The European Union is preparing to dispense with passport stamps in favour of a new digital border management system.
Australians and citizens of other non-EU countries travelling to Europe from Sunday 12 October may encounter the new biometric entry/exit system (EES) and, while it might create delays at the start, it should eventually offer a streamlined process.
Here’s what travellers need to know.
How is the EU border system changing?
Non-European citizens travelling to the Schengen area – 29 countries, including 25 in the EU, plus Switzerland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Iceland – will soon enter using the new system.
Ireland and Cyprus will continue with manual processing of passports for incoming passengers. The UK is not part of the Schengen area.
InteractiveInstead of using stamps, countries in the zone will log travellers’ faces, fingerprints, and entry and exit dates.
“The EES will gradually replace passport stamps with a digital system that records when travellers enter and exit, making border checks faster and helping staff to work more efficiently,” the EU’s official website says.
This is also aimed at preventing irregular migration and giving border enforcement more access to travellers’ information, which the countries say will decrease security risks.
When will it happen?
While the rollout begins this weekend, the changes will be gradual, with the EES expected to be fully operational by 10 April 2026.
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Who will be affected?
Anyone without a EU passport travelling to the Schengen area countries for a short period will use the EES, which is free.
A short stay means up to 90 days within any 180-day period, according to Travel Europe. This period is calculated as a single period for all the European countries using the EES.
If travellers use the self-serve system available at their destination, or a mobile app if the country they are travelling to offers one, crossing the border will be quicker.
What do travellers need to do?
Once travellers have arrived, they will have to answer the Schengen border code questions, which will create a record of their details. This record is held for three years so only fingerprints or photographs will be used for re-entry in that timeframe.
The Australian government’s Smartraveller site is warning that the rollout may create delays at first: “The registration process should only take a few minutes, but when the system starts, you may experience longer border queues.”
Staying longer than 180 days?
Australia has visa waiver agreements with several countries in the Schengen area, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
Each of these countries offers visa waivers in its own way, and travellers planning longer stays will need to make sure they know what the agreement is.