Time’s running out to get a European stamp in your passport! The E.U. will launch its new Entry/Exit System (EES) on November 10, replacing passport stamps with digital border controls. From then on, visitors will have their biometrics (fingerprints and face) scanned for entry and exit, making passport stamps a thing of the past. If you want that stamp souvenir, plan your trip before the switch.
[The new digital entry system] will replace the current system of manual stamping of passports, which is time-consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings, and does not allow a systematic detection of overstayers. — European Commission’s Department for Migration and Home Affair
Note: A biometric passport is required for the EES; U.S. passports meet this standard. Without one, expect more thorough border processing.
Which European countries will no longer be stamping passports?
The new digital EES is being adopted by the 29 countries in the European Schengen Area. They are:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Source: MSN.com