The EU’s new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls shall be launched on October twelfth, albeit in a phased in strategy, however how will it impression non-EU residents legally residing in EU/Schengen nations?
The EU’s new Entry & Exit System is mainly an enhanced passport verify at exterior exterior Schengen borders, that features giving a facial scan and fingerprints.
You could find a full rationalization of the brand new system HERE.
Non-EU guests, together with these on short-stay visas, crossing an exterior EU or Schengen border for the primary time shall be required to finish the EES checks.
The scheme will formally start on October twelfth 2025 however solely at sure entry factors and never for all passengers. By April 2026 all non-EU guests shall be topic to the checks.
There are, nonetheless, a number of teams exempt from EES and considered one of them is non-EU nationals who’ve a residency allow or long-stay visa for an EU nation.
However being exempt doesn’t suggest non-EU residents in European nations will not be caught up in any EES associated queues or delays at borders.
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So in the event you’re a foreigner residing within the EU or Schengen zone, this is what that you must know.
Exempt
One of many said goals of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – in different phrases individuals who keep longer than 90 days in each 180 within the EU/Schengen space and not using a visa, or those that overstay the boundaries of their short-stay visa.
Clearly these limits don’t apply to non-EU nationals who’re resident within the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They are going to as an alternative be required to indicate their passport and residency allow/visa when crossing a border, simply as they do now.
In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Fee is obvious – exempt teams embody non-EU residents of the Bloc.
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A Fee spokesman advised The Native: “Non-EU residents residing within the EU aren’t within the scope of the EES and won’t be topic to pre-enrollment of information within the EES through self-service techniques. Using automation stays beneath the duty of the Member States and its availability in border crossing factors shouldn’t be necessary.
“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits ought to be capable to current to the border authorities their legitimate journey paperwork and residence permits.”
How it will work
How it will work on the bottom, nonetheless, varies relying on how you might be travelling.
Most often, exempt teams will be unable to make use of the automated passport scanners – since these can’t scan further paperwork like residency permits – however ought to as an alternative use manned passport cubicles.
Nonetheless it’s not clear whether or not these shall be out there in any respect airports/ports/terminals or precisely how non-EU residents of the EU shall be directed to these providers.
A number of transport suppliers, together with Eurotunnel, which runs cross-channel rail shuttles between France and the UK, says non-EU residents of EU/Schengen states ought to merely head straight to the traditional border factors and skip the EES checks. In the meantime the Ports of Dover and Calais say that non-EU residents of the EU ought to flag up their standing to employees at check-in, and they are going to be directed to the proper place.
READ ALSO: Dover and Eurotunnel reveal start dates for new EES passport checks✎
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However as many travellers will know, particular person border guards aren’t all the time clear on the processes and guidelines for non-EU residents of the EU. Even beneath the present system it is comparatively generally for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect details about passport stamping by border guards.
Brits particularly will bear in mind the rapid post-Brexit interval when the processes as described by the EU and nationwide authorities steadily didn’t match what was occurring on the bottom.
The important thing factor is that EES doesn’t really change any of the principles for entry to the EU/Schengen zone – it solely modifications enforcement of the principles. For residents of the EU, having a sound residency allow all the time trumps having an incorrect stamp added to their passport.
What if I dwell within the EU however I haven’t got a visa/residency allow?
For many non-EU residents, having both a visa or a residency allow is compulsory with a purpose to be legally resident.
Nonetheless, there may be one exception: UK residents who had been legally resident within the EU previous to the top of the Brexit transition interval and who dwell in one of many “declaratory” nations the place getting a post-Brexit residency card was non-compulsory, fairly than obligatory. Declaratory nations embody Germany, Italy and Spain.
Though it’s authorized for folks on this scenario to dwell in these nations and not using a residency allow, authorities already advise folks to get one with a purpose to keep away from confusion/problem/delays on the border. Though EES doesn’t change any guidelines regarding residency or journey, it appears probably that will probably be extra problem to journey and not using a residency card than it’s now.
For instance Brits in Italy and Spain are being inspired to acquire the related post-Brexit residency permits to have the ability to show they’re exempt as soon as EES is in place. Brits in Germany have been given a list of documents they will use to show they’re residents and therefor not topic to EES checks.
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Delays
Though residents of the EU don’t want to finish EES formalities, they could possibly be affected if the brand new system causes lengthy queues or delays on the border.
A number of nations have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a specific trigger for concern.
Travelling with non-exempt passengers?
One other approach exempt travellers shall be caught up in EES queues is that if they’re travelling in a automobile with non-EU guests who aren’t exempt.
At ferry ports and the Eurotunnel terminals autos are directed to EES kiosks if there are non-EU guests travelling, so even when one individual is an EU nationwide or a authorized resident in Europe, the automobile shall be directed by way of to the EES space. Clearly anybody exempt will not have to endure the person checks and scans.
The place does it apply?
EES is about exterior EU/Schengen borders, so doesn’t apply if you’re travelling throughout the Schengen zone – eg taking the practice from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.
Eire and Cyprus, regardless of being within the EU, aren’t within the Schengen zone so won’t be utilizing EES, they may proceed to stamp passports manually.
Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – nations which are within the Schengen zone however not within the EU – shall be utilizing EES.
The total listing of nations utilizing EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Subsequently a journey between any of the nations listed above won’t be coated by EES.
Nonetheless a journey in or out of any of these nations from a rustic not listed above shall be coated by EES.
You could find our full Q&A on EES HERE.
