The European Union is working toward changing its entry process for foreigners, and I imagine people will have mixed feelings about this. I first wrote about this several weeks ago, but wanted to provide an update, as this has now been delayed indefinitely.
In this post:
European Union replacing passport stamps with biometrics
The European Union plans to introduce its new electronic Entry/Exit System (EES) for foreign visitors. With this, visitors from most countries will no longer get their passports stamped.
Instead, under the new system, foreign visitors entering the European Union will have their fingerprints and face scanned digitally upon entry. That biometric data will then be used to confirm a visitor’s entry and exit from the European Union.
To use this system, travelers will need a biometric passport. These have been issued in the United States since 2007, so at this point, everyone in the United States with a passport should have one. Visitors who don’t have a biometric passport will have to go through a longer process, and won’t be able to use self-service passport control lanes.
As the European Union’s commissioner for home affairs describes this:
“At every single airport, every single harbor, every single road into Europe. We will have digital border controls. When that happens, it will be goodbye to passport stamping, hello to digital checks.”
So, when will this be implemented? The initial plan was for the new rules to kick in as of November 10, 2024. However, this has now been delayed indefinitely, as Germany, France, and the Netherlands, have all stated that their border computer systems aren’t ready for this change. There’s no new timeline for this being implemented, though it’s possible that we’ll now see a phased approach at some point.
Note that this development is separate from the new European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), which is expected to be implemented as of May 2025 (though may be delayed again). Once this is introduced, up to 1.4 billion people from 60+ visa waiver countries will need to obtain a travel authorization prior to traveling to the European Union.
This is a common sense development
Passport stamps are kind of a funny thing, and the idiom “too much of a good thing is a bad thing” comes to mind. Some people get really excited by passport stamps, because of course they can be a fun memory of the places you’ve traveled to. However, for frequent travelers, these stamps can become a pain, since your passport can fill up pretty quickly, requiring you to get a new one.
The novelty of passport stamps aside, using biometric data and making the system electronic is just generally a smart move in terms of border security. Also, this new system should increasingly allow travelers to use automatic gates for entering the country, which is a positive development as well.
Bottom line
The European Union plans to implement a new electronic system for entering and leaving the region. With this, we’ll see biometric data required from travelers, rather than reliance on passport pictures and stamps. The catch is that we don’t know when this will be implemented — while it was supposed to happen as of November 10, 2024, it has now been delayed indefinitely.
Separate from this, next year we should see a new travel authorization requirement introduced in the European Union, for those arriving from many countries. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s delayed (yet again) as well.
What do you make of the EU phasing out passport stamps, and switching to biometric data?
Excellent news! The whole point of a passport book is to have a keepsake of where you have traveled. Keeping the stamps is iconic, glad this is delayed indefinitely. Just don't Australia or NZ me (yes, I'm using the countries as verbs for the fact that they both make you get an eVisa and not stamp your passport). Who wants to sit in a tube for 16 hours to be stripped of the joy of...
Excellent news! The whole point of a passport book is to have a keepsake of where you have traveled. Keeping the stamps is iconic, glad this is delayed indefinitely. Just don't Australia or NZ me (yes, I'm using the countries as verbs for the fact that they both make you get an eVisa and not stamp your passport). Who wants to sit in a tube for 16 hours to be stripped of the joy of getting a stamp at the end. Australia eliminated stamps based on principle; what principle, it's not like a country is going to refuse you entry because you have an AU stamp like you would with Israel.
I was shocked to see Bogotá airport have biometrics when your are leaving the country vs europe & the usa.
I hope this gets implemented soon. Saves space on my passport which means less anxiety when renewing.
Also some EU border folks don't even bother to stamp... especially in Italy, which causes confusion when exiting, but as long as you mention you came from Italy, they'll understand.
If you run out of pages, or run low in your passport book for a new stamp, you go to the nearest US Embassy and request they add more pages. They can easily double the number of blank pages in your passport while you wait.
Wrong... The US no longer "adds pages" --- you must get a new passport.
"The U.S. Department of State stopped adding pages to valid U.S. passports on January 1, 2016
Border gates are a double edged sword... great in theory and places like SIN but in practice places like CDG (exit), LHR T4, and to an extent DXB do not have nearly enough, at least when I happen to pass through them. You see 30 empty passport control booths, and 10 gates instead. Gates certainly aren't any faster, and often slower with people not understanding why the machine can't read the book closed.
The extra thick passports will still come in handy for a while longer!
The land of GPDR and filling the Web with cookie approvals is harvesting fingerprint and facial data. I know the US does it for foreigners, but the irony is hilarious
Meanwhile at WAW airport 2 weeks ago none of the e-gates were open, there was one border guard for all the passengers (from Schengen to non-Schengen) looking at every page of every passenger's passports - even the EU ones. He asked all the flight crews to bypass the line. He was extremely slow even when processing the LOT crews. Took us an hour to get through - and we were the 8th in line.
