EES app: how the Travel to Europe app cuts queues

There is now an official app that lets you do part of the EES border check on your phone before you fly. It is called “Travel to Europe”, it is built by Frontex, the EU border agency, and it is free. It will not let you skip the queue entirely, and it does not work everywhere yet. But if you are flying into a country that supports it, registering your passport and face in advance can shave minutes off your first crossing this summer.

What does the Travel to Europe app actually do?

Since EES went fully operational on 10 April 2026, every non-EU visitor has to be registered in the system on their first crossing. That registration captures your facial image, fingerprints and travel-document data. Doing all of that at a desk, for every arriving passenger, is what has produced the two-to-four-hour queues reported at busy airports since April.

The app moves one part of that off the airport floor. You scan the chip in your passport with your phone, take a facial image, and the data is held ready for when you reach the border. The idea is that the officer confirms what you have already submitted rather than collecting it from scratch. Frontex describes pre-registration as a way to reduce processing times at the border, not a replacement for the border check itself.

Can the app let me skip the queue?

No, and this is the part people get wrong. Three things are worth spelling out:

• Your fingerprints still get taken at the border. The app cannot capture fingerprints. On your first EES crossing a border guard still has to scan them in person, so you still stop at a desk.
• It does not grant a right to enter. Pre-registering your details does not guarantee admission. The officer still checks your passport, your purpose of travel and your remaining Schengen days.
• It is voluntary. There is no obligation to use it. If you do nothing, your data is captured automatically at the border the first time you arrive, exactly as before.

So the honest summary is that the app speeds up a step, it does not remove one. On a quiet day the saving is small. On a packed August morning at a constrained airport, getting the document scan and facial image out of the way in advance is worth doing.

Which countries support it right now?

This is the catch. The app only fully works at the moment for arrivals into Sweden, with Portugal supporting part of it. Frontex has said pilot schemes are planned at major entry points in the Netherlands, France and Italy during 2026, and other EES countries are expected to add support over time. Until your destination switches it on, downloading the app does nothing for that trip. Check whether the airport you are flying into is live before you rely on it.

What do I need to use it?

You need a biometric passport, meaning one with an electronic chip (the small rectangle symbol on the cover). The app reads that chip, so an older passport without one will not work and you will go through the full process at the desk. You also pre-register within a set window before arrival rather than weeks ahead, so it is something you do close to your trip, not at booking. The app is the only official one. Anything charging you a fee to “register for EES” is not it.

Does this app handle ETIAS too?

No. This is purely an EES tool, and the two systems are easy to confuse. EES is the biometric registration that happens at the border now. ETIAS is a separate pre-travel authorisation you apply for online, and it is not live yet, expected in the last quarter of 2026. When ETIAS does open you will apply through the official EU website or its own app, not through the Travel to Europe border app. For how the two systems fit together, see our EES vs ETIAS guide.

The bottom line for summer 2026

If you are heading to Sweden, the app is a genuine, free way to cut a few minutes off a slow border. If you are heading anywhere else, keep an eye on whether it goes live before your trip, and in the meantime plan for the queue: build in extra time at the airport, have your passport ready, and know your remaining Schengen days using the 90/180-day rule. The biometric step is here to stay, and no legitimate service can remove it.