EES and children: the under-12 fingerprint rule explained

Children under 12 do not give fingerprints at the Schengen border under EES. That is the rule set in Article 17(3) of EU Regulation 2017/2226, the legislation that created the Entry/Exit System, and the official EES FAQ confirms that under-12s’ fingerprints are not currently scanned. Under-12s still have a facial image taken and their passport and biographic data recorded in the system, so they are registered on entry. But the fingerprint step is skipped. Children aged 12 and over go through the full EES process, identical to the one for adults.

What happens at the booth for a child under 12

The officer scans the child’s passport, captures a facial image and logs the entry. There are no fingerprint pads involved. How long it takes depends on whether the airport is using staffed booths, self-service kiosks, or a mix of both. The child must present their own passport. EES builds an individual file for each traveller, so a child cannot be processed as part of a parent’s entry record.

This matters in queues. A family of two adults and two children under 12 is four separate EES registrations at the booth, not two, during weeks when airports and airlines told the Commission on 1 July that waits at border control had reached up to five hours at peak times.

Children aged 12 and over: same process as adults

The partial exemption ends at 12. From their twelfth birthday, a child provides both fingerprints and a facial image at the EES booth, exactly as their parents do. The first time takes longer. On return trips, the system recognises the stored record and the interaction is shorter.

A teenager who has crossed a Schengen external border since 12 October 2025 may already have an EES file, although during the progressive start not every crossing point collected biometrics. Under the Regulation, an EES file is kept for three years and one day after the last recorded exit from the Schengen area, unless the traveller enters again in that time.

Every child needs their own passport processed

There is no family-group exemption and no way for a child to travel on a parent’s document. EES has no mechanism for shared entries. Each person in a travelling party, from infant to adult, has their own EES record built from their own passport.

For infants and very young children, border officers handle the facial image capture. The process is brief, but it can be awkward with a wriggling child. Arrive with extra time, particularly on your first crossing.

The first crossing is the slow one for everyone

Once a child is registered in EES, subsequent crossings are quicker. According to the EU’s EES guidance, officers then only verify the stored data rather than recording it afresh. For families whose children crossed Schengen borders before EES began, or who are visiting Europe for the first time, the first EES crossing is always the longest part of the process.

Long waits are not limited to the big hubs. In the same 1 July letter, airports and airlines said smaller airports serving major tourism destinations were equally affected. Building plenty of extra time into your arrival day is still the sensible approach, particularly with children in tow. The EES queue guide for this summer has more detail.

Does this affect the ETIAS application?

ETIAS is a separate pre-travel authorisation that is not running yet; the EU has not set a start date, and press reports point to 2027. It is applied for online before travel, not at the border. Children of all ages from visa-exempt countries will need their own ETIAS, though the fee is waived for those under 18, and a parent or guardian must submit the application for a minor. The application asks about the intended stay and any past travel to war or conflict zones, and the ETIAS Central System checks EES for any record of past overstays or refusals of entry since 12 October 2025.

For now, no ETIAS application is possible anywhere. The ETIAS status page carries the official launch position. No action is required yet. Applications are not open.