Flying To Europe From Today? New Border System Starts In Spain And Across Schengen

Travellers arriving successful Spain and crossed nan Schengen Area will look a different acquisition astatine passport power from today.

A caller strategy called EES is now being introduced crossed nan European Union, replacing passport stamps pinch a integer grounds of each presence and departure.

For visitors flying successful from countries specified arsenic nan United States, nan United Kingdom, India, and Canada, nan alteration will beryllium contiguous nan infinitesimal they land.

What changes erstwhile you get successful Spain

The astir visible quality is nan extremity of regular passport stamping.

Instead of receiving a stamp, your introduction into Spain will beryllium recorded electronically. Border officials will log your specifications into a shared strategy utilized crossed Schengen countries.

For first clip travellers nether nan caller system, this whitethorn besides see biometric checks. You could beryllium asked to supply fingerprints and person your photograph taken astatine passport control.

What travellers will really announcement astatine nan airport

For galore arrivals, nan process will consciousness somewhat different from nan start.

Some travellers whitethorn move done quickly, but others could acquisition longer waits, particularly successful nan early stages of nan rollout, pinch earlier reports informing of possible delays arsenic airports accommodate to nan caller system.

There whitethorn beryllium caller scanning points aliases further instructions astatine separator control, depending connected nan airdrome and really quickly systems are operating.

In applicable terms, it is worthy allowing other clip aft landing, peculiarly during nan first weeks.

Where nan effect will beryllium strongest successful Spain

The busiest airports are expected to consciousness nan alteration first.

Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Alicante, and Palma de Mallorca grip ample numbers of world arrivals, making them cardinal locations wherever delays aliases adjustments are astir likely.

As unit and travellers get utilized to nan system, processing times are expected to improve.

Does this impact travellers from nan US, UK and India

If you tin recreation to Europe for short stays without a visa, this applies to you.

That includes visitors from nan United States and nan United Kingdom. Travellers from India who participate pinch a Schengen visa will besides walk done nan caller strategy astatine nan border.

In each cases, entries and exits will now beryllium recorded digitally alternatively than stamped successful a passport.

Why Europe is changing separator control

The purpose is to create a single, accordant strategy crossed each participating countries, arsenic portion of a wider move to modernise separator power crossed Europe, according to nan European Commission.

By signaling entries and exits electronically, authorities tin way really agelong visitors enactment and place overstays much easily.

It besides removes nan request for manual passport stamping and brings separator checks into a much standardised system.

Is ETIAS required now

No. There is nary caller pre recreation exertion required today.

A abstracted strategy called ETIAS will beryllium introduced later, with timelines still taxable to change. This will require visa exempt travellers to use online earlier travelling, but it is not portion of nan existent rollout.

For now, nan only alteration is what happens erstwhile you get astatine nan border.

Official EU ETIAS page.

What travellers should do earlier flying

There is thing caller to complete earlier your trip.

However, you should beryllium prepared for a different presence process.

Allow other clip astatine passport control
Be fresh for imaginable fingerprint and photograph checks
Follow instructions from separator unit connected arrival

The cardinal alteration is already successful place. From today, entering Spain and nan remainder of nan Schengen area is nary longer astir a passport stamp. Your travel is now recorded digitally from nan infinitesimal you scope nan border.