UK Citizens Heading to Europe Will Face New EES Entry Checks and ETIAS Requirement

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A Firm Date for EES and a Six-Month Window for ETIAS

In August 2024, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson publicly confirmed that the Entry/Exit System (EES) was scheduled to begin on 10 November 2024. For the first time, a named EU official had put a firm commitment behind the long-delayed programme. EES had been originally planned for 2021, then pushed repeatedly. The November date was treated by officials as a line that would not move again.

Under the sequence announced at the time, ETIAS — the European Travel Information and Authorisation System — was expected to follow approximately six months after EES became operational. Contemporary projections placed ETIAS somewhere around mid-2025. In practice, EES did not launch in November 2024 and instead began a phased rollout in October 2025, making ETIAS's actual expected date late 2026.

For the purposes of this article, the content reflects what was known and reported in August 2024. One key factual update: although the article at the time cited €7 as the ETIAS application fee, the confirmed fee upon implementation is €20. Travellers under 18 and over 70 are exempt from the fee in both cases.

What UK Travellers Would Need to Do

Under the EES regime, British citizens — who became third-country nationals for Schengen purposes on leaving the EU — would be required to provide fingerprints and a facial scan at the European border on their first entry in any three-year cycle. The biometric data would be stored and used to verify identity on subsequent crossings and to track time spent within the Schengen Area against the 90-in-180-days limit.

ETIAS would add a pre-travel online authorisation step. Eligible passport holders would need to submit an application covering questions about their travel plans, place of residence, employment status, and — unlike most Schengen visa applications — information about any criminal history. A six-month transitional period was planned to allow travellers to adjust: during this window, travellers without ETIAS might still be permitted to cross, though operators such as airlines and ferries would eventually be required to verify that passengers hold valid authorisation before boarding.

Ireland and Cyprus are not part of the Schengen Area and therefore travel between the UK and those two countries would not be subject to ETIAS requirements.

How the Application System Was Designed to Work

ETIAS was modelled partly on the US Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) and the Australian ETA. The application was designed to take only a few minutes and to return an approval decision within seconds for most travellers. A minority of cases would be flagged for manual review, which could take up to four weeks. Once approved, an ETIAS authorisation would remain valid for three years or until the associated passport expires — whichever comes first — allowing multiple trips without reapplication.

The authorisation is linked to the specific passport used to apply. If a traveller renews their passport before the three-year period is up, a new ETIAS application would be required. The online application portal would be operated at the European Union level, and applicants would be able to pay using standard online payment methods.

ETIAS does not replace a Schengen visa. Nationals of countries that already require a visa to enter the Schengen Area are not eligible for ETIAS and must continue applying for a full visa through the standard consular process.