Introduction of EES and ETIAS
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Introduction of EES and ETIAS, a simple overview for travelling to the South of France
The European Commission has confirmed that the EU Entry-Exit System (EES) will be launched on April 9, 2026, despite reports claiming the rollout had been delayed.
For the EES there is nothing that you need to do in advance and there is no fee.
The small local airports in the south of France have all got this in place and up & running. As it is rare to have more than one flight arriving at a time no delays have been reported. Beziers, Carcassonne & Perpignan do not have automated booths. The larger airports such as Montpellier, Marseille & Nice are implementing them.
Who does this concern?
Third-country nationals (anyone not holding a European passport or residence card) travelling to the Schengen area for a short stay, remember you can stay a maximum of 90 days within a period of 180 days.
What is recorded?
The data contained in your passport, surname, first name, date of birth, place of birth, gender, nationality, travel document number, 3-letter code of the country of issue of the travel document & travel document expiry date.
The location, date & time of your entry and exit, along with your biometric data.
The first time you enter or exit a photo of your face and fingerprints of your right hand are taken at the border control.
Children under 12 also need to register but only a photo will be taken.
Additional information
Once fully implemented, EES registration will replace the current system of stamping passports when visitors arrive in the EU.???
Please note the EES is mandatory, if you refuse the collection of your biometric data you will be refused entry into the Schengen territory.
The data stored in the EES is protected against abuse and access to it is restricted to specific staff within national authorities.
Your data cannot be transferred to third parties – whether public or private entities – except in certain cases. See Who can access your personal data.
ETIAS – Not yet in place, this is what we know so far (February 2026)
EES is separate from—but connected to—the upcoming European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), which will require pre-travel authorisation for non-EU travellers from visa-exempt countries. ETIAS is expected to launch around October 2026.
There will be a fee for this which is expected to be around 20 Euro (free for applicants under 18 or over 70). The application process will be entirely online and must be done before arrival. Please ensure that you use the official ETIAS website.
An ETIAS travel authorisation will remain valid for three years from the date of approval, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. This means if your passport is valid for only two years, your ETIAS will also expire after two years.
The above information is purely a guide and the following sites offer official information.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-entryexit-system
https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F39104?lang=en
