Travellers planning visits to—or departures from—Czechia in the coming months will soon experience the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), an automated border-control database that replaces passport stamping for non-EU nationals. According to a briefing published by Prague Morning on 20 January, the biometric system went live at select external Schengen crossings in October 2025 and will be fully operational no later than 10 April 2026.
Under EES, third-country visitors must enrol facial images and four fingerprints the first time they cross an external Schengen border after launch. The data are stored for three years and automatically matched on subsequent trips, allowing authorities to verify overstays in real time. Although Czechia itself is land-locked within the Schengen Area, the change carries practical consequences for residents and businesses: any employee, tourist or dependent who transits a non-Schengen hub—London, Dublin or Belgrade, for example—before re-entering the bloc will fall under the new procedure.
Corporate mobility teams are already adjusting travel policies. Several Prague-based multinationals have issued alerts advising non-EU staff to allow an extra 45 minutes when arriving at major gateways such as Frankfurt, Vienna or Warsaw during the first-time enrolment phase. Airlines are revamping minimum connection times, and travel-management companies warn that missed onward flights could trigger duty-of-care liabilities if employers fail to brief travellers adequately.
![EU Entry/Exit System Nears Full Roll-Out – What It Means for Trips To and From Czechia]()
If you’re unsure how the new EES rules interact with your specific passport or residence status, VisaHQ can simplify the process. The company’s Czech portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) offers up-to-date visa requirements, Schengen stay calculators and document pre-checks, helping both individual travellers and HR teams avoid costly missteps while the biometric system rolls out.
The EES is the technological forerunner to ETIAS, the €20 electronic travel authorisation that will become mandatory for visa-exempt nationals in late 2026. While ETIAS will not apply to EU residents with valid Czech residence cards, the two systems share data, meaning overstays captured by EES could jeopardise future ETIAS approvals. Mobility specialists therefore urge HR departments to track days spent in the Schengen Area even more rigorously.
Czech airports are not among the initial deployment sites, but the Interior Ministry confirms that Prague’s Václav Havel Airport will install self-service kiosks for transit passengers by August 2026. Until then, returning Czech residents should expect manual checks when connecting through non-Schengen terminals. For now, the best practice is straightforward: carry a biometric passport, budget extra time, and keep digital copies of travel itineraries handy in case officers request proof of onward movement.
Under EES, third-country visitors must enrol facial images and four fingerprints the first time they cross an external Schengen border after launch. The data are stored for three years and automatically matched on subsequent trips, allowing authorities to verify overstays in real time. Although Czechia itself is land-locked within the Schengen Area, the change carries practical consequences for residents and businesses: any employee, tourist or dependent who transits a non-Schengen hub—London, Dublin or Belgrade, for example—before re-entering the bloc will fall under the new procedure.
Corporate mobility teams are already adjusting travel policies. Several Prague-based multinationals have issued alerts advising non-EU staff to allow an extra 45 minutes when arriving at major gateways such as Frankfurt, Vienna or Warsaw during the first-time enrolment phase. Airlines are revamping minimum connection times, and travel-management companies warn that missed onward flights could trigger duty-of-care liabilities if employers fail to brief travellers adequately.
If you’re unsure how the new EES rules interact with your specific passport or residence status, VisaHQ can simplify the process. The company’s Czech portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) offers up-to-date visa requirements, Schengen stay calculators and document pre-checks, helping both individual travellers and HR teams avoid costly missteps while the biometric system rolls out.
The EES is the technological forerunner to ETIAS, the €20 electronic travel authorisation that will become mandatory for visa-exempt nationals in late 2026. While ETIAS will not apply to EU residents with valid Czech residence cards, the two systems share data, meaning overstays captured by EES could jeopardise future ETIAS approvals. Mobility specialists therefore urge HR departments to track days spent in the Schengen Area even more rigorously.
Czech airports are not among the initial deployment sites, but the Interior Ministry confirms that Prague’s Václav Havel Airport will install self-service kiosks for transit passengers by August 2026. Until then, returning Czech residents should expect manual checks when connecting through non-Schengen terminals. For now, the best practice is straightforward: carry a biometric passport, budget extra time, and keep digital copies of travel itineraries handy in case officers request proof of onward movement.