I visited Warsaw in the summer and experienced the same. The border force there is just inept and inefficient. Took around 90 minutes to get through.
This is related to entry into Schengen, not the EU. At the moment, as a UK citizen (not an EU country), I enter Ireland (an EU country) with no passport stamp. Conversely, when I go to Norway (not an EU country) I currently receive a stamp as it's in Schengen. It might sound pedantic but, when crossing borders, it's a good idea to have some clue as to what's going on.
That's related to CTA. Otherwise stamping indeed depends on EU, not Schengen, i.e. an EU national traveling to Ireland is not stamped (there's no point in doing so). Also, almost the entire EU is in Schengen at this point, with the only two remaining exceptions being Ireland (because of CTA) and Cyprus (because of occupied territories).
I always have a itinerary saved via kayak . Tripit is another popular one. IT helps me list all the countries I have been to.
I welcome this change coz of less pages wasted on my passports.
Is this an EU change or a Schengen change? They are not the same thing. Switzerland, Iceland and Norway are in Schengen but not the EU. Ireland is in the CTA along with the UK rather than Schengen but is in the EU. Bulgaria is in the EU but not in Schengen.
Bulgaria is in Schengen since few months ago, although some checks are maintained on land crossings. The only two member states outside of Schengen are Ireland (because of CTA) and Cyprus (due to having part of its territory occupied). EES will only be implemented in Schengen states.
There are good occupiers and bad occupiers it seems.
It’s a Schengen change not an EU change. Ben should make it clear
Since when has the EU cared about border security? They're all about letting everyone in. With so many undesirables already in and commiting crime like it's going out of style, I don't think fingerprinting everyone from the good visa waiver countries is going to make things better. It just sounds like more Orwellian misuse of technology to control people and put everyone's biometric info at risk.
Just as Orwellian as the US that has recorded biometrics for foreign visitors for years and years?
Nobody is obliged to travel to the EU, like nobody is obliged to travel to the US where fingerprinting has been the norm for years.
One difference is that in the US you still may have to queue for an hour (or more) whereas Europe makes better use of technology without compromising security.
The opposite can be true too. In almost all cases I can enter the USA quicker in San Francisco compared to entering Germany in Frankfurt.
The wait times heavily depend on how the entry point is managed.
Schengen countries not the European Union.
All of the EU except Ireland and Cyprus is in Schengen (Ireland is excluded because of CTA, Cyprus because of the occupied territory).
@samo what is your point?! @soloflyer1977 is absolutely right, this will apply to Schengen countries only.
I'm enrolled in Germany's EasyPass program. I wonder if that's now obsolete or if there will still be a separate line that I go through.
I would prefer a waterproof passport card and the option to use a phone app.
EU has no business with this although there is little doubt they would love to get their fingers into this as well.
You are referring to Schengen countries here.
All Schengen legislation is passed on the EU level, lol, and EES will be run by European Commission. What are you even talking about? Yes, Schengen excludes two member states for practical reasons, and includes some third countries but it's nevertheless an EU project, run and governed by European law and European institutions. EU has every business with this.
Those automatic doors are a pain when you have a little kid who isn’t tall enough for the cameras.
I just hate being fingerprinted. Not because I have security concerns with countries having my prints, it’s a concern far more pedestrian. My hands get very sweaty sometimes and the prints don’t come out, which makes the process embarrassing and take a while.
Great, I hate those stamps, my 10 year validity only gives me 5 actual years of usability with my travels and officers without brains start stamping all over the page and unlike USA my country doesn’t allow a second passport.
Once again, the EU is behind what other nations can achieve as the UK already no longer stamps passports.
Its a bit more difficult to implement this in >20 different countries with different IT-systems, isnt it?
Just flew back from UK yesterday. They REFUSED to stamp my passport! Totally obnoxious. Now is like the trip never gappened. I don't understand why they see a problem with it? What harm does it do?
Pretty sure it’ll be a shambles for 12 months or so as everyone getting finger prints and pictures taken will be time consuming. At least in the long term us non-EU citizens will be able to use EGates. Queues for non EU passport stamping are notoriously long and poorly managed in lots of EU countries. For example, I had a 90 minute wait few weeks ago in Munich just to get passport stamped. Also not...
Pretty sure it’ll be a shambles for 12 months or so as everyone getting finger prints and pictures taken will be time consuming. At least in the long term us non-EU citizens will be able to use EGates. Queues for non EU passport stamping are notoriously long and poorly managed in lots of EU countries. For example, I had a 90 minute wait few weeks ago in Munich just to get passport stamped. Also not all borders are manned. Recently I was in Ibiza and whilst my passport was stamped on the way in, I did not get it stamped on exit as there was no border force at the gates (a common problem in Ibiza).
