EES biometrics: nine Schengen countries still pausing checks

Nine Schengen countries, including France, Germany and Italy, are still occasionally suspending EES biometric collection at specific border crossings, weeks after the formal legal mechanism for doing so expired. The arrangement is not confirmed by the European Commission in any published document. If you are travelling to one of these nine countries in autumn, you may or may not face biometric registration at the border, depending on which crossing you use and how busy it is when you arrive.

What does not change is your 90-day Schengen allowance. EES has logged every crossing by passport data since 12 October 2025. The day count runs continuously whether or not biometrics are collected.

Which nine countries?

Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland. These are the countries that formally asked Brussels for more flexibility in July 2026, and that are, according to multiple news reports published between 13 and 15 September, continuing to pause biometric collection at certain crossings where technical or operational problems persist.

The remaining Schengen countries are not mentioned in these reports and are understood to be running full enforcement: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. If you cross a Schengen border outside the nine listed above, expect fingerprints and a facial scan.

What expired on 7 September and why it matters

When the Entry/Exit System became fully operational on 10 April 2026, the EES Regulation came with a built-in fallback for border authorities. At any specific crossing point, they could pause biometric collection for up to six hours when queues became unmanageable. Member states had 90 days to use it, plus a one-off 60-day extension. That ceiling was 7 September 2026. No further statutory extension was ever passed.

The full detail of how this summer mechanism worked, and what changed on 8 September, is in the earlier explainer. The short version: the rule as written requires full enforcement. In practice, the nine countries are still pausing at certain crossings, and the Commission is not taking enforcement action.

What the Commission actually said

At a press briefing on 1 September 2026, a Commission spokesperson acknowledged that some member states still needed “an additional period of operational adjustment” at certain border crossing points. That was the official signal. No formal implementing decision or legal amendment followed.

Since the 7 September deadline, the Commission has declined to confirm or describe any arrangement publicly. Reports from The Times and several European publications from 13 to 15 September say the nine countries have received informal approval to continue pausing biometrics at specific crossings with unresolved software or capacity problems, without a new deadline being set. The Commission has not disputed these reports or published a statement of its own.

What this means at the border

Enforcement is uneven within the nine countries, not uniformly suspended. The informal tolerance applies at specific crossings where the system cannot reliably collect biometric data, not at every border post the country operates. A busy international airport that has completed its EES integration will run full checks regardless. A smaller crossing or a port where software has not stabilised may still pause.

In practice, this means you cannot know in advance whether a specific crossing in France, Germany or Italy will collect biometrics on your arrival. The Channel crossings at Dover and the Eurotunnel remain a separate case: car biometrics have not started there due to a distinct software issue with the French border authority’s system, and that has not changed.

The sensible assumption for autumn travel: be prepared for biometric registration at any Schengen crossing. Whether or not it happens on a given day at a given port, your EES entry record is being created from your passport. The 90-day clock is running.

Your Schengen day count is unaffected

This is worth being clear about. EES has logged every entry and exit using passport data since 12 October 2025. A crossing where biometrics were paused still generated a full EES record with a timestamp. Those days counted then, and they count now.

If you were in Europe this summer, those days are already on your record. Autumn trips need to be planned against whatever allowance remains. The 90/180 calculator works from your actual crossing dates, so it will give you an accurate picture regardless of whether biometrics were collected.

Practical steps before an autumn trip

• First crossing since April 2026 into one of the nine countries: biometric registration may or may not happen. Add 30 minutes to your border estimate just in case, and treat it as a bonus if the crossing is quick.
• First crossing into any other Schengen country: full biometrics will happen. Allow extra time. Three to seven minutes at the desk, plus whatever queue is ahead of you.
• Already enrolled: future crossings are faster wherever automated EES gates are installed. A facial match against the stored image takes seconds.
• Check your day count: use the 90/180 calculator before booking, not on the day you travel.