Austria, together with Switzerland, France, Italy, Poland and Malta, is rolling out the biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) that began soft operations in October 2025. The system records fingerprints and facial images of non-EU travellers and will be fully mandatory by April 2026, ahead of the ETIAS travel-authorisation launch later that year.
Austrian airports have already started capturing data, causing sporadic delays, but officials expect smoother operations once self-service kiosks are fully deployed. The Interior Ministry says the digital border will enhance security and streamline flows in the long run.
![EU Entry/Exit System: Austria Joins Digital-Border Roll-out Transforming Schengen Travel]()
For Austrian businesses the change introduces new compliance touch-points: assignees from visa-waiver countries will need to factor in both biometric capture and ETIAS pre-authorisation before travel. Employers should update travel-policy checklists and brief employees on potential queue times until the system stabilises.
VisaHQ’s online platform can simplify this transition for both corporate travel managers and individual passengers. The Austria-specific portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) monitors real-time EES and ETIAS developments, provides deadline alerts, and lets companies bundle applications for entire teams—cutting down on paperwork while ensuring everyone remains compliant.
Travel managers can mitigate disruption by scheduling flights outside peak hours and encouraging staff to use early-enrolment kiosks where available. Frequent-traveller lanes may also be expanded as the system matures.
Austrian airports have already started capturing data, causing sporadic delays, but officials expect smoother operations once self-service kiosks are fully deployed. The Interior Ministry says the digital border will enhance security and streamline flows in the long run.
For Austrian businesses the change introduces new compliance touch-points: assignees from visa-waiver countries will need to factor in both biometric capture and ETIAS pre-authorisation before travel. Employers should update travel-policy checklists and brief employees on potential queue times until the system stabilises.
VisaHQ’s online platform can simplify this transition for both corporate travel managers and individual passengers. The Austria-specific portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) monitors real-time EES and ETIAS developments, provides deadline alerts, and lets companies bundle applications for entire teams—cutting down on paperwork while ensuring everyone remains compliant.
Travel managers can mitigate disruption by scheduling flights outside peak hours and encouraging staff to use early-enrolment kiosks where available. Frequent-traveller lanes may also be expanded as the system matures.
