European Union to switch from stamping passports to electronic entry and exit in November

Travelers looking to collect a European Union stamp in their passport book have only months left to do so; the multinational bloc is implementing an electronic entry-and-exit system starting on Nov. 10.

“Every single border crossing point. At every single airport, every single harbour, every single road into Europe. We will have digital border controls. All connected. All switched on at the very same time,” European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said in a speech Friday.

The new entry and exit system, she explained, will let officials know exactly who is entering the European Union’s “Schengen area” and whether they are who they say they are.

Ms. Johansson made the speech to members of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA).

The Schengen area is a zone of 29 countries that have abolished border controls between each other, maintaining border operations only at the edges of the zone.

EU members make up 25 of the 29 countries in the zone. Among the Union’s members, Ireland does not participate, and Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania are slated to join it in the future.

The four non-EU countries in the zone are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

“The Entry/Exit System will make it harder for criminals, terrorists or Russian spies to use fake passports. Thanks to biometric identification: photos and fingerprints,” Ms. Johansson said.

In 2025, another travel measure will go into place, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), that will let outsiders travel freely within the zone — for a price and for a time.

Visitors from a selection of countries outside the EU will need to apply for a $7.82 waiver to enter the Schengen area, according to the BBC. EU countries outside the Schengen area will continue to be allowed visa-free travel into the area.

Recipients of these new waivers will be allowed to enter and travel freely within the EU for 90 days total within a larger 180-day period. Each waiver is valid for three years.

The eligible nations include the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand; Mexico and most of the nations of Central and South America; Israel; the biggest East Asian economies besides China but including Hong Kong and Taiwan; and almost all European nations not otherwise covered, including the post-Brexit United Kingdom and Ukraine, but not Russia.

Those from other non-EU countries, however, will need to apply for Schengen visas, wherein travel is only approved for one Schengen-area country for 90 days. Visa holders can use them for single, double or multiple entries into that country depending on the type of Schengen visa.