From November, some travellers will face new EU border controls as Entry/Exit Scheme launches

When the EES becomes operational in autumn, non-EU travellers entering the Schengen Area will face new border controls. The EU's post-Brexit Entry/Exit System (EES) will launch on 10 November, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson has confirmed. “The moment is finally there.

There may have been times you believed it will never happen,” Johansson said during a visit to the Tallinn-based eu-LISA, the EU agency in charge of the IT infrastructure behind the EES. “But it's going to happen. Everything is coming together.

We're in the final testing phase. There is a real momentum now. Carriers, operators, train stations, airports, everyone is getting ready for the big day.

” The EES was first slated to launch in 2022 but has faced multiple setbacks due to IT issues and delays in installing the automated barriers required at all international land, maritime and air borders in the Schengen Area. When it becomes operational in autumn, non-EU travellers entering the Schengen Area will face new . The will be an automated registration system for UK and other non-EU travellers who don’t require a to enter the EU.

Travellers will need to scan their or other travel document 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.

and fingerprint data will be taken every three yea.