If you are arriving into any of the Schengen area’s 29 countries for the first time you will now have facial images and fingerprints scanned under the new Entry / Exit System (EES). This biometric data is to replace the need for manual passport stamps and will either be taken at automated kiosks or by border officers. 

This is only required for a first time entry as any subsequent entries the system will check for previously stored data. 

The process involves scanning your passport and then placing all your fingers onto a scanner and looking into a screen for the facial images. 

Children under 12 years old are exempt from having to provide fingerprints. 

Whilst the process may initially cause some delays it will over time speed up the entry / exit as there won’t be any need to queue to go through immigration checks. 

The EES applies to Europe’s 25 countries plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein. Ireland and Cyprus will continue to use manual processing of passports.  

The system and data is owned by the EU known as eu-LISA – The European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large Scale IT Systems.