Officials from all 29 Schengen members gathered in Strasbourg and online on 6–7 November 2025 for the inaugural EES-ETIAS Advisory Group after the new biometric Entry/Exit System went live on 12 October. Finland’s Border Guard reported that Helsinki Airport processed more than 480,000 third-country nationals in the first three weeks with an average transaction time of 37 seconds—well below the 45-second EU benchmark.
Colonel Sanna Ukkola, head of border technology, credited extensive pre-testing at Vantaa and the deployment of 50 additional automated e-gates. She noted, however, that land crossings will remain closed until further notice because of Russia-related security measures, so the EES data set is skewed toward air and sea traffic.
![First Post-Launch Review of EU Entry/Exit System Highlights Smooth Roll-Out at Finnish Borders]()
From a corporate-mobility perspective, the main takeaway is predictability. The EES replaces manual passport stamping with an electronic record of every entry and exit, automatically calculating remaining stay days for non-EU travellers. Finnish immigration lawyers say the system has already resolved dozens of overstay disputes by producing a definitive timestamped history.
Looking ahead, the Advisory Group confirmed that ETIAS—Europe’s electronic travel authorisation—remains on track for April 2026. Finnish authorities will launch an employer outreach campaign in January to help multinational companies update travel policies and duty-of-care checklists.
Travel managers should brief non-EU assignees that fingerprints and facial images are captured only on the first post-launch trip and remain valid for three years. Frequent travellers may therefore experience longer processing times on their next visit but faster flows thereafter.
Colonel Sanna Ukkola, head of border technology, credited extensive pre-testing at Vantaa and the deployment of 50 additional automated e-gates. She noted, however, that land crossings will remain closed until further notice because of Russia-related security measures, so the EES data set is skewed toward air and sea traffic.
From a corporate-mobility perspective, the main takeaway is predictability. The EES replaces manual passport stamping with an electronic record of every entry and exit, automatically calculating remaining stay days for non-EU travellers. Finnish immigration lawyers say the system has already resolved dozens of overstay disputes by producing a definitive timestamped history.
Looking ahead, the Advisory Group confirmed that ETIAS—Europe’s electronic travel authorisation—remains on track for April 2026. Finnish authorities will launch an employer outreach campaign in January to help multinational companies update travel policies and duty-of-care checklists.
Travel managers should brief non-EU assignees that fingerprints and facial images are captured only on the first post-launch trip and remain valid for three years. Frequent travellers may therefore experience longer processing times on their next visit but faster flows thereafter.
