In a 7 November client alert, DLA Piper dissected the simultaneous rollout of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), the future ETIAS travel authorisation and the UK’s own ETA-eVisa ecosystem. The piece warns multinationals that first-time EES enrolment—facial image plus four fingerprints—could quadruple processing times at Dover and Eurostar during the January ski season.
For UK-bound travellers, the alert reiterates that all new visas have been issued as eVisas since July 2025 and that physical biometric-residence-permits will cease to be accepted from the end of next year. Holders must link their passport to a UKVI account now or risk being flagged as ‘no status’ at the border.
![Law-firm briefing: Digital immigration systems reshape UK–EU travel]()
The firm highlights a rarely noticed knock-on effect: because EES will capture entry and exit data for British citizens, time spent in the Schengen Area will be auto-calculated, leaving little room to ‘reset’ the 90/180-day rule through border-hopping. UK employers with remote-working policies that allow staff to work from EU countries must tighten monitoring or face social-security liability.
DLA Piper advises corporates to run advance ETA/ETIAS campaigns for frequent travellers, budget extra border time for high-volume moves in Q1 2026, and integrate eVisa checks into global-mobility software to avoid last-minute boarding denials.
For UK-bound travellers, the alert reiterates that all new visas have been issued as eVisas since July 2025 and that physical biometric-residence-permits will cease to be accepted from the end of next year. Holders must link their passport to a UKVI account now or risk being flagged as ‘no status’ at the border.
The firm highlights a rarely noticed knock-on effect: because EES will capture entry and exit data for British citizens, time spent in the Schengen Area will be auto-calculated, leaving little room to ‘reset’ the 90/180-day rule through border-hopping. UK employers with remote-working policies that allow staff to work from EU countries must tighten monitoring or face social-security liability.
DLA Piper advises corporates to run advance ETA/ETIAS campaigns for frequent travellers, budget extra border time for high-volume moves in Q1 2026, and integrate eVisa checks into global-mobility software to avoid last-minute boarding denials.
