As of 10 April 2026, the EU’s new border system – EES – is now officially mandatory for all non-EU nationals who are crossing the border into Europe.
And after a six-month gradual rollout, you may assume that everything is ready to go – but is that really the case?
Well, I headed to Porto to discover the realities of the new Entry/Exit System and how much it could impact our future journeys to Europe.
What is EES?
EES stands for the Entry/Exit System, which is a new digital border system that will replace passport stamps as a way to track the movements of non-EU nationals, including those from the UK.
It was initially phased in but as of 10 April 2026, it’s now mandatory for travel to Europe.
Is EES for entry into all of Europe?
Almost. It’s widely reported that it’s for entry and exit into and out of Europe, but technically it’s just into and out of the Schengen zone which is made up of most of Europe – these 29 European countries in fact:
Therefore, you will not need to do EES when visiting Ireland or Cyprus.
What does EES involve?
Your entry and exit from the Schengen Area will no longer be recorded by stamps, and will instead be recorded digitally.
When you first register, your biometric data – which includes a facial scan and fingerprint scan – will be recorded as well as questions about where you’re staying, if you have a return ticket, whether you have insurance and how much in funds you have.
This registration will last three years, but on subsequent visits you will still need to go through EES, but you will not have to supply as much biometric data or answer as many questions.
In theory, it should be a lot faster once you’ve registered, especially if airports have separate queues for registed travellers.
How do I register for EES when arriving on my flight?
For most countries, you will register in person when you get off the plane and get to passport control. This will either be at an EES self service kiosk or manually at a desk with a person.
For Sweden and Portugal, there is also a Travel to Europe app that allows you to register some details up to 72 hours before your flight which could speed your registration up.
How can I find out more information about EES?
There’s a lot to take in, so we’ve typed up a full guide to EES and what you can expect which you can read below. But for now, let’s get onto my experience.
My Experience Travelling to Europe on the Official First Day of EES
My journey
I flew from London Gatwick to Porto on Friday 10 April at 12.05pm, due to land at my destination at 2.15pm.
What did I have to do before my flight to Porto?
If it was any other country but Portugal or Sweden, the answer would be simple: nothing.
However since both of these countries allow you to pre-register details for EES on the Travel to Europe app, I did do this the night before my flight.
Now, I am already registered to use EES thanks to testing the process out when it first launched in October, but it was free and only took two minutes to do, so I thought it was worth doing just in case.
It asked me:
- Date of arrival in the Schengen area
- Expected time of arrival
- What airport I’d be arriving at
- My full name
- How long I intended to stay
- Whether I had a return ticket
- How much money I had available for my stay
- How much money I had in cash
If I was travelling to Sweden, I would have also been able to supply my biometric data as well!
It’s worth knowing how much money the country you’re travelling to expects you to have for your trip as if you answer under that, you could be questioned about it. As for the cash, there are also limits on how much cash you can take into countries so be aware of that too.
Otherwise, I simply got to the airport at the normal time, got on my flight and did everything as normal.
If you are in rush, or have a tight turnaround, you may want to reserve a seat closer to the front of the plane so that you can be one of the first people off the plane and into the queues.
My experience at Porto airport
This is where things are different and having been across the news of this rollout over the last six months, I was a little worried.
Why? Well Portugal has seen very lengthy queues, with many followers reporting three-hour waits in places like Lisbon and Faro. And this was before the EES checks were mandatory.
But I was still holding out hope for Porto.
As one of the first people off the plane, I got a stomp on as I made a beeline for passport control, praying that what awaited me wouldn’t be too bad.
The first thing I spotted was the EES kiosks which were… not in use.
There were 24 in total but they were completely roped off from the queue section which was disappointing to see.
The second thing I spotted was the eGates for those holding EU passports, and already people were zipping through within seconds of scanning their passport.
And then this was the moment I turned to face the queue for us non-EU nationals and…
It was very quiet.
Hallelujah!
But, I was disappointed to find that there wasn’t a separate queue for people who were pre-registered. Instead, there was just one queue and when I joined, there were around 30 people stood in front of me in it.
As for the manual booths, seven were in operation and I could see to the side of each desk was the EES unit which held a camera and a screen to allow the facial scans to take place.
Around me, I could hear other people exclaiming their surprise that the kiosks weren’t open and even someone say, ‘Oh they musn’t be doing it after all!’ and I thought, ‘No silly, it’s just they’re doing it manually instead!’.
I’d soon be eating my words…
After nine minutes, I made my way to the front of the queue and got my Travel to Europe app ready, as it had created me a QR code that I was supposed to hand over which should hopefully speed up some of the process.
However, after handing over my passport and asking if the man would like to see my app, I was told, ‘Oh no, maybe we’ll do that in the future’.
