The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) Explained

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is the EU's automated system for registering non-EU nationals who travel for a short stay, each time they cross the external borders of the European countries that use it. It records your entries, exits and any refusal of entry electronically, and it gradually replaces the stamps that used to go in your passport.

The EU deployed it across the external borders over 6 months. That progressive start lasted until 9 April 2026, and since 10 April 2026 the EES is fully operational at all external border crossing points of the countries using it.

If you want to count your own days, our Schengen 90/180-day calculator works from the dates you enter.

Which countries use the EES

The EES is used at the external borders of 29 European countries:

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

Cyprus and Ireland are EU countries but do not use the system: there, passports are still stamped manually.

Who it applies to

For the EES, a "non-EU national" is anyone who does not hold the nationality of an EU country or of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. The system applies to you if you are a non-EU national who either needs a short-stay visa or does not need a visa for a short stay in these countries.

"Short stay" means up to 90 days within any 180-day period, and the EU says this period is calculated as a single period for all the countries using the EES. The EU also says the EES changes nothing in the rules on short stays themselves: they are harmonised in the Schengen Borders Code.

Who it does not apply to

The EU lists these groups, among others, as not registered in the EES:

• nationals of the countries using the EES, and of Cyprus and Ireland
• non-EU nationals who hold a residence card and are immediately related to an EU national
• holders of residence permits and long-stay visas
• nationals of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino, and holders of a passport issued by the Vatican City State or the Holy See
• people exempt from border checks or granted certain privileges at border checks, such as heads of state, accredited diplomats and cross-border workers
• people holding a valid local border traffic permit
• crew members of passenger and goods trains on international connecting journeys

The UK government's travel advice adds that if you are a long-term resident in a Schengen country, you are exempt from the EES in all Schengen countries.

What happens at the border

The first time you cross after the EES started, you give your personal data. Passport control officers take a photo of your face and/or scan your fingerprints, and this is recorded in a digital file. Your passport is not stamped. This can be quicker if you register some of your data in advance, at a self-service machine where the border crossing has one or in a mobile application where the country of arrival or departure offers one. You still meet a passport control officer.

On later crossings, your photo and/or fingerprints are already recorded, so officers only verify them, although the EU says that in rare cases your data may need to be collected and recorded again. If you hold a biometric passport, you may be able to use a self-service system where one is available, and if your file is clear you will usually not need to see an officer. The EU says that, in principle, valid biometric and non-biometric passports are both accepted.

The EU also says:

• if you refuse to give your fingerprints or a photo of your face, you will be denied entry
• the fingerprints of children below 12 years old are currently not scanned, even if they are subject to the EES
• if you hold a short-stay visa, your fingerprints are already in the Visa Information System and are not stored again in the EES

The UK government says there is no cost for EES registration. For journeys through the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel at Folkestone or Eurostar at St Pancras International, your information is taken at the border before you leave the UK.

What the EES stores, and for how long

The EES collects the data in your travel document (such as your full name and date of birth), the date and place of each entry and exit, your facial image and fingerprints, and whether you were refused entry.

Under the retention table the EU publishes (it sets reduced retention rules for some non-EU family members of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens who do not hold a residence document):

After each period the data is erased automatically. The UK government's travel advice for France separately says "your digital EES record is valid for 3 years".

Checking how long you can stay

The EU runs an online tool that reads the EES record. You enter the country you are visiting or plan to visit and your travel document's type, number and issuing country, plus your planned arrival or departure dates. It tells you whether your entry is allowed ("OK" or "not OK") and how many days you are still allowed to stay. Passport control officers at the external border can also tell you.

One limit matters if you travelled before the system was complete: the EU says the remaining stay the tool shows does not reflect any time in the Schengen area that began before 10 April 2026. For questions about your remaining stay or the tool's result, the EU says to contact the competent authorities of the Member State where you last entered or exited the Schengen area or, if you have not visited the area since 10 April 2026, the authorities of the Member State you plan to visit. Our Schengen calculator counts whatever trip dates you enter.

If you overstay

The EU's EES FAQ says that a person found to have stayed more than 90 days must be put through return procedures under the Return Directive (Directive 2008/115), with preference given, as a general rule, to voluntary departure. Return decisions are accompanied by an entry ban in certain cases (where no period for voluntary departure has been granted, or where the obligation to return has not been complied with), an entry ban may be issued in others, and both are entered into the Schengen Information System. A person who has already stayed 90 days within 180 and tries to enter again will be refused entry, and the refusal is registered in the EES.

For the rule itself, see the 90/180-day rule explained. The next change for visa-free visitors is ETIAS, an online travel authorisation that is not in operation yet. The EU says it will announce the specific start date several months before launch.