On 12 October, a new entry and exit system is introduced for all nationals of countries outside the EU who are travelling to or from the Schengen area for shorter stays.
About the Entry Exit System (EES)
The new system is called the Entry Exit System (EES) and will be gradually introduced by all countries in the Schengen area.
The affected travellers must show their passports and any other permits and provide a facial image and fingerprints when crossing the external borders of the Schengen area. The data are registered in a personal file together with the time and place of entry or exit.
The Entry Exit System will gradually replace the current manual stamps in passports. The system registers the number of days that a traveller may stay in the EU and the Schengen area. At the EU website for the Entry Exit System, travellers can calculate how many days they have left.
Nationals of EU and Schengen area countries are not affected by the Entry Exit System. Nationals of other countries that present a residence permit card are not affected either.
Countries that use the Entry Exit System
The following countries will use the Entry Exit System:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Cyprus and Ireland will continue to stamp passports manually.
Safer borders
The Entry Exit System will make it easier to identify travellers who attempt to enter or exit the Schengen area under an incorrect identity or with a counterfeit passport, as well as individuals who have stayed longer than permitted in the Schengen area. The system will also contribute to the efforts to prevent, discover and investigate terrorist offences and other serious crime.
Pre-registration in the app
In Sweden travelers arriving at Arlanda, Bromma, Landvetter, Sturup och Skavsta have the opportunity to register in advance using the app Travel to Europe. The app that can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play starting from October 12.
More about the app: Etias/EES (Frontex's webbsite)
Processing of personal data
Personal data are processed according to the applicable laws. The data that are registered in the traveller’s personal file are normally deleted after three years. More information about the processing of personal data in the Entry Exit System will be presented before the system is introduced.
Start on 12 October
The Entry Exit System will be introduced on 12 October 2025. The system is introduced following a decision by the EU.
Read more about the Entry Exit System at the EU website. The information is available in various languages.
Frequently asked questions about the Entry Exit System
What is the Entry Exit System?
The EES (Entry/Exit System) is a system for border controls in the EU that is introduced on 12 October 2025 in Sweden and all other Schengen countries.
All individuals who are nationals of a country outside the EU must register entries and exits for shorter stays in countries in the Schengen area. (link)
https://polisen.se/lagar-och-regler/resa-till-fran-sverige/tredjelandsmedborgare/
Travellers must provide travel documents, visa information, fingerprints and a facial image. In Sweden, this is done in the presence of a border control officer. In other countries, these steps can be taken by the travellers themselves at self-service stations.
The system registers the number of days that a traveller has been staying in the EU and the Schengen area.
The system will gradually replace the current manual stamps in travel documents.
Who needs to register entries and exits?
Nationals of countries outside the EU/Schengen area travelling to a European country for a shorter stay. The maximum stay is 90 days during a 180-day period.
Nationals of countries outside the EU/Schengen area who have residence permits or residence cards for the country that they are entering should not be registered.
Children under the age of 12 are exempt from the requirement to register fingerprints, but they do need to register their personal data.
As a national of a country outside the EU/Schengen area, what do I need to do?
The first time a traveller who is subject to the EES regulation enters the EU/Schengen area, a personal file will be created in the digital system. The traveller must present their passport, visa (if any) and have their photo taken and provide their fingerprints at the border control. The same data is also submitted when the traveller later exits Sweden.
If the same traveller re-enters the area at a later date, the data do not need to be registered again, but the traveller’s photo and/or fingerprints will be compared with the data that are already stored in the EES system.
What happens if I refuse to submit data?
Travellers who are subject to the Entry Exit System, but who refuse to submit their photo and fingerprints at the border control, will be refused entry to the European countries that use the system.
What data are registered?
The traveller’s travel documents, facial image and fingerprints are registered in a personal file in a database. Dates for entry and exit are also registered. If the traveller is denied entry, or if the traveller has stayed longer than the permitted period, that information is also registered in the personal file.
The information that is registered in the personal file is generally deleted after three years.
What happens if the traveller is denied entry?
The traveller then has to return to the place where they last came from.
Who can access the data that are stored in the system?
The data in the database are only accessible to staff at competent government authorities in the countries that use the Entry Exit System.
Who are exempt from the EES controls?
- EU nationals.
- Nationals of the countries that are not member states of the EU but that are covered by the free movement in the EU. These countries are Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
- Nationals of Ireland, Andorra, Monaco and San Marino, as well as holders of passports issued by the Vatican City State.
- Individuals who have right of residence in the EU/Schengen area in their capacity of being family members of persons with the right to free movement, provided that they have a residence permit card that they can show at the border control.
- Individuals who hold a residence permit in a country in the EU/Schengen area, provided that they have a residence permit card that they can show at the border control.
- Individuals who have a visa for a longer stay in a country in the EU/Schengen area.Individuals who are exempt from border controls or who have been granted certain privileges regarding border controls (for example heads of state, border workers etc.).
- Individuals who, as a result of bilateral agreements, are not obliged to cross external borders only at border crossing points during regular opening hours.
- Individuals who hold a valid permit for local border traffic.
- Staff on board passenger and freight trains on international connection journeys.
- Individuals who hold a valid Facilitated Rail Transit Document or a valid Facilitated Transit Document, provided that they travel by train and do not disembark anywhere in an EU member state’s territory.
What information on the individual is stored in the Entry Exit System?
The system provides information about the maximum permitted stay in all European countries that use the system. The maximum time is 90 days during a 180-day period.
If the authorities deny entry for a traveller, the system saves this information.
Which countries use the Entry Exit System?
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Cyprus is also part of the Schengen area but will not use the Entry Exit System; they will perform manual checks of travel documents.
How long are data stored in the system?
The data that are registered in the Entry Exit System are normally stored for three years. The data are then deleted. In special cases, the data can be saved for five years or be deleted earlier.
