The EU's new Entry/Exit System (EES) has been making headlines all summer, with reports of delays, missed flights, and chaos at passport control. The system, now in place across the Schengen Area (which includes all EU countries except Ireland and Cyprus), requires non-EU passport holders to register their biometric details—such as fingerprints and a photo—upon arrival, replacing the old method of manually stamping passports.
For British travellers, the stakes are high: they can spend 90 out of every 180 days in the EU, and overstaying can result in a fine or even a travel ban, with fines potentially exceeding £8,000 in some cases. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has updated its advice for Brits travelling to and from the EU, and now recommends that anyone who believes their EES record is incorrect should "approach border officials when you next cross the Schengen border and request a correction."
The FCDO's updated guidance reads: "If you are exempt, carry documentation confirming your status. If you believe your time spent in the Schengen area has been recorded incorrectly, raise this with border officials and be prepared to provide supporting evidence if requested."
However, the rollout has not been smooth everywhere. The system has experienced teething problems, including malfunctioning terminals and some countries refusing to implement it during the busy summer period. In some airports, EES has been temporarily suspended due to delays and long queues, which has meant some Britons have not been recorded as leaving the Schengen Area.
One traveller told The Sun they were stopped at the border in Finland because their record showed they were still in Italy. The traveller said: "While I had registered with EES going into Rome, it hadn't recorded me leaving." After "a lot of back and forth with border control officers and around 45-minutes of waiting," the issue was recognised as an error and they were let into the country.
A first-hand experience at Schiphol
Amid the reports of disruption, one ChronicleLive reporter shared their own experience with the system at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, the fourth busiest airport in Europe, during one of the Dutch capital's busiest times of year.
Upon getting off the plane, before reaching baggage claim, the reporter found a roped-off section where travellers were invited to register for EES. Joining about a dozen other passengers just past 10am, the process was straightforward: present your passport to a scanner, place your hand on the same scanner for fingerprints, and look up at a camera for a retinal scan.
The reporter advises not to hold onto the passport when scanning, as the machine takes it mechanically.
Despite having budgeted an extra hour and a half for passport security, the reporter completed the registration with time to spare. On the return journey, the queue for non-EES travellers was about eight people deep and likely taking over an hour, while the reporter used the EES gates and was through in less than two minutes.
The reporter notes, however, that other airports may not have implemented EES as smoothly as Schiphol, and travellers should be prepared for potential delays elsewhere.