Maybe the EU (and USA) should look at the Brit’s system which allows (without an Evisa) various approved countries (like USA and EU member states) to use the EGates along with their own citizens without charge.
Try entering the US with a non-US passport and your experience will be exactly as you describe when you arrived at Munich, then add another 60 minutes!
Going to be a mess for Global Entry. Whenever you renew you have to list countries you have visited. I have always relied on my stamps.
I rely on the country codes of the phone numbers of women I meet (and bang) in those countries.
You should use an app like TripIt. I use the free version and it stores all my travel info. Love to see my travel history through the years.
You can simply submit a data request from SIS and you will get all the data they have on you, which will include entries and exits after EES has been implemented. That being said, stamps don't really say which countries you visited, just which country you entered/exited via.
I keep a note on my phone with the list of countries, which I find easier than leafing through my passport
Maybe they can do something akin to eki stamps in Japan? Self-service after entry.
that would be such a good idea my first reaction was 'noooo' but eki stamps would solve that issue
Biden should bomb Brussels and Strasbourg until they agree to stamp passports. At least they should stamp passports on request
Better hurry. He has only a few months left to do it.
But unlikely, since he's directed a lot of weapons to a NATO proxy invasion.
Who says NATO is a defense initiative.
Maybe the best defense is offense.
I'd say we're closer to WW3 now than during the cold war.
Impossible, I have an 8x11 special piece of paper the Germans love to stamp on the way in and again on the way out. It’s very kind of them as they would render my passport full within the first few years if not.
Is this change about the SCHENGEN ZONE (a treaty among select European countries that eliminates internal border controls most of the time), or the EU (a supranational organization of various independent countries)? While there is some overlap between Schengen and EU, the two are NOT the same. It might be good to clarify. In fact, there is no such thing as EU passport control. However, there IS such a thing as Schengen passport control, conducted...
Is this change about the SCHENGEN ZONE (a treaty among select European countries that eliminates internal border controls most of the time), or the EU (a supranational organization of various independent countries)? While there is some overlap between Schengen and EU, the two are NOT the same. It might be good to clarify. In fact, there is no such thing as EU passport control. However, there IS such a thing as Schengen passport control, conducted by officers at external entry/exit points.
I'm surprised that an experienced world traveler would ever use the term "European Union" when referring to passport stamps or border control. It's Schengen passport control -- and it's important to be accurate.
Ben, you might want to update your article to clarify about Schengen Zone vs. EU.
EES will not apply to Ireland and Cyprus - both are EU member states but are not part of the Schengen area.
And some countries are Schengen and not EU...
I agree
I will miss the stamps.
Good.
I'm tired of uninspired passport stamps, and I'm tired of Italian border control stamping wherever/however they damn please.
(as are German border control when they try to locate Italian entry stamps)
Then again, Bahrain's passport stamp is larger than the country itself, so maybe I'm just tired of having to renew my passport.
Fully agree, albeit from my experience no one beats the Brazilians. As most, I have a 5 year valid Passport but as I have to fly there plenty of times, nowadays I have to renew my Passport the least once a year just because of incompetent customers, especially at GRU.
Interesting.
This makes me wonder how this will impact US government employees and contractors who have security clearances. I haven't had to do an application for one in several years, but back in the day those of us who were getting background checks had to document seven years of international travel, including every country entered, and the advice from the OPM was to use one's passport stamps to jog the memory. For those of...
Interesting.
This makes me wonder how this will impact US government employees and contractors who have security clearances. I haven't had to do an application for one in several years, but back in the day those of us who were getting background checks had to document seven years of international travel, including every country entered, and the advice from the OPM was to use one's passport stamps to jog the memory. For those of us who had 100+ page passports, this was quite an undertaking. I'm not sure what the requirements are now for documenting international travel, but without stamps, it would be impossible for me to recall the dates of every single country I entered going back seven years.
That said, I'm all for the elimination of stamps and making the process faster.
Still required - I just keep a log of where I've been and when, and which were personal vs which were official. Many countries don't stamp these days.
You'll track the information some other way. perhaps you have a personal calendar.
You can always request your information from the SIS.
Yet no one ever question how stupid of them for asking these during background checks, especially when they probably know more than you yourself knows.
But then again a US president didn't even disclose his tax returns.
I'm not a US govt employee, but I do need a similar list for various visa applications (and, if I remember right, to renew Global Entry). I always put trips in the electronic calendar I use for work, whether they are work-related or vacation. They are categorized as such, so it is easy to search for all trips within a time range and get the exact dates. Problem solved. Actually much easier than hunting through...
