News article by Ana Rita Leitão, Lawyer - International Atlantic Services

After numerous postponements, the new model for entry and exit in Member States, called EES (Entry-Exit System), approved by Regulation EU 2017/2226, will come into force.

The new EES system will come into force in October 2024 and aims to:

- Record and store the date, place, and time of entry and exit of third-country nationals from EU countries;

- Automatically calculate the length of authorized stay of third-country nationals;

- Generate alerts to the Member State when the authorized stay is exceeded;

- Record and store refusals of entry of third-country nationals and the reason for the refusal;

The EES aims to strengthen internal security and the fight against terrorism by giving authorities integrated access to the travel history of third-country nationals.

This new electronic entry-exit system will help reduce delays at border controls, and improve the quality of border controls by automatically calculating the authorized stay of each traveler, and replacing the physical stamp in passports on entry into EU countries; this system will be implemented in EU countries, except Ireland and Cyprus (non-Schengen countries) where passports will still be stamped and border controls will still be necessary, as well as in non-EU countries such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

What will change?

EES system will apply to all third-country nationals who have travel authorization and who are traveling to a Member State for a short stay (holiday or business); the EES system will not apply to EU nationals, who will continue to benefit from the free movement of persons, nor to citizens with a residence permit and their family members.

Therefore, when crossing an EU air or sea border from a third country, all movements are recorded electronically and stored in a database. For this purpose, a third-country national must provide a photograph and fingerprints.

From 2025, the SEIAV (or ETIAS) system, which is identical to the one used for travelers to the USA (ESTA), will be introduced, although no date has yet been set for its start, it will bring greater control over restrictions on those wishing to enter the Schengen area. This SEIAV system consists of a pre-travel authorization; this pre-travel authorization will also be compulsory for countries currently exempt from the Schengen visa requirement to enter the Schengen/EU area, such as US citizens.

In other words, after 2025, if you are traveling to a Schengen/EU country for a short stay, you must apply for a SEIAV before you leave.