Just over four months into the rollout of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), early lessons are beginning to emerge, writes Krum Garkov.
The EES is part of an ambitious reform. Designed to modernize the management of the EU’s external borders, it replaces manual passport stamping with an automated system that records the entry and exit of non-EU nationals travelling to the Schengen Area, which includes most EU member states as well as Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Travellers are required to provide biometric data, including fingerprints and facial images, creating a digital record that can be reused for future journeys. With non-EU nationals expected to make around 220 million external border crossings annually by 2026 – rising to as many as 260 million by 2029 – the case for automation is clear.
From my experience leading eu-LISA, the EU agency tasked with developing and managing large-scale IT systems for border management, migration and internal security, I am confident that once fully rolled out the EES will deliver better efficiency of border management, more reliable identity checks, reduce identity fraud and facilitate faster border crossing for third country nationals. Ensuring a smooth transition to that steady state, however, is a complex operational task.
To that end, the EES has been rolled out in phases. From October last year, Member States were required to register 10 per cent of third country nationals crossing the external borders of the EU; a threshold that rose to 35 per cent on 9 January. Yet even at the lower level, reports of disruption began to surface.
Airport Council International (ACI) Europe has reported significant increases in border processing times, with queues lasting several hours at some airports. The organisation estimates that overall processing times have risen by as much as 70 per cent. A key factor is that many travellers must first enrol their biometric data at self-service kiosks before seeing a border officer. When kiosks are unfamiliar, unavailable, or temporarily out of service, delays can escalate rapidly. ACI Europe has warned that conditions may worsen as the percentage of travellers required to register increases.
Such challenges are not unusual in the rollout of large-scale IT systems. New technology must be integrated into existing procedures, staff need to adapt to new workflows, and travellers require time to become familiar with new processes. In the short term, these adjustments can temporarily offset the efficiency gains that the system is ultimately designed to deliver.
Industry groups have called on border authorities to make use of contingency measures, including limiting checks or temporarily standing down the system during peak periods. While such steps may provide short-term relief, they are not a long-term solution.
What is needed instead is a way to move some of the most time-consuming administrative steps of the border crossing process away from the border itself.
One practical and achievable option would be to allow travellers to complete pre-enrolment before they arrive at the border. Currently, the absence of a widely available pre-enrolment option means that it can take place only at the border, adding pressure at precisely the point where congestion and delays are most costly.
One obvious channel already exists. The global network of visa application centres (VACs), particularly those operated by experienced external service providers such as VFS Global, is already equipped to handle secure collection of identity data (alphanumeric and biometric) at scale. These centres offer trained staff and controlled environments, ensuring high data quality and predictable service delivery. Leveraging this existing infrastructure would allow third country nationals to receive expert guidance and hands-on support, making the overall border experience faster, more predictable and significantly less stressful.
Pre-enrolment would reduce time for crossing the EU external borders, reduce the risk of queues, ease the workload on border guards and let them focus on core security and risk management tasks across borders. The redeployment of border guard resources away from routine registrations toward risk management activities would help ensure that critical security measures are not compromised, even during high-traffic periods.
All this is entirely possible. The legal basis of EES does not provide detailed guidance on how Member States should organise the pre-enrolment process. Each have the flexibility to decide on the pre-enrolment channels to be used – whether that be via mobile app or physical facilities in third countries.
Neither is such collaboration with such external service providers new. When the role of biometric technology in visa issuance became increasingly important, it created a significant strain on consular resources, and to solve such operational issues, governments turned to external providers to assist them in dealing with the non-judgmental administrative side of their visa issuance services, such as collection of identity data, biometric enrolment (including the secure transmission of data to national systems) and visa application administration. Working with external service providers to deliver these services is now an integral part of a global ecosystem that ensures smooth and efficient implementation of the common EU visa policy. This collaboration has eased staffing, infrastructure and financial pressures whilst streamlining processes.
The EES represents a major step forward in modernising Schengen border management, improving record-keeping, compliance, and readiness for future automation. Ensuring its success requires operational choices that balance facilitation with security. Pre-enrolment through established visa application centres (VACs) offers a practical, proven way to prevent bottlenecks, sustain traveller throughput, and maintain operational resilience while respecting Member State sovereignty. With full deployment set for 10 April, strategically leveraging VAC infrastructure will be crucial to a smooth rollout, streamlining biometric enrolment, reducing congestion at border checkpoints, and enhancing the experience for travellers. At the same time, it allows border authorities to focus on security, risk management, and operational oversight, ensuring the EES achieves its objectives efficiently, reliably, and securely across all external borders.
Krum Garkov is a former executive irector of eu-LISA, the EU agency responsible for the management of the EU large-scale IT systems underpinning border and migration management policies and a former member of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria. He is currently EU Policy Advisor at VFS Global.
