Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) has activated its automated Entry/Exit System (EES) kiosks, allowing travellers from outside the EU to pre-register their passport and biometric data before reaching the border booth. The airport’s information page, updated in late January, confirms that the kiosks are now available, completing the second phase of Germany’s EES roll-out that began in December 2025. Nationwide implementation must be finalised by 10 April 2026 under EU law.
EES replaces passport stamps with a digital record of every non-EU national’s entry and exit, storing a facial image and four fingerprints for three years. By letting passengers scan documents themselves, BER aims to cut average processing times by roughly 30 percent—a welcome relief as trade-fair season accelerates. However, the Federal Police warn that queues may initially lengthen while travellers familiarise themselves with the new procedure.
![Berlin Brandenburg Airport switches on EES self-service kiosks for third-country nationals]()
For additional peace of mind, travellers and mobility coordinators can tap VisaHQ’s expertise to navigate Germany’s rapidly changing border formalities. The company’s portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) offers step-by-step guidance on document requirements, biometric rules and upcoming ETIAS prerequisites, letting users submit applications online and track progress in real time—helping avoid last-minute surprises at the kiosk.
For corporate travel managers the change means adjusting arrival-time advice for visiting clients and candidates—especially those connecting onward to domestic flights that require a tight transfer window. Companies should also brief frequent travellers that overstays will now be calculated automatically, eliminating the ‘grace days’ that were sometimes available under manual stamping.
Families with children under 12 or travellers without biometric passports must still complete registration at the manned desk, so mobility teams should check document validity well ahead of deployment. Other major German hubs—Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf—are expected to bring similar kiosks online by March. Once EES is live EU-wide, it will dovetail with the ETIAS travel-authorisation scheme for visa-free nationals, slated for late 2026.
EES replaces passport stamps with a digital record of every non-EU national’s entry and exit, storing a facial image and four fingerprints for three years. By letting passengers scan documents themselves, BER aims to cut average processing times by roughly 30 percent—a welcome relief as trade-fair season accelerates. However, the Federal Police warn that queues may initially lengthen while travellers familiarise themselves with the new procedure.
For additional peace of mind, travellers and mobility coordinators can tap VisaHQ’s expertise to navigate Germany’s rapidly changing border formalities. The company’s portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) offers step-by-step guidance on document requirements, biometric rules and upcoming ETIAS prerequisites, letting users submit applications online and track progress in real time—helping avoid last-minute surprises at the kiosk.
For corporate travel managers the change means adjusting arrival-time advice for visiting clients and candidates—especially those connecting onward to domestic flights that require a tight transfer window. Companies should also brief frequent travellers that overstays will now be calculated automatically, eliminating the ‘grace days’ that were sometimes available under manual stamping.
Families with children under 12 or travellers without biometric passports must still complete registration at the manned desk, so mobility teams should check document validity well ahead of deployment. Other major German hubs—Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf—are expected to bring similar kiosks online by March. Once EES is live EU-wide, it will dovetail with the ETIAS travel-authorisation scheme for visa-free nationals, slated for late 2026.
