Changes for non-EU travelers – Europe ends passport stamps: How border checks will work

The European Union is preparing to abolish passport stamps and instrumentality a caller integer strategy astatine its borders. Starting Sunday, October 12, Australians and citizens of different non-EU countries traveling to Europe whitethorn brushwood the new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES).

What is the EES?

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an automated system for registering third-country nationals who are entering oregon leaving the EU for abbreviated stays, each clip they transverse the outer borders of participating countries — including Greece.

The EES volition beryllium utilized by the pursuing countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Denmark,
Switzerland, Greece, Estonia, Iceland,
Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Croatia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta,
Norway, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Finland

What counts arsenic a “short stay”?

A “short stay” is defined arsenic up to 90 days wrong any 180-day period, calculated crossed all participating European countries utilizing the EES.

Who is considered a third-country national?

A third-country national is anyone not holding the nationality of:

• An EU subordinate state, or
• Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, oregon Switzerland.

These non-EU citizens traveling wrong the Schengen Area (29 countries, including 25 EU countries positive Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland) volition soon beryllium taxable to the caller system.

Ireland and Cyprus volition proceed to manually process travelers’ passports, according to The Guardian.

Passport stamps replaced by biometrics

Instead of stamping passports, countries volition now:

• Record facial images
• Scan fingerprints
• Register introduction and exit dates

“The EES volition gradually regenerate passport stamping with a integer strategy that records travelers’ introduction and exit, speeding up borderline checks and helping unit enactment much efficiently,” according to the EU’s authoritative website.

The extremity is to:

• Prevent amerciable immigration
• Provide amended entree to traveler information for borderline authorities
• Reduce information risks

Start day and rollout

• The strategy begins this weekend
• Full implementation is expected by April 10, 2026

Who is affected?

All non-EU passport holders traveling into Schengen countries for short stays volition usage the EES, which is free of charge.

If travelers use:

• A self-service kiosk astatine their destination, or
• A mobile app (if offered by the destination country),
  border crossing volition beryllium faster.

What travelers request to do

Upon arrival:

• Travelers indispensable reply questions from the Schengen Borders Code
• Their personal file volition beryllium created successful the system

This information is retained for 3 years. During this time, lone fingerprints oregon photos volition beryllium required for re-entry.

The Guardian besides reports that initial delays whitethorn occur:

“The registration process volition lone instrumentality a fewer minutes, but erstwhile the strategy is successful operation, you whitethorn acquisition longer lines astatine the border.”

For agelong stays (over 180 days)

Australia has visa waiver agreements with respective Schengen countries, including:

• Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany,
• Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden

Each state has its own rules for stays beyond 90 days, truthful travelers should guarantee they are familiar with the circumstantial terms of the statement successful the state they program to enactment longer in.