The EU’s long-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES) is scheduled to finally come into force in 2025.

Officials say Europe’s new digital border system for non-EU nationals will be rolled out beginning in October this year. The exact date will be announced “several months prior to its launch”, according to Foreign Office guidance.

The system is being introduced to bolster border security and identify travellers who overstay their permitted time in the Schengen Area (90 days within a 180-day period).

The new system requires Europe’s border crossings to have dedicated infrastructure installed. The UK government has reportedly provided Eurostar, Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover with £3.5 million (€4.1 million) each to spend on registration kiosks.

Eurostar will have 50 kiosks at three locations in stations while Eurotunnel will have over 100 kiosks and says EES checks will only add around five minutes to journey times.

The Port of Dover will have 24 kiosks for coach passengers and will register car passengers using staff members and tablets.

However, it’s expected that as little as 10 per cent of Europe’s border crossings will have this infrastructure installed when EES launches, so concerns are growing over how it will affect wait times at border crossings. 

How will the EES affect border crossings?

The EES will be a registration system for UK, US and other non-EU travellers. It will only apply to those who don’t require a visa to enter the EU.

Travellers will need to scan their passports or other travel documents at a self-service kiosk each time they cross an EU external border. It will not apply to legal EU citizens or residents or those with long-stay visas.

The system will register the traveller’s name, biometric data, and the date and place of entry and exit. Facial scans and fingerprint data will be taken every three years and are valid for multiple trips within that period. 

The system means that new barriers have to be installed at all international land, maritime and air borders in the Schengen Area. These are said to be heavy, with some airports saying they have had to reinforce their floors to support them. This is just one of the myriad reasons for the system’s nearly nine-year delay. 

Eurostar scraps fast-track check-in system

The EES’s scanning requirements have forced European train company Eurostar to change its check-in system at the UK border. 

The rail operator has scrapped a service that lets selected passengers skip the double passport control at London’s St Pancras train station.

From February, Eurostar stopped its SmartCheck option for Premium, Carte Blanche, and Etoile Club members. 

The service allowed passengers who register their details on the iProov.me identification app to take advantage of facial recognition technology at St Pancras. This let them bypass the manual passport check by a UK immigration officer and go directly to French passport control.

However, the system has been removed ahead of the introduction of the EES to prepare for the facial scanning and fingerprinting requirement for Brits upon entering the EU for the first time.

There are concerns that the new system will lengthen passenger processing times at St Pancras, though Eurostar says they will increase control kiosks to minimise disruption. 

“We’re removing SmartCheck as we continue to make some changes at the station in preparation for the launch of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES),” Eurostar said in a statement.

“As part of these preparations, we’re improving our border control area with new ePassport gates and extra passport control booths.

“This will help us ensure the border control process is as smooth as possible for passengers travelling in the coming months and after EES has launched.”

Delays expected at Dover ferry crossings

French authorities will also operate EES border checks at the UK’s Port of Dover. They are currently working with the UK government to minimise the system’s impact on border flows and traffic, but express concern about potential waiting times.

Government agencies and representatives for the tourism industry have said that the EES will likely cause long queues for ferry traffic sailing from Dover to Calais.

Guy Opperman, a minister in the UK’s transport department, has since explained the scheme will have a “six-month soft launch” to make the process more simple.

“If one got to a situation where there were a certain amount of queues or delays, then the provisions of the precautionary flexibility measures allow for much greater freedom of passage of vehicles, coaches, HGVs and cars,” he said. 

“That takes care of so much of the queuing, so many of the complications.”

Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, has also now confirmed that the system will not be introduced until November 2025.

EES automated barriers will be gradually introduced to minimise delays

Other countries are still working on EES implementation plans, too. The European Commission (EC) is allowing a six-month phased implementation of the system to reduce the likelihood of long waiting times at borders.

This approach will give the participating nations more flexibility to fine-tune their technology and navigate unexpected issues.

The goal, according to the EC, is to have the new system working at 10 per cent of border crossings in every member state on day one. During this soft launch period, travellers’ passports will continue to be stamped, as well as electronically recorded.