Possible delays at EU borders beginning in late May 2023
There has previously been a thread discussing the new ETIAS system. Currently scheduled to be rolled out in November 2023, the system will require travelers from the US to preregister to enter the EU.
What you may not be aware of (I wasn't), is a system called EES to be rolled out in late May 2023. EES (Entry & Exit System) is an electronic replacement for the entry and exit stamps in you passport. Instead of a physical stamp, they will collect your photograph (for facial recognition) and thumb print and store it in a computer with your passport info. I read an article (The Times) saying that some countries believe that this will double the time required to process an entry to the EU. "It's almost guaranteed to be a horrifically slow process." So expect long lines, especially when it first rolls out.
I'm off to France in late May, so I guess I'll find out.
Good news: No more stamps from the EU cluttering up your visa pages.
Bad news: You won't have the stamps as a reminder of your travels.
Comments
The "no stamps" is good. I had to renew my passport several years early because I didn't have any more empty pages in my passport. This time I got the "big" passport with more pages.
Mike
I think you'll be safe. I heard that the same people rolling it out are in charge of the GEM opening in Cairo.
Our next trip to Europe is in late May also- but involves just one stop, our destination, at CDG. I imagine the Tauck driver will wait for us!
My next Europe trip is to the UK. Thanks for Brexit
Happy we're going to Alaska first - all the kinks will be out by the time we get to Europe. But really thanks for the info, as another thing to watch!
Ken,
Thank you for the info.
EES is now delayed until November 2023.
Ken, the article I posted today said 2024 and no month is mentioned.
British-
I think you're confusing EES and ETIAS. EES is the first step and is now scheduled for November per Euronews as of 3 days ago. ETIAS scheduled for 2024.