From there on in, began the most confusing conversation I’ve ever experienced at passport control. And as I recount it, let me just remind you that today, EES became mandatory.
Chelsea: So you’re not using the app yet?
Border control: No – in the future
Chelsea: And the EES kiosks back there?
Border control: Not yet – in the future
*Looks at my passport and hands it back*
Chelsea: Oh! Do you not need to do anything else?
Border control: No
Chelsea: Is it because I’m already registered?
Border control: No, I’ve scanned your passport
Chelsea: Oh did that tell you that I’ve already been through EES?
Border control: *looks confused* No? We’re just not doing it right now
Chelsea: But isn’t EES mandatory from today?
Border control: We don’t stamp passports from today
Chelsea: Okay yes, but you’re not doing any EES checks today?
Border control: We have before and will do it again, but not right now. We have to wait to be told.
Chelsea: By who? The Portuguese government? The EU?
Border control: We get a call and get told to start it again – it might be in 30 minutes
Chelsea: From someone at the airport?
Border control: We might get the call to start again in 30 minutes
Chelsea: But isn’t it supposed to be mandatory for everyone from today?
Border control: *no reply*
It was at this point, having had my passport back for a good 30 seconds, that I realised I was probably pushing my luck.
As I went to baggage claim, it struck me that perhaps it was just that one booth that wasn’t up and running. But after several conversations with my fellow passengers it seemed that nobody had been asked, and everyone had been left feeling a little perplexed.
What does my experience actually mean?
My experience today may seem like a bit of a pointless test, but it does confirm something I’ve been worried about during this whole EES process: it’s not fit for purpose yet.
Even after six months, it feels like the infrastructure is not in place to make this the ‘more efficient’ experience that was promised to us all. Not only that, but the communications about what to do as a passenger is still very poor, with many people not even knowing what to expect when they arrive at their destination.
What we need is a clear understanding of how EES will work at an airport, and the confidence that it will be the same experience no matter where we’re travelling and unfortunately it does feel that we’re a way off from that at the moment.
As for now, this is only going to undermine travellers’ confidence and give them another reason to not book that trip, but instead stay at home.
Update on EES at Porto Airport
So, I was travelling to Porto for a trip with my family who were all arriving an hour later from Manchester.
And guess what?
They had to do EES.
Yes, in the same airport, on the same day, with the same passport control agents, they had to go through all the checks. So perhaps they had received this mysterious call to get back on it!!
I got my sister to make lots of notes so she could report back on their experience.
I had not travelled to Europe in the last six months so was not registered for EES, but I did download the Travel to Europe app and pre-registered information about my trip.
When I arrived at passport control, the EES kiosks were there but not in use so I joined the main queue.
Four desks were open, but one was priority and two were for EU nationals and so there was only 1 desk for the entire main queue.
When I joined, there were around 50 people ahead of me and after my flight came in, around 100 people behind me.
The queue went very slowly and I could see that people were being asked for face scans and fingerprints, as well as being asked questions.
In fact, I timed a person at the desk and it took them 4 minutes 21 seconds to be processed – and this was happening a lot.
Then, the 2 desks that had been just for EU nationals cleared and they started accepting non-EU nationals which sped the queue up.
When this happened, it also felt like they stopped asking so many questions as people were being processed a lot quicker.
When it was my turn, I handed over my passport but when I showed the QR code from the registration app, I was told it wasn’t being used.
I then had to give my fingerprints and a facial scan and that was it. The whole process took around 30 seconds.
It was odd that I wasn’t asked any questions since I haven’t registered for EES before, though perhaps there was a way that the information I had input on the app had been connected to my passport. But I doubt it, as most people around me were getting through very quickly.
Other people in my group were asked for face scans and fingerprints, and some were asked about the purpose of their trip and where they were staying.
Overall, it took me 40 minutes to get through, though other people on my same flight took over an hour – I was just lucky to be sat by the front door!
Other EES experiences from around Europe on 10 April
I created a survey to gather a range of real-world EES experiences and so many if you answered! Thank you!
I’ve written up over 65 responses and compiled them in the article below for you.
Did EES Disrupt My Trip to Europe?
Well for me personally, the answer is – not really.
My nine-minute wait in the queue at border control wasn’t particularly inconvenient. And it was me who made it longer by trying to get some information out of the man in the booth as to what the heck was happening with the new system!
But other people travelling on the same day – even to the same airport (like my sister) – had to wait in lines for EES checks for upwards of 40 minutes.
It’s all a bit confusing right now, so my main tip is to allow extra time for your journey, and be ready to register your fingerprints and facial ID. In time, the whole process should speed up and ultimately we should spend much less time waiting than when we had to queue for a passport stamp!
