The entire transition is likely to cost around €10 million - but Eurostar is confident its plans will go smoothly from the start. We’re getting ever closer to 6 October - the day when the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) is set to come into force for travellers. From that date, EES - an electronic system which will replace the physical stamping of passports when you go through passport control - will be compulsory for many non-EU citizens.
All EU member states except Cyprus and Ireland, where passports will still be stamped manually, and all four non-EU Schengen countries - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland - will take part. From 6 October, when you arrive in a new country, you’ll need to provide your passport as always, alongside having a photo of your face taken and your fingerprints scanned electronically. All entries and exits to and from the participating European countries will be recorded, which effectively means your movements will be registered every time you cross a border in or out of the EU or Schengen area.
While the decision to implement the scheme has not received entirely positive feedback - with some people saying they’re the idea of travelling in Europe because of it - travel companies have been laying out their plans ahead of its arrival. That includes cross-Channel train service Eurostar, which recently announced its tactics to make the EES work as seamlessly as possible. Here’s everything we know so far about how they’re plannin.