EU confirms post-Brexit Entry/Exit System launch date

The EU Commission officially confirmed its post-Brexit Entry/Exit System (EES) will launch on Nov. 10.

The date was announced by EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson during a speech at eu-LISA, the EU agency in charge of the IT infrastructure behind the EES, according to Euro News.

“The moment is finally there. There may have been times you believed it will never happen,” she said. “But it’s going to happen. Everything is coming together. We’re in the final testing phase. There is a real momentum now. Carriers, operators, train stations, airports, everyone is getting ready for the big day.”

The EES was initially expected to launch in 2022, but IT issues have led to multiple delays in installing the automated barriers required at all international land, maritime and air borders in the Schengen Area.

The EES will be an automated registration system for non-EU travellers who don’t require a visa to enter the EU, apart from Cyprus and Ireland, as well as four non-EU countries in the Schengen Area: Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

As part of the new system, travellers will scan their passports or other travel documents at a self-service kiosk each time they cross an external border.

The EES will register the traveller’s name, biometric data, and the date and place of entry and exit. Facial scans and fingerprint data will be taken every three years and are valid for multiple trips within that period.

Once the EES becomes effective, Commissioner Johansson says 700 million people travelling to Europe would be affected every year.

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