Europe’s new system to track third-country visitors, the electronic Entry/Exit System, has had its start date postponed again, with no definite date set. It had most recently been scheduled to start in May.
Like the U.S. Real ID plan, EES has had several postponements, some caused by the pandemic, but most by technical difficulties and disagreements over implementation. Unofficially, it is promised to be ready later this year, perhaps by November when the ETIAS electronic visa scheme is set to start.
The latest postponement is being attributed to too many entry points not being ready in time, and a fear of creating long summer backups at border points.
The new system, which will require non-EU travellers to register and have biometric data including fingerprints taken at the border, is meant to track visitors from outside the EU and Schengen areas, and keep track of how many days the visitor is in the area, where 90 days out of 180 are permitted.
