How the new EU border crossing system will work and the exceptions for Ukrainians

EU member states have finally decided that, starting in October 2025, the Entry-Exit System (EES) will be implemented. The new system will record the crossing of the EU’s external borders by non-EU nationals.

This may sound like a technical and dull change, but in reality, it’s a significant shift.

Its consequences, both positive and negative, will be felt by all Ukrainians traveling to the EU.

Read more about the specific changes and their impact in the article by Sergiy Sydorenko, European Pravda's editor, with contributions from Brussels correspondent Tetiana Vysotska – New EU border crossing rules: explaining the changes for Ukrainians.

The main goal of EES is to fix a systemic flaw in EU border control.

Despite all Schengen Area countries (except the island nations of Ireland and Cyprus) being part of a single border-free zone, they currently lack a unified tool to track all entries and exits of non-EU travelers.

The new system will replace 29 national databases with a single Schengen-wide database for border crossings.

This system will store passport and biometric data of travelers (photos and/or fingerprints). If a traveler presents a new passport, the system will be able to identify that it’s the same person, just with a different document, as explained to European Pravda by the relevant European Commission directorate.

So the EU database will contain records of every Ukrainian who crosses the border, including biometric data.

For those crossing the border for the first time after the EES launch or with a new passport, border officials will need to collect fingerprints and/or take a photo for identity verification.

For future crossings, this step won’t be required. Border officers will see that the passport is already registered in the system and will allow passage without additional procedures.

This new system could lead to longer queues in the initial weeks.

EU projections suggest that the biometric registration process takes up to 40 seconds per person, but experience from Polish border tests indicates that delays can be significantly longer.

Interestingly, Ukrainians with temporary protection status will not be included in the new system. As long as the EU maintains the Temporary Protection Directive, these individuals are not subject to the 90-day stay limit in the EU, so their movements do not need to be monitored under EES.

The system is tentatively set to launch in early October, following the European Commission’s recommendation and approval by the EU Council, though the final date still requires confirmation by the European Parliament.

It’s also worth noting that the new system will bring benefits for travelers, especially those who cross the border frequently.

Starting in October 2025, or from the official implementation date, border stamps will be abolished.

Moreover, the EU plans to allow Ukrainians and other visa-free travelers whose data is stored in the EES to use automated border control gates for faster processing.