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. 

There are currently regular reports of delays at airports and the advice is to be at the airport three hours before your flight and go straight through all the clearances to ensure you don’t miss your flight. Airlines have stated they won’t wait for passengers that are delayed! 

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.