StayDayCheck

EES (Entry/Exit System) explained

The EES is the EU's digital register of border crossings by non-EU travellers on short stays. It replaced passport stamps in 29 European countries. Here is what it records and what it means for your 90 days.

Last updated · Sources checked on

Status on 1 November 2026

Official rule

The progressive start of the EES began on 12 October 2025, the date set by the Commission. It was rolled out over 6 months, until 9 April 2026. Since 10 April 2026 the EES is fully operational at all external border crossing points of the countries using it, and it replaces the stamping of passports.

(source: European Commission, EES; EES FAQ; Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1544)

Who is concerned

Official rule

Non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay (90 days in any 180-day period), whether they need a short-stay visa or not. For the EES, a non-EU national is someone who does not hold the nationality of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. The EES is used at the external borders of 29 countries:

  • 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
  • Switzerland

In Cyprus and Ireland, passports are still stamped manually.

(source: What is the EES?)

Official rule

Among others, the EES does not apply to: holders of residence permits and long-stay visas; non-EU family members of EU citizens who hold a residence card; nationals of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino and holders of a Vatican passport; people exempt from border checks; holders of a local border traffic permit.

(source: To whom the EES does not apply)

What is recorded

Official rule

Name, travel document data, biometric data (fingerprints and facial image), and the date and place of each entry and exit. Refusals of entry are recorded too.

  • If you need a short-stay visa: only your facial image is stored (your fingerprints were taken for the visa).
  • If you do not need a visa: 4 fingerprints and your facial image.
  • Fingerprints of children under 12 are not taken.
(source: European Commission, EES; EES FAQ)

At the border

Official rule

On your first crossing since the EES started, an officer takes your photo and/or fingerprints and your passport is not stamped. Self-service machines or a mobile app, where a country offers them, can speed this up. On later crossings, your fingerprints and photo are only checked.

You do not need a biometric passport to travel; you only need one to use the self-service machines.

(source: How does the EES work?; EES FAQ)

EES and the 90/180 rule

Official rule

The EES does not change the rule: short stays remain 90 days in any 180-day period, calculated as a single period for all the countries using the EES. The EES now calculates your remaining days automatically and records overstays.

(source: EES FAQ; What is the EES?)

Official rule

The official tool Check how long you can stay answers "OK" or "not OK" and shows the days you may still stay. Its remaining authorised stay does not reflect time spent in the Schengen area that began before 10 April 2026. For questions about the result, contact the authorities of the country where you last entered or left the Schengen area.

(source: EES, check how long you can stay; EES FAQ)

Our explanation

If you travelled to the Schengen area shortly before 10 April 2026, those days still count under the rule, but the official EES tool will not show them. Keep your passport stamps and your own list of dates: our calculator counts every stay you enter, before or after that date.

Not certain

We do not summarise here how long the EES keeps personal data or how to correct it: see the official page Data held by the EES.

EES and ETIAS are different

Our explanation

The EES records your border crossings and has been running since 2025. ETIAS will be a travel authorisation that visa-exempt travellers must get online before the trip; on the date we checked, it was not in operation yet. See ETIAS explained.

Other guides

The Schengen 90/180 rule explained

The official rule in plain words, the rolling window, the Commission's worked examples and common mistakes.

ETIAS explained

The future travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers: official facts and what is still unknown.

The 183-day rule explained

Why "183 days" means different things in national tax rules and in tax treaties.

For information only. StayDayCheck is an independent site, not linked to the EU or any government. Results are estimates based on the dates you enter and on the official texts cited on each page. They are not legal, immigration or tax advice. Border guards and tax authorities make the decisions: when in doubt, ask them or a qualified professional.

Official sources

Sources checked on 1 November 2026.