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A new Entry/Exit System will soon replace passport stamping across ‘The Schengen Zone’ changing how millions of visitors enter and exit the continent each year. Photography: Daniel Schludi.
Europe’s new border controls
By Geoffrey Williams and Josh Chandler
Briefly …
Europe is in the process of implementing a major border update. From 12 October 2025, a new Entry/Exit System is replacing passport stamping across ‘The Schengen Zone’ that is changing how millions of visitors enter and exit the continent each year.
For decades, travellers from around the world have been accustomed to presenting their passport at Europe’s borders and breezing through with a stamp. But that familiar ritual is changing. The European Union (EU) is currently piloting a new Entry/Exit System (EES), designed to modernise and secure travel into The Schengen Zone, which is the vast area of Europe where border control between countries has largely disappeared.
The Schengen Zone
The Schengen Zone is Europe’s passport-free travel area – a network of countries that have abolished internal border checks between them. For instance, a traveller could board a train in France and journey through Belgium and the Netherlands without ever showing a passport, moving as freely as one might between Australian states or American cities.
Within this zone, people can cross borders without routine checks, allowing easier movement for residents, tourists and business travellers alike. The Schengen Agreement, which created this border-free zone, has become a cornerstone of European travel, promoting openness while relying on a shared system of external border control and security.
Hallstatt, a village on Lake Hallstatt's western shore in Austria. Photography: Nikolay Kovalenko.
The Schengen Zone countries
EU members in The Schengen Zone: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
Non-EU members: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
EU members not in The Schengen Zone: Ireland (Common Travel Area with the UK) and Cyprus (pending full integration).
What the EES means for travellers
The Entry/Exit System will record details such as a traveller’s name, passport information, and biometric data (including fingerprints and facial images) each time they enter or leave the Schengen Zone. When the Entry/Exit System is operational, passport stamping will continue during a 180-day transition period, after which time only the digital system will be used.
For most travellers, including Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians and Americans, the change will be noticeable mainly at automated border gates. For first-time visitors under the new system, border checks may take a little longer. Travellers will need to scan their passports, have their fingerprints and facial image captured, and confirm entry details. Once these biometric records are stored in the system, entry is expected to be faster, using facial recognition to confirm your identity.
While the system aims for efficiency, initial implementation may lead to longer wait times for all travellers, especially first-time visitors, who will need to complete the full check-in process (including answering questions about their trip), at automated kiosks.
One of the new biometric kiosks in action at Prague Airport. Photography: Secunet.
Travellers passing through the new digital border control gateways. Photography: Secunet.
Why the change?
The EU says the system will strengthen border security, reduce illegal overstays and make travel more efficient in the long term. It’s also part of a broader move toward digital borders, ahead of the launch of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), a separate pre-travel authorisation expected to take effect soon after EES.
What to expect
At first, the new process may cause delays, particularly at busy airports and land crossings. Travellers are advised to allow extra time and to check whether their airline or destination country has issued updated guidance.
While the shift to digital entry may sound daunting, officials say the system is designed to simplify movement across one of the world’s busiest travel regions, eventually replacing passports with a smoother, more secure digital identity. For solo travellers, the transition may take a moment to adjust to, but it marks the beginning of a more streamlined and secure way to move across Europe’s borders.
You can find out more information about the EU’s new digital border control system here.