EU’s entry-exit system now fully operational – milestone or misery?
The EU's new entry-exit system (EES) is now fully operational, and the initial results have been mixed.
Austrian media has reported the "resounding success" of the EES rollout at Vienna International Airport.
While British media has reported "chaos" after more than 100 Easyjet passengers were left stranded at Milan Linate airport on Sunday, having queued for hours in passport control.
The EES has been piloted at Vienna International Airport since September and fully operational since March. Over 730,000 passengers have been registered in the EES and some 290 passengers have been refused entry to Austria in the last six months. The head of Vienna International Airport indicated that 96% of passengers needed less than five minutes to register their details in the EES.
Under the EU’s new entry-exit system, non-EU nationals travelling to the Schengen Area for short stays of up to 90 days in a 180-day period must register and submit their biometric data each time they cross the Schengen area’s external borders. The EES applies to non-EU nationals, irrespective of whether they need a visa to enter the Schengen area or not.
The EES does not apply to:
- non-EU nationals who hold residence permits or long-stay visas,
- family members of EU or EEA nationals,
- intra-corporate transferees, researchers, students, au-pairs, pupil exchange schemes, educational projects and voluntary service.
The EES will replace passport stamps and is touted as making it easier to detect overstayers, falsified documents and fraudulent visas.
With just 0,05% of passengers having been refused entry at Vienna International Airport in the last six months and summer travel coming up, it remains to be seen whether the security improvements promised by the EES will really be a milestone or whether passengers will face border-queuing misery.
For more information on how the EES may affect you, reach out to us.