I'm not a US govt employee, but I do need a similar list for various visa applications (and, if I remember right, to renew Global Entry). I always put trips in the electronic calendar I use for work, whether they are work-related or vacation. They are categorized as such, so it is easy to search for all trips within a time range and get the exact dates. Problem solved. Actually much easier than hunting through my passport for entry/exit stamps, which are often barely legible.
That process is still required. And not only when you do your investigation, you are also supposed to report all Int'l travel including airport layovers to your security manager even if you are flying back to the US. Have to pre-report when you schedule your travel (talk to your security manager or fill out a form) and also supposed to do a de-briefing with your security manager within 72 hours of returning. This includes if...
That process is still required. And not only when you do your investigation, you are also supposed to report all Int'l travel including airport layovers to your security manager even if you are flying back to the US. Have to pre-report when you schedule your travel (talk to your security manager or fill out a form) and also supposed to do a de-briefing with your security manager within 72 hours of returning. This includes if you are in a country even for an hour on a layover.
I love getting passport stamps since they allow me to go through my passport and get a reminder of all of the places I've been. So, I'm quite sad about this change. I wish the EU would maintain the option to get a passport stamp on request for those who want it for the memories.
You can still ask the guards for them ;) (if they still have them as a backup). I always ask when entering my home country and my request has so far never been rejected.
@Max - Thanks for the tip :)
@Max
So far, I've mostly been rejected.
Hard to even find a guard at the electronic gates.
I’ll miss my car stamps I got driving from Croatia to Slovenia & back!
Are all ports going to have this tech on day 1? Could be a bit of a mess if you enter a port with biometrics and leave one without. Having had an issue exiting the EU with a missing entry stamp (turns out it was there just obscured by an adjacent stamp) I’m curious how this will be rolled out
Very good article about a positive change (in my view) for many visitors coming to Europe. One small correction is that it’s actually the Schengen countries that are implementing this Entry/Exit system. Ireland and Cyprus won’t be part of it even though they are in the EU, but 3 non-EU countries (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland) will be part of it because they are part of the Schengen Agreement (European border free zone). N.B. Lichtenstein is also...
Very good article about a positive change (in my view) for many visitors coming to Europe. One small correction is that it’s actually the Schengen countries that are implementing this Entry/Exit system. Ireland and Cyprus won’t be part of it even though they are in the EU, but 3 non-EU countries (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland) will be part of it because they are part of the Schengen Agreement (European border free zone). N.B. Lichtenstein is also on Schengen but doesn’t have any external Schengen borders because there is no airport.
About your last sentence, true they have no Airport but they have roads that crosses borders.
Will be much harder to overstay the 90 day limit!
How will it be harder?
Illegal immigrants don't seem to care if it's 3 hour 3 days 3 months 3 years or 3 decades.
Any limit is not applicable.
Agree sort of with both of you. It won't make any difference to people who will have no further interaction with the border controls. But for anyone who wants to continue to cross the border in either direction, detection that they had overstayed a limited authorisation to be in the country concerned will become easier. So 'overstaying' may not be more difficult, avoiding the consequences of doing so may well be more difficult.
Fingerprints are going to be the bottleneck. Facial recognition is proven to be way faster. I hope they don’t require every entering person to pause for fingerprinting at e-gates, which would dramatically slow down entry processing.
US passport control is notoriously bad, so the one exception of Global Entry. It’s incredible that I can arrive at a US airport, a picture is taken in <5 seconds, and I can keep walking without touching anything...
Fingerprints are going to be the bottleneck. Facial recognition is proven to be way faster. I hope they don’t require every entering person to pause for fingerprinting at e-gates, which would dramatically slow down entry processing.
US passport control is notoriously bad, so the one exception of Global Entry. It’s incredible that I can arrive at a US airport, a picture is taken in <5 seconds, and I can keep walking without touching anything or taking out my passport, while simply nodding at a USCIS agent sitting on a stool who nods back and waves me on.
Anything that adds “friction” to that kind of efficient entry for known travelers would be unfortunate. EU should take note!
Even with fingerprinting, non-EU citizens going through the e-gates would likely be faster than the manual stamping done now.
"Even with fingerprinting, non-EU citizens going through the e-gates would likely be faster than the manual stamping done now."
Possibly. Depends on how good the finger print readers are. In my experience, the speed varies greatly across readers and across the people being finger printed.
At larger border crossings (airports, large ports) there will be kiosks (https://www.secunet.com/en/products-consulting/easykiosk) which will take your finger prints and picture. So there shouldnt be any additional processing time at the e-gates.
Actually, there are no USCIS officers sitting on stools at US airports. Whoever you see doing that are called CBP (Customs and Border Protection) Officers. USCIS officers adjudicate applications for immigration benefits, and located in the government buildings downtown.