to return home to Spain with a 'green certificate' will be asked for additional proof of residence and, where this is considered insufficient, may be denied permission to cross the border.

For 'green certificate' holders, getting a TIE is a straightforward swap. You can find out how to do so in our article TIE: What is it, who needs it, and how to get it.