Nearly a year into the EU's Entry/Exit System, British holidaymakers heading to Europe are still not getting one consistent border process — they're getting several, depending on where and how they arrive.
EES was meant to be straightforward: instead of stamping passports, Schengen border guards would digitally register arriving non-EU travellers, capturing passport details, a facial image and fingerprints in a shared system. Full operation was scheduled for last month, but in practice the rollout has splintered into different experiences at different borders.
The biggest variable is flexibility. Nine participating countries — France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Malta — have reportedly asked for extra leeway on biometric checks, pointing to technical problems and fears over passenger queues. So the checks you face at, say, Charles de Gaulle may not match what happens in Lisbon or Rome.
Some destinations sit outside the scheme entirely. Ireland and Cyprus aren't part of Schengen in the same way and don't run EES at their borders — a genuinely different arrival experience. Greece adds its own wrinkle: it has indicated it isn't currently collecting biometric data from UK travellers under EES, and the UK Government simply advises following local instructions.
Then there's the crossing most Brits know best: the UK–France juxtaposed border at Dover, Folkeways and St Pancras, where French checks happen on British soil before you leave. Here EES registration is also underway, but technical and infrastructure issues have stalled full biometric enrolment, with travellers processed manually while systems come online.
Holiday Extras, which commissioned the breakdown, frames the patchwork as more than an inconvenience. Group CEO Matthew Pack argues the botched rollout is costing EU destinations billions in UK holiday spending, with Brits hesitating to book European trips at all. His point: travellers want certainty at the one moment of a trip where confusion is most stressful.
Why does this matter if you're planning a trip? In short, don't assume smooth sailing everywhere. Build extra buffer time into connections at major EU airports and ports, expect biometric enrolment on first entry but not necessarily everywhere after, and check the FCDO advice for your specific destination — because the rules genuinely do differ by country. If you're driving to Dover or taking the Eurostar, factor in that EES formalities now start before you leave the UK. None of this should stop you travelling, but going in knowing the process varies is half the battle.
