EES is one big mess

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/23/new-eu-border-checks-ees-uk-travellers-visa-queues

This is a Guardian article about some of the issues. It’s a very ambitious system to try and manage.

Indeed. We entered through Copenhagen last week. What a mess.

We entered and left through Budapest in May. First time for EES. Husband was on mobility scooter so we got special assistance and all went without problem, rather faster than others in our group who had to queue for up to an hour.
Interestingly, someone posted a link to the EES tracking system the other day (https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees/check-how-long-you-can-stay and it has us recorded correctly.

the link worked correctly for me, shows the 8 days I was in Spain in April.

Lin C, thanks for that link! I just checked my records against theirs and we are off about 3 days, which is probably my mistake somewhere. Theirs is the record that matters, though, so it’s great to be able to see that! At the end of my next trip, I’ll be somewhat close to the limit and I love the confirmation I am ok.

I was the one who posted the previous thread with all the above links. I wanted to follow up with new information.

The link worked for me for my upcoming trip to Denmark. I recently went through the Amsterdam airport August 1st.

Really not looking forward to flying out of Lisbon on Thursday morning. Not the greatest airport to fly out of at the best of times, let alone with EES.

Really not looking forward to flying out of Lisbon on Thursday morning. Not the greatest airport to fly out of at the best of times, let alone with EES.

@GregW - we connected through LIS on our way home from Spain. It was a frustrating NIGHTMARE (more for some than others) as it was several planes arriving close together in time and folks with tight (not tight in "normal" times) connections. Staff was overwhelmed and struggling to get the automated machines working. Eventually, we heard our departing plane mentioned by a staffer and were able to get them to take our group to a dedicated line with an agent to allow us to make our connection. My bet is some folks were too overwhelmed or not paying attention and missed their flights in the chaos. This was in May, so maybe some improvements have been made.

My advice would be 1) get to the airport with plenty of time (pay attention though to when the gates open) to get through security and EES, 2) if CONNECTING, book a ticket with more wiggle room than normal for that connection, and 3) PAY ATTENTION to stuff going on around you as you might be in a "normal" line, and a "priority" line has formed for tight connections/flights leaving soon.

Thanks, FrankII! I had missed that thread!

Thanks for sharing that link above. Should I be concerned that when I looked up my own passport I got an error message saying, "Your remaining authorised stay cannot currently be calculated due to temporary incomplete data in the Entry/Exit System."? I've been within the Schengen zone three times since April (Italy once and France twice). Now I am concerned I've not been properly recorded.

he link worked correctly for me, shows the 8 days I was in Spain in April.

and this

I got an error message saying, "Your remaining authorised stay cannot currently be calculated due to temporary incomplete data in the Entry/Exit System."? I've been within the Schengen zone three times since April (Italy once and France twice). Now I am concerned I've not been properly recorded.

I wonder if integrating data from multiple countries is a 'bug to be fixed'.

I just checked my records against theirs and we are off about 3 days

I thought my count was off too until I noticed they are not counting time before April 10th. So, my March Spain trip is not included.

I am blessed, I dont have to mess with it ... yet.

I had a somewhat similar situation from last spring. FCO EES worked great on entry. At departure, the machines weren’t used and an officer gave my passport a perfunctory look and waved me on without scanning. Fast forward a few months to me entering again at Helsinki. The officer informed me there was no record of me leaving the Schengen zone in the spring. I answered additional questions, was able to quickly document date and flight number I left on, and the officer placed notes within the system. The fact that I had arrived on a direct flight from the US clearly supported my case as well. When I told him I flew out of Rome that seemed to explain a lot of the situation in his mind………

Make sure you get stamped or passport scanned. I’m entering through Helsinki again this weekend and am relieved that they know what they are doing there and do it efficiently.

Myself, and my experiences, it matters much which airports you go through, and perhaps your personal details.

I have been through the Schengen area a couple times this year, it really took no more time than other times I was through, but then I went through AMS, I would dread going through Lisbon (been there a couple times before), and they were a mess years ago, and I doubt it has improved.

My personal observation is that it has worked great for my wife. She goes to the kiosk, scans her passport, takes a picture, then directed to the e-gates, and she is out in 5-10 minutes. Myself, I have a problem, I am missing part of my index and middle finger on my right hand, so I am asked to scan and rescan my fingerprints (usually tells me I am using my wrong hand) then after a few attempts, it tells me to go to the manual lines, and that is what takes time.

Other than that, EES is a non-event, even going to the manual lines, is only maybe a 20 minute exercise, no difference really than before.

Now if your Schengen first stop is Germany, be prepared to go through a manual line, for other reasons.

Now if your Schengen first stop is Germany, be prepared to go through a manual line, for other reasons.

If you have EAsypass, you can use the egates. However, when you get through there will be someone there to stamp your passport. The Germans still like stamps.