EU's new biometric border checks to start on October 12
The Entry/Exit System (EES) will start on 12th October 2025 and will require all non-EU citizens to register their personal details, including fingerprints and facial images, upon their first entry into the Schengen area - all EU nations apart from Ireland and Cyprus, plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, WAM reports.
Data collection will be gradually introduced at border crossings with full implementation by 10th April 2026, giving the EU confidence there will not be long queues at the border.
The new electronic system will remove the requirement to manually stamp passports at the EU’s external border and instead create digital records that link a travel document to a person’s identity using biometrics.
The EU wants to modernise the management of its external borders, prevent illegal migration, combat identity fraud, and identify overstayers.
It will monitor whether people who are travelling to the bloc without a visa are sticking to its up-to-90 days stay within any 180-day period rule.
Anyone arriving in the Schengen area for the first time will have to scan their passports, register their fingerprints and provide a facial scan. On departure, travellers’ details will be checked against the EES database to confirm compliance with existing rules on time limits of stay and register departure.
Subsequent journeys will only require facial biometric verification. Children under 12 will need to be registered under EES but will just have their photograph taken.
Earlier, it was reported the EU is to launch six more artificial intelligence factories.