Twenty‑nine European countries have announced they will phase out passport stamping as the European Union introduces a biometric entry/exit system (EES) for arrivals starting Oct. 12, 2025.
The EES will require non‑EU nationals and those crossing Schengen external borders to provide biometric data, including fingerprints, which will be recorded in a central digital database. The EU says the system will "gradually replace passport stamps with a digital system that records when travellers enter and exit, making border checks faster and helping staff to work more efficiently." The move to the new digital checks will be completed across the member states involved by April 10, 2026.
Authorities in the 29 countries — Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland — said they will phase out physical stamping as the EES is implemented. The new procedures apply to travellers entering the Schengen area through external border checkpoints and to arrivals into EU member states covered by the scheme.
Officials and industry figures say the EES is intended to modernize border management and reduce the time needed for routine checks, while providing an automated record of entries and exits that aims to improve compliance with visa rules. The EU has framed the system as both an efficiency and security measure.
Some countries moved away from passport stamping before the EU's EES. Australia introduced its SmartGate automated border system in 2012 and stopped stamping passports then. Hong Kong and Singapore ended routine stamping in 2013 and 2019 respectively, and Argentina switched to a digital system in 2022.
Travel experts and border authorities have cautioned that the initial roll‑out of new systems can produce operational problems. "The problem is, when things do start to go wrong and when new systems like the entry and exit system are introduced, unexpected niggles can make the overall arrivals process very gnarly very quickly," said Oliver Ranson of Airline Revenue Economics on a travel industry podcast, noting that queues and delays can rise when staff and technology adjust to new procedures.
Border officials have also warned travellers against accepting unofficial or "novelty" stamps in their passports. Popular tourist sites in some countries offer souvenir stamps as mementos, but those marks can be interpreted by some immigration officers as damage or tampering. There have been reported cases in which travellers were required to replace passports because foreign officials considered added stamps to constitute alteration.
Governments implementing the EES have issued guidance on the documents and biometric checks that will be required at border control. The system will store basic identity data, the date and place of entry and exit, and biometric identifiers for non‑EU nationals. EU authorities have stressed that the digital records are intended to speed up routine controls and to support law enforcement checks when necessary.
As the October start date approaches, airlines, airports and border agencies are expected to continue public information campaigns about the new procedures. Travel industry groups have urged authorities to provide clear instructions to minimise confusion at arrival points, and to ensure sufficient staffing and testing during the transition period.
The introduction of the EES marks a significant change in how routine border crossings are recorded in the Schengen area and in participating EU countries, replacing a decades‑old physical cue of travel — the passport stamp — with an electronic record accessible to border services across the bloc.