Growing up in the EU, I didn’t even know what all those blank pages in my passport were for until I could afford to travel further afield. Post-Brexit, I’ve actually become a fan of flicking through, looking at my passport stamps to Athina, København or Málaga, and reflecting on my travels. But this short-lived pastime will soon be replaced by the new Entry/Exit System (EES) in the EU.
What is the EU EES system?
The EES is an automated system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay (90 days) in the EU. Rather than the current method of physically, stamping your passport in and out, your entries and exits, or entry refusals will be electronically registered in the EES.
The EES will register biometric data on entries, exits, and refusals of entry – identifying overstayers, combating identity fraud, and improving border security. The trade-off is losing our lovely stamps, and creating about 30 useless pages in our passports.
How does EES work?
Coming into effect on November 10, the new system will be entirely automated. Upon arrival, you will have your photograph and fingerprint taken at the border, while your passport is scanned. The EU will then hold your data for three years before erasing it.
What countries will stop passport stamps?
The change will be implemented in nearly every EU country, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – what’s known as the Schengen Area. Only in Cyprus and Ireland, despite being countries in the European Union, will passports still be stamped manually.
Plenty of other countries already don’t use passport stamps, however, for various reasons. These include Argentina, Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, Macau, Cuba, UAE, Mexico, Jamaica, and Singapore. Antarctica also doesn’t have a passport stamp, but that’s mostly because there is no national authority – and you can request a souvenir one…