# EES Start Date: When Did EES Start? Full Rollout Timeline | EESQueue

> EES started 12 October 2025 and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026. The complete rollout timeline, country-by-country go-live dates, and what comes next (ETIAS).

Source: https://eesqueue.com/ees-start-date

Fully operational since 10 April 2026

# EES start date — when EES began, and what's next

The EU Entry/Exit System started on **12 October 2025** and has been fully live at every external Schengen border since **10 April 2026**. Here's the full timeline, when it started at each country's borders, and the dates still to come.

[Check your airport's status →](https://eesqueue.com/ees-airports)

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## The EES timeline

| Date | What happened / happens |
| --- | --- |
| **12 October 2025** | EES phased rollout begins - first Schengen airports and crossings start biometric registration. |
| **October 2025 - April 2026** | Progressive rollout airport by airport and border by border, with early queue incidents at the busiest hubs. |
| **10 April 2026** | EES fully operational at every external Schengen border. Passport stamping discontinued as the default. |
| **Until 30 September 2026** | Italy's "flex mode" window: officers may revert to manual stamping when queues top 45 minutes (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece and Switzerland run similar schemes). |
| **Late 2026 (expected)** | ETIAS launches - the separate €20 online travel authorisation. A grace period follows. |
| **April 2027 (expected)** | ETIAS becomes mandatory; fully enforced by October 2027. |

Already travelling? EES applies to you now — see [how registration works](https://eesqueue.com/ees-registration) (there's nothing to apply for) and [live border queues](https://eesqueue.com/ees-wait-times) before you go.

## When EES went live, country by country

First documented EES go-live at each country's tracked airports:

| Country | First go-live | First airport |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Bulgaria](https://eesqueue.com/bulgaria-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | Sofia Airport (SOF) |
| [Finland](https://eesqueue.com/finland-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | Helsinki Airport (HEL) |
| [France](https://eesqueue.com/france-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) |
| [Germany](https://eesqueue.com/germany-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | Frankfurt Airport (FRA) |
| [Netherlands](https://eesqueue.com/netherlands-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) |
| [Norway](https://eesqueue.com/norway-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | Oslo Airport (OSL) |
| [Romania](https://eesqueue.com/romania-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport (OTP) |
| [Slovakia](https://eesqueue.com/slovakia-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | M. R. Štefánik Airport (BTS) |
| [Slovenia](https://eesqueue.com/slovenia-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU) |
| [Spain](https://eesqueue.com/spain-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) |
| [Sweden](https://eesqueue.com/sweden-ees-guide) | 2025-10-12 | Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) |
| [Italy](https://eesqueue.com/italy-ees-guide) | 2025-10-20 | Falcone-Borsellino Airport (PMO) |
| [Poland](https://eesqueue.com/poland-ees-guide) | 2025-11-24 | Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport (GDN) |
| [Croatia](https://eesqueue.com/croatia-ees-guide) | 2026-03-01 | Split Airport (SPU) |
| [Belgium](https://eesqueue.com/belgium-ees-guide) | 2026-03-15 | Brussels Airport (BRU) |
| [Greece](https://eesqueue.com/greece-ees-guide) | 2026-03-30 | Athens International Airport (ATH) |
| [Austria](https://eesqueue.com/austria-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Vienna International Airport (VIE) |
| [Czechia](https://eesqueue.com/czechia-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) |
| [Denmark](https://eesqueue.com/denmark-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Copenhagen Airport (CPH) |
| [Estonia](https://eesqueue.com/estonia-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (TLL) |
| [Hungary](https://eesqueue.com/hungary-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport (BUD) |
| [Iceland](https://eesqueue.com/iceland-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Keflavik International Airport (KEF) |
| [Latvia](https://eesqueue.com/latvia-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Riga International Airport (RIX) |
| [Lithuania](https://eesqueue.com/lithuania-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Vilnius International Airport (VNO) |
| [Luxembourg](https://eesqueue.com/luxembourg-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Luxembourg-Findel International Airport (LUX) |
| [Malta](https://eesqueue.com/malta-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Malta International Airport (MLA) |
| [Portugal](https://eesqueue.com/portugal-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Lisbon Airport (LIS) |
| [Switzerland](https://eesqueue.com/switzerland-ees-guide) | 2026-04-10 | Zurich Airport (ZRH) |

## Start date FAQ

### When did EES start?

EES started its phased rollout on 12 October 2025 and became fully operational across all 29 Schengen countries on 10 April 2026. Every external Schengen border - air, land and sea - now registers non-EU short-stay travellers in EES.

### When did EES start for UK travellers?

UK passport holders have been subject to EES since the phased start on 12 October 2025, with full coverage from 10 April 2026. The cross-Channel routes (Eurostar, Eurotunnel, Dover) enrol you on the UK side before departure via juxtaposed border controls.

### Is EES fully operational now?

Yes - since 10 April 2026. Individual airports can still suspend EES temporarily during outages or queue overflow, and several countries run a "flex mode" that reverts to manual stamping when queues pass set thresholds.

### When does ETIAS start?

ETIAS, the separate €20 online travel authorisation, is expected to launch in late 2026, become mandatory from April 2027 and be fully enforced by October 2027. You cannot apply yet.

[What is EES? →](https://eesqueue.com/what-is-ees) · [EES vs ETIAS →](https://eesqueue.com/ees-vs-etias)