The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade updated its Smartraveller advice for Belgium on 3 December after the European Union quietly switched on its long-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES). All non-EU travellers—including Australians—must now register fingerprints and a facial image the first time they cross an external Schengen border. Belgian police have also introduced random checks on intra-Schengen trains and roads until December 2025.
While the EES ultimately replaces manual passport stamping and will feed into 2026’s EU-wide ETIAS travel authorisation, early reports from Brussels and Frankfurt show bottlenecks at automated kiosks, with wait times exceeding 60 minutes during morning peaks. DFAT advises Australians to arrive earlier for connecting flights within the bloc and to ensure passports have at least one blank page for a contingency stamp.
![EU Launches Biometric Entry/Exit System—Smartraveller Warns of Longer Queues for Australians]()
Business-travel consultancies are urging companies to factor in extra transfer time between Schengen and non-Schengen terminals, warning that missed meetings could trigger expensive re-ticketing. Frequent-traveller profiles stored with carriers will not pre-populate EES kiosks, so even elite passengers must complete the initial enrolment.
Travel-management companies expect teething problems to ease by February once airports add staffing, but remote-site engineers, event crews and FIFO workers should brief clients on possible delays through the Christmas peak.
While the EES ultimately replaces manual passport stamping and will feed into 2026’s EU-wide ETIAS travel authorisation, early reports from Brussels and Frankfurt show bottlenecks at automated kiosks, with wait times exceeding 60 minutes during morning peaks. DFAT advises Australians to arrive earlier for connecting flights within the bloc and to ensure passports have at least one blank page for a contingency stamp.
Business-travel consultancies are urging companies to factor in extra transfer time between Schengen and non-Schengen terminals, warning that missed meetings could trigger expensive re-ticketing. Frequent-traveller profiles stored with carriers will not pre-populate EES kiosks, so even elite passengers must complete the initial enrolment.
Travel-management companies expect teething problems to ease by February once airports add staffing, but remote-site engineers, event crews and FIFO workers should brief clients on possible delays through the Christmas peak.
