British passport holders will soon need to pay for a visa to visit Europe – EES and ETIAS explained, with introduction date this year

An EU Entry/ Exit System (EES) has been in the works for a nearly a decade. It was first proposed by European leaders in 2016 and it was thought that the tech would be up and running across the EU by 2022. 

Needless to say, it’s all taken a little longer than that. The system finally started landing in airports at the end of last year. That means that soon, Brits will have to start paying for something called a visa-waiver in order to enter 29 different European countries. 

The EES has been having some teething problems since it began official roll out a few months ago, mostly in the form of long queues at passport control desks. Waits at Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports were reportedly particularly painful when the tech was first implemented.

For now, though, Brits don’t have to pay anything extra. Here’s everything you need to know the EES, ETIAS and when UK citizens will have to start paying for their visa-waiver. 

What is EES? 

EES, which stands for Entry/Exit System, has already started being introduced in European airports. It digitally registers travellers from non-EU countries every time they cross a border into or out of the EU, meaning that their travel history is stored digitally and they no longer need passport stamps. The aim is to make travelling through airports more efficient and to ‘improve border security’. 

It requires travellers to register four of their fingerprints and their facial biometrics at the border (kids under 12 won’t have to provide fingerprints), but you won’t need to register to travel again for three years, unless you get a new passport. At border control, you scan your passport at an automated self-service kiosk, replacing the manual passport stamping. 

What is ETIAS?

ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorisation System and will only come into place once EES is completely rolled out. 

Also referred to as a ‘euro-visa’, it’s the visa waiver that non-EU citizens will need in order to enter the Schengen zone. It allows holders to stay in European countries for up to 90 days within any 180 day period (but if you stay in Cyprus, that’ll be calculated separately). 

The euro-visa will last three years or until a traveller’s existing passport expires (whichever comes first), at which point you’ll have to renew. It will only come into place once EES has been fully rolled out. 

When will they be introduced?

EES launched on October 12, 2025 but won’t be fully rolled out until April 10. That means that ETIAS won’t come into effect until the ‘last quarter of 2026’. There’s no specified date for its introduction yet. 

The EU said: ‘No action is required from travellers at this point. The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch.’

How much will the ‘visa’ cost? 

The application for the ETIAS will cost €20 (£17), which is nearly triple what the EU said it would cost when it first announced the scheme. That fee is non-refundable, so you won’t get your money back if your application is refused. 

Some people won’t have to pay though, including applicants who are under 18 or over 70 years old, family members of EU citizens and family members of non-EU nationals who have the right to move freely throughout the European Union. 

Where will EES apply? 

EES is being launched across the whole Schengen Area, which is a group of 29 countries that have agreed to an open border. That includes 25 EU countries and four non-EU European nations. 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 

Changes to dual citizenship passport rules in the UK

Do you hold dual citizenship with the UK and another country? The rules are changing, with many passport holders now needing a British travel document to get into the UK. Find out more with Time Out’s full guide to the new dual citizenship rules here. 

Did you see that it’s now easier than ever to fly to this remote part of England dubbed the ‘British Caribbean’?

Plus: This budget airline has unveiled plans to launch its first direct flights from the UK to America. 

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