Visa & entryBy Clever Tourists · Published
EES and ETIAS are two different things, and only one of them affects you today. The Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully running since 10 April 2026: non-EU visitors have their fingerprints and photo registered at the Schengen external border, and it replaces passport stamps. ETIAS, the €20 (≈ $22) online travel authorization for visa-free visitors such as Americans, has not launched, so there is nothing to apply for or pay yet. (For short tourist visits by visa-exempt travelers; confirm the latest status on the EU's official site, travel-europe.europa.eu, before you fly.)
• EES (Entry/Exit System): a digital border record. Live since 12 October 2025 in phases, fully operational at all Schengen external borders since 10 April 2026. No application, no fee. Done at the border.
• ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System): an online pre-travel authorization, similar to the US ESTA or the UK ETA. Not in operation. When it starts it will cost €20 (≈ $22) for travelers aged 18 to 70 and last three years or until your passport expires.
Neither is a visa. If you could visit the Schengen Area visa-free before, you still can, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
The European Commission says EES records your name, travel document details, fingerprints and facial image, and the date and place of every entry and exit, plus any refusal of entry. It applies to non-EU nationals on short stays and, since 10 April 2026, it replaces the stamping of passports.
The first time you enter after the rollout, an officer or self-service kiosk scans your passport, takes four fingerprints and a photo. Children under 12 aren't fingerprinted but are still photographed and registered. Later crossings are faster because your file already exists; the record is kept for three years. Expect longer queues at busy airports and land borders, especially on your first entry.
Because EES logs every entry and exit automatically, it counts your 90/180 days for the authorities. Overstays that a stamp might once have hidden now show up instantly, so track your days carefully on longer trips.
As of mid-October 2026, the EU's official ETIAS site says ETIAS is not in operation and no applications are being collected. The EU's earlier target of the last quarter of 2026 is no longer shown, and no replacement date has been published. The EU has said it will announce the start date several months in advance, so in practice ETIAS will not be required before 2027. Treat any specific 2027 date you see quoted elsewhere as speculation until it appears on travel-europe.europa.eu.
When it launches, the European Commission says the fee will be €20 (≈ $22) (raised in 2025 from the originally planned €7 (≈ $7.8)), with travelers under 18 and over 70 exempt from paying. An approved ETIAS is linked to your passport and is valid for three years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first, for unlimited short trips. It covers the Schengen countries plus Cyprus, not each country separately.
Because ETIAS isn't live, any website taking money for an ETIAS application today is not the EU. Look-alike sites with official-sounding names and EU-flag logos rank highly in search results and charge several times the real fee, or simply collect your passport data. The only official sources are travel-europe.europa.eu and, once it launches, the official ETIAS app it links to. If you're asked to pay for ETIAS before the EU announces a start date, close the page.
Schengen members, so EES now and ETIAS when it starts: Spain, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia (Schengen since 2023) and Romania (a full Schengen member since 1 January 2025, so land borders with Hungary have no routine checks either). Inside Schengen there are normally no border checks, so you register with EES once, at the external border where you enter, and are checked out where you leave.
Not covered by EES or ETIAS: the UK runs its own Electronic Travel Authorisation (£20 (≈ $27) on GOV.UK, apply before you fly). Montenegro, Albania, Turkey and Morocco are outside the EU and Schengen, apply their own entry rules, and days spent there don't count toward your Schengen 90/180. Ireland and Cyprus are EU members outside Schengen and don't use EES either.
On a Balkan road trip, that means crossing from Croatia into Montenegro is a Schengen exit (EES records it) and coming back is a new Schengen entry. Our guide to driving across Balkan borders covers how those crossings work in practice.
No. As of October 2026 the EU says ETIAS is not in operation and no applications are being collected. Visa-free visitors such as US citizens enter the Schengen Area with just a valid passport.
There is no official start date. The EU dropped its last-quarter-2026 target and says it will announce the date several months in advance, so ETIAS won't be required before 2027. Check travel-europe.europa.eu for the official announcement.
€20 (≈ $22), according to the European Commission. Travelers under 18 and over 70 won't pay. It will be valid for three years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
No. EES is a biometric border record (fingerprints and photo) taken when you enter and leave the Schengen Area, with no application or fee. ETIAS is an online travel authorization you'll need to get before you fly once it launches.
No. The UK isn't in the EU or Schengen and requires its own Electronic Travel Authorisation, which costs £20 (≈ $27) on GOV.UK. You'll still go through EES when you travel from the UK into a Schengen country.
Not for most short-stay non-EU visitors. Since EES became fully operational on 10 April 2026, the digital record replaces passport stamps at Schengen external borders.
Get our new Europe guides and practical tips by email: where to stay, what to eat, what things cost and the rules that catch travelers out.
Free. No spam, only new guides and tips.
Entry rules change, and they depend on your nationality — always confirm the current requirements on the official government site before you book or apply. Only use official government (.gov) portals; ignore look-alike agency sites.
Get the best deals on where to stay in Europe — Booking.com.
