Belgium became the latest EU member on 30 March to delay implementation of the biometric component of the Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) after airport trials in Brussels triggered queues of more than three hours for non-EU travellers. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin and Asylum & Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt said the fingerprint-and-face-scan requirement will now be phased in “later in the spring” once technical glitches are resolved. The Netherlands and France have already taken similar decisions.
![Belgium pauses biometric rollout under EU Entry/Exit System – what it means for Irish passengers this Easter]()
As the rules evolve, VisaHQ’s Irish portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) can help travellers and mobility managers quickly check visa and forthcoming ETIAS