Version history

EU Entry/Exit System (EES): every date from the 2016 proposal to full operation in April 2026

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Version 1Current7 October 2026, 13:41 UTC · created
Record created.
- Timeline added: The European Commission first proposed the system on 6 April 2016, in a revised package of border measures known as Smart Borders.
- Timeline added: The EES Regulation was adopted on 20 November 2017, together with a targeted change to the Schengen Borders Code.
- Timeline added: The regulation entered into force on 29 December 2017, years before the system itself started.
- Timeline added: On 4 December 2024 the Commission proposed starting the system gradually rather than all at once.
- Timeline added: Parliament and the Council agreed the phased start on 19 May 2025.
- Timeline added: The phased-start law, Regulation (EU) 2025/1534, was adopted on 18 July 2025 and took effect on 26 July 2025.
- Timeline added: On 30 July 2025 the Commission fixed 12 October 2025 as the date the phased start would begin.
- Timeline added: The phased start was set to begin on 12 October 2025, about six months before full operation.
- Timeline added: The system has been fully operational since 10 April 2026 and has replaced passport stamping, so overstayers are now detected automatically.
- Confirmed: The Entry/Exit System electronically logs non-EU visitors on short stays every time they cross the external border of one of the 29 European countries that use it.
- Confirmed: The European Commission first proposed the system on 6 April 2016, in a revised package of border measures known as Smart Borders.
- Confirmed: The EES Regulation was adopted on 20 November 2017, together with a targeted change to the Schengen Borders Code.
- Confirmed: The regulation entered into force on 29 December 2017, years before the system itself started.
- Confirmed: On 4 December 2024 the Commission proposed starting the system gradually rather than all at once.
- Confirmed: Parliament and the Council agreed the phased start on 19 May 2025.
- Confirmed: The phased-start law, Regulation (EU) 2025/1534, was adopted on 18 July 2025 and took effect on 26 July 2025.
- Confirmed: On 30 July 2025 the Commission fixed 12 October 2025 as the date the phased start would begin.
- Confirmed: The EU agency eu-LISA built the system and runs it.
- Confirmed: Registering in the EES costs nothing, according to the UK Foreign Office.
- Confirmed: Children aged 11 or younger do not give fingerprints, but may have their photo taken.
- Confirmed: A traveller's EES record stays valid for 3 years, so later crossings can be quicker.
- Confirmed: Travellers may be asked for fingerprints or a photo when leaving the Schengen area too, and the UK advises allowing extra time at departure.
- Confirmed: Long-term residents of a Schengen country are exempt from the EES in every Schengen country.
- Confirmed: ETIAS is a different scheme: a travel authorisation that visa-exempt visitors will need before travelling to Europe, separate from the border registration the EES carries out.
- Source added: Entry-Exit System (European Commission (incl. Travel to Europe: ETIAS and EES))
- Source added: Entry requirements - France travel advice (GOV.UK)
- Source added: European Travel Information Authorisation System (European Commission (incl. Travel to Europe: ETIAS and EES))