Six days before the EU entry-exit system (EES) begins across Europe, the Czech Republic has confirmed that it will be fully ready from day one.
The long-awaited digital borders project will start to be rolled out on Sunday 12 October. It will connect every frontier in the Schengen area (comprising all EU nations except Ireland and Cyprus, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) with a central database.
The aim is to crack down on crime and enforce the limit on stays of 90 days in any 180 days that applies to British travellers and other third-country nationals.
UK passport holders will need to ready to have a digital record created from their fingerprints and facial biometrics when they either enter or leave at an external Schengen border. This includes international airports, sea ports, railway stations and road crossings.
While member states have until 9 April 2026 to be fully EES-compliant, Estonia, Luxembourg and now the Czech Republic say they are ready to check every arriving and departing traveller.
The Czech Embassy in London told The Independent that all the nation’s international airports will be connected to the central EU database from the start date.
By far the biggest gateway is Prague, which handled more than 16 million passengers in 2024. But the secondary airports of Ostrava, Brno and Pardubice and Ceske Budejovice are also ready for EES.
Officials confirmed “all relevant travellers will be registered” on both arrival at, and departure from, the Czech Republic.
The embassy in London said that existing requirements would continue, including: “Verification that the third-country national concerned has sufficient means of subsistence for the duration and purpose of the intended stay.”
For each day of a proposed stay, British visitors must have 1,565 Czech crowns (£56), comprising “cash, credit cards or traveller’s cheques in the third-country national’s possession”.
Despite hopes by ministers that UK visitors will be able to use eGates across Europe, the Czech Embassy said: “British passport holders will not be able to use eGates from the date of entry into operation, nevertheless this option will be subject to further discussion and further development of border systems and technical equipment at airports.”
The Czech authorities also provided advice for UK visitors ahead of the introduction of EES: “Be prepared, be patient, pay attention to signs and information materials at the airports, and complete pre-registration at self-service kiosks.”
Other EU nations are taking a much slower approach. The Dutch government said: “Not all travellers in the scope of the EES will be recorded from the first day at all border crossing points and not all their data will be recorded right away.
“Passport stamping will be maintained for six months and abolished as of 10 April 2026.”
Initially Germany will make only Dusseldorf airport compatible with the entry-exit system.
