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Today marks the completion of the progressive roll-out of the Entry/Exit System (EES) across the Schengen Area. As of 10 April 2026, all Schengen countries have deployed the system at their external borders, concluding a coordinated 180-day implementation phase following its entry into operation in October 2025.
This milestone represents the delivery of one of the EU’s most complex IT programmes — a fully interconnected system linking central infrastructure with national border systems across Europe. Built on modern architecture, the EES is designed to handle large-scale, real-time data flows from border crossing points across the Schengen Area.
Carrier obligations now in force
With the completion of the roll-out, new obligations for carriers now apply. As of 10 April 2026, air, sea and international coach operators are required under EU law to perform pre-departure checks for third-country nationals holding a single- or double-entry visa and travelling to the Schengen Area, using a web service hosted by eu-LISA.
To support this, eu-LISA has developed the Carrier Interface, available via system-to-system integration, a web portal and a mobile application. The interface enables carriers to verify compliance with entry conditions in a secure and efficient manner, without providing access to personal travel histories.
Available since January 2026, the system has enabled carriers to prepare, train staff and progressively integrate these checks into their operations. All carriers must register with eu-LISA to access the service, with support provided through the Carrier Onboarding and Support Tool.
Looking ahead: operations and next steps
With deployment completed, eu-LISA will continue to operate, monitor and further evolve the EES, ensuring its performance, availability and security.
In line with the legal provisions, eu-LISA will begin the regular collection and provision of aggregated and anonymised statistics from the EES, including data on travellers’ entries, exits, overstays and system usage. These insights will support the European Commission and Schengen countries in evidence-based policymaking, risk analysis and operational planning at both EU and national levels.
Marili Männik, Deputy Executive Director of eu-LISA:
“The completion of the EES deployment represents a major technical achievement in delivering a large-scale, distributed information system across Europe.
The EES integrates central infrastructure with national systems into a single interoperable environment, capable of processing high volumes of data in real time. Its architecture has been designed with performance, scalability and security at its core.
With all components now in place, the focus shifts to ensuring stable operations, continuous system monitoring and ongoing optimisation.
The full deployment of the EES reflects extensive technical collaboration between eu-LISA, Schengen countries, the European Commission and other EU partners.
On behalf of eu-LISA, I would like to thank all teams involved for their expertise and unparalleled commitment in bringing it into full operation.”
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Background
The Entry/Exit System is a large-scale EU IT system developed and technically operated at central level by eu-LISA. It replaces the manual stamping of passports with a digital registration of the entry, exit and refusal of entry of third-country nationals travelling for short stays.
The system records alphanumeric data, such as travel document details and border crossing information, together with biometric identifiers including facial images and fingerprints. It enables more reliable identification, supports the detection of overstayers and contributes to more efficient and predictable border procedures.
More information on the Entry/Exit System is available on the European Commission’s dedicated website: travel-europe.europa.eu.
