Tom Ewart Smith
BRITISH travellers heading to Spain and other EU destinations could face extra delays at border controls from 2026.
From next year, they will be required to go through both biometric screening and passport stamping – a double layer of red tape that could cause significant disruption at airports, ferry ports, and railway stations.
The introduction of the EU’s much-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES), originally planned for 2024, is now scheduled for a phased roll-out starting in October 2025.
READ MORE: EU’s Entry/Exit System is delayed yet AGAIN: Brits won’t need a ‘euro-visa’ until at least 2027
However, due to the gradual implementation of the system, UK visitors will be caught in a bureaucratic limbo, with border authorities enforcing both biometric registration and manual passport stamping for at least several months.
The EES is designed to replace the outdated system of stamping passports by digitally registering non-EU visitors as they enter and leave the Schengen Area.
It will require travellers to provide fingerprints and facial biometrics, which will be stored in a central database.
However, the EU has now confirmed that the roll-out will be staggered, meaning not all border posts will immediately be equipped to handle biometric data.
As a result, British travellers will still have to endure passport stamping even after providing their fingerprints and facial recognition data.
The timeline suggests that from January 2026, at least half of EU border posts will be operating the EES, but biometric checks will only become mandatory at all locations from April 2026.
Until then, Brits will face the hassle of both biometric registration and passport stamping leading to bottlenecks at major entry points.
Industry experts have warned that the combination of the EES and the ongoing requirement for manual passport stamping could result in severe congestion.
With millions of British tourists visiting Spain every year, the country is likely to be one of the worst affected by the impending border chaos.
