EES Helsinki and Rome update

Posted by Carol now retired (Lynnwood, Washington) on 06/24/26 11:24 AM

In Helsinki the scan , fingerprinting, and photo are done by a passport officer at the usual booths. My experience was one of the most thorough run through of my plans that I have had in a long time! Even so, just 15 minutes. There is also a special channel called “short connections “ that is available for those in need.

Part of that concern/thorough run through was caused by the very “relaxed” Italian border agent who glanced at my passport, never scanned anything and sent me on my way when leaving Rome in May.

The Finnish border agent told me they recorded my entrance in Italy, but never my departure! Fortunately I keep all of my travel data on my trip-it app. I was able to pull up date, flight number, etc with ease. He then adjusted records to show what had happened in Italy.

Travel is always an adventure….,

Posted by Carrie

Chicago

06/24/26 12:58 PM

4430 posts

Some countries do not have outbound passport control where a border officer physically checks and stamps or scans passports when you leave.

The UK is a good example: there is no exit passport-control booth. Instead, airlines collect passport information and transmit it to authorities through Advance Passenger Information (API) systems.

Italy and most Schengen countries also increasingly rely on airline/passenger data rather than exit stamps to record departures.

Posted by Paul

Eastern Iowa, USA

06/24/26 01:37 PM

9458 posts

Italy and most Schengen countries also increasingly rely on airline/passenger data rather than exit stamps to record departures.

What the UK does is irrelevant to the Schengen countries. The Schengen countries absolutely do rely on exit scans (but no longer stamps, except for Germany apparently), that is how they track you.

If you are flying out of a Schengen airport, to a non-Schengen destination, your passport needs to be scanned. Within the Schengen area (From Rome to Paris for example) then no border control.

Carol is lucky the Finnish officer figured out what was going on, partly due to her now entering the Schengen area without ever have leaving, otherwise there could have been a much longer delay while they sorted it out.

I'd maybe chalk it up to the early days of EES, but in the past, I have had cases where my passport was not stamped on entry, or the ink smudge put there simply useless. Maybe the caution of the tale is too make sure your passport gets scanned on both entry and exit, in the end, you are the one having to produce proof you did not overstay.

Posted by Carrie

Chicago

06/24/26 02:12 PM

4430 posts

Paul, thanks for the correction. I was thinking of countries such as the UK, where exit records are often based on airline-provided passenger data rather than a physical exit control point. I incorrectly assumed that other countries were doing the same. I appreciate the clarification.

Posted by Pam

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA

06/24/26 07:32 PM

17313 posts

Carol, that is a very interesting encounter you had. I'm glad it worked and that the Finnish border agent was open to hearing your explanation and seeing your proof. And presumably you just got off of some kind of international flight, lol.

This makes me think I need a new photo album on my phone for screen shots of my boarding passes but in looking at my Apple Wallet I can see in my "expired" file boarding passes back to 2022 so that should work.

Thanks for posting this! Hope you enjoy the rest of your vacay!