The European Union (EU)’s recent Entry/Exit System (EES) & ETIAS access changes are likely to pose a few challenges that may be of concern & importance to the intended British traveller.
The EU launched its new border checks, known as the Entry/Exit System (EES), in late 2025. It has led to longer queues for British passport holders at some airports besides seaports.
Travellers to Europe are likely to experience a different access process system when next visiting Europe. This is due to the EU introducing new border checks termed the Entry/Exit System (EES). Additionally, ETIAS, which is a new visa waiver system set to be implemented in 2026, adds to the list of abbreviations.
These changes are likely to affect all 3rd-party nationals moving through Schengen countries. It includes UK passport holders since Brexit, who will also need to register their biometrics. EES was launched on 12 October 2025. It involves a process of having one’s fingerprints and facial scan captured at dedicated EES kiosks. The alternate arrangement would be if captures are done by a border officer. This process also includes answering questions about the purpose of the visit.
This step takes place on one’s arrival at European airports. Additionally, this process can also occur for Eurostar passengers and at the port of Dover. This step is before clearing French passport control in the UK. Checks are also in place at the Port of Dover, which also includes some Eurostar passengers.
EES registration only takes a few minutes. It leads to longer queues at some airports. It is still challenging for UK travellers to anticipate whether they will face extra queues. This phenomenon is mainly due to EES being rolled out gradually. Some airports in a few countries have not yet fully implemented the new checks. Both airports and seaports have the facility to activate or deactivate the system, especially on occasions when it’s causing long queues.
It has been a particular problem at some Spanish and Portuguese airports. This was when large numbers of UK holidaymakers arrived at the same time, causing long queues. It even resulted in some airports, such as Lisbon, suspending EES checks.
