A Revolution in Border Crossing. Changes from October 12th

• After many tests and preparations, the European Union will launch a new border control system in October.
• Passport stamps will be replaced by scanners that will enter information into a database.
• In Poland, new solutions will appear at crossings on the eastern border and at all airports and seaports.

The European Union has commissioned its specialised agency eu-LISA to develop and implement an integrated system for controlling the movement of persons at external borders.

The work took longer than expected, but it is already known that a verification system for people entering and leaving the Schengen Area, known as "EES," will be implemented from October 12, 2025. Countries are expected to implement it within six months.

The system will operate electronically in 29 European countries. This includes the 25 EU countries in the Schengen Area, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

In Cyprus and Ireland, border officials will continue to manually stamp travel documents. This is because, under the Brexit agreement negotiated with the British government, Northern Irish residents can move freely and travel to Ireland without any time limit on their stay.

In the case of Cyprus, the island is divided, and in the northern part a state has been established, recognized only by Turkey. However, as part of the normalization of mutual relations between the Greek and Turkish communities, freedom of crossing the border was introduced several years ago.

A separate issue will be the implementation of this solution in the French overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, and Mayotte. Formally, these departments fall under EU jurisdiction.

The new system will record entries, exits, and refusals of entry for all third-country nationals traveling to and from the European Union. It will not matter whether the person requires a visa in advance.

Replacing passport stamps with an electronic system will make the process faster and more secure. It will also facilitate the detection of identity theft and allow for the tracking of the duration of stay in the Schengen area.

The data that will be electronically entered into the system is:

• date and time of entry and departure from the Schengen area,
• location of the border point,
• personal data,
• passport number.

Additionally, biometric data (fingerprints and facial photo) will be obtained and each decision and its justification to refuse entry will be recorded.

Changes from October 12th: A revolution in crossing borders

eu-Lisa's headquarters are in Tallinn, Estonia, with operational management in Strasbourg and an IT support center in St. Johann im Pongau, Austria.

In the case of our country, the Border Guard will carry out checks based on the new system at the EU's external road and rail borders with Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

New devices will also be installed at all domestic airports and will be used for these purposes, as will ferry bases and seaports.