The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has updated its travel advice for all European Union countries, warning that the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) is expected to start in October 2025. The automated system will register third-country nationals, including British travellers, each time they cross an EU external border.
Under the new rules, UK passport holders entering the Schengen area will need to provide biometric data—fingerprints and a facial image—upon first arrival. Subsequent entries within three years will require fingerprint and photo checks at border kiosks. The EES will replace manual passport stamping, which the European Commission says is time-consuming and unreliable for tracking overstays.
The system will record identity information, travel documents, entry and exit dates, and any refused entries. Data will be accessible to border guards, consular officers, and law enforcement agencies, including Europol, for criminal identification purposes. Travellers will use self-service kiosks for initial verification before seeing a border guard.
The UK government has allocated £3.5 million to work with ports and carriers to ensure a smooth registration process. The EES aims to enhance border security, combat terrorism and serious crime, and help manage increasing traveller numbers without additional border guards.
