The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has issued a travel alert for all European Union countries, warning British travellers about the upcoming Entry/Exit System (EES) expected to launch in October 2025. The alert was added to travel advice pages for Spain, Greece, Italy and other EU nations on March 17.
The EES is an automated IT system that will register third-country travellers, including Britons, each time they cross an EU external border. It will replace the current manual passport stamping process, which the European Commission says is time-consuming and unreliable for tracking border crossings or detecting overstays.
Under the new system, UK passport holders travelling to Schengen area countries will need to provide biometric details such as fingerprints and a facial image upon their first arrival. The system will log identity information, travel documents, entry and exit dates, and any stays up to 90 days within a 180-day period.
Travellers will use self-service kiosks at borders to verify their details against security databases, followed by a check with a border guard. A digital record will remain valid for three years, during which re-entering travellers will only need to provide fingerprints and a photo on entry and exit.
The European Commission says the EES aims to modernise external border management, strengthen internal security, combat terrorism and serious crime, and identify overstayers. For law enforcement, the system will assist in identifying terrorists, criminals, suspects and victims of crime.
The UK Government has allocated £3.5 million to work with ports and carriers to ensure a straightforward registration process for travellers to the Schengen area.
