Nine Countries Delay Entry Eligibility System for UK Travelers

France, Belgium, Germany and six other European countries are still delaying full Entry/Exit System enforcement for British visitors after the EU’s formal flexibility period expired on 6 September 2026.

The nine countries are France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland. Their approach allows some border points to pause or soften the new process while officials address congestion and software problems.

The formal relief mechanism lasted 150 days. It ended on 6 September.

The countries have continued using informal flexibility to keep queues moving. No new enforcement deadline has been reported.

The Entry/Exit System requires non-EU visitors, including Britons, to submit fingerprints and a facial scan when entering the Schengen area. It is designed to replace manual passport stamping.

The rollout has not been uniform.

Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the EU official overseeing discussions with non-EU countries, told British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander that the system would not be strictly enforced after the deadline. The nine governments sought to maintain border flow while the technical issues continued.

The nine countries wanted to “maintain border fluidity.”

That arrangement leaves travelers facing different procedures at different crossings. Some locations continue phasing in the biometric process, while others are applying it more fully.

The biometric rollout remains uneven after the deadline passed

A passenger’s experience can therefore depend on the country and the specific border crossing. Airports and holiday hubs in France, Greece, Portugal and Italy have already experienced queues and technical difficulties.

France has been described as retaining flexibility through the end of 2026. The other eight countries are also easing or pausing full checks, but reporting has not identified a new common enforcement date.

The system’s legal and operational history helps explain the staggered rollout. The EU adopted EES in 2017 and officially launched it in October 2025.

It became fully operational at Schengen external border crossing points on 10 April 2026, according to the legal analysis cited in the reporting. The current issue is not an EU-wide postponement, but uneven enforcement after the congestion measure expired.

Nine countries are easing full checks while technical work continues

The table reflects the group identified in current reporting. It does not mean every airport or land crossing follows an identical procedure.

Spain is following the full implementation timetable

Spain is outside the nine-country group and is described as fully implementing EES. That creates another variation for travelers moving through Europe’s external borders.

The distinction appears at airports as well as other crossing points. Some locations are still introducing biometric collection, while others have faced queues linked to the new system.

Airlines and aviation figures warned that ending the flexibility without resolving the operational problems could produce “significant waits.” One industry reaction called the rollout a “shambles” and urged the European Commission to extend the derogation until at least April 2027.

The warnings focus on the pressure created when fingerprints, facial scans and passport records must be processed at busy entry points. The system’s replacement of manual stamping adds a new biometric step to the journey.

Those procedures remain in transition. The nine governments are using the available flexibility while technical problems are addressed, even though the formal 150-day mechanism has ended.

The next reported milestone is France’s end-of-2026 flexibility period. An industry request would extend the derogation until at least April 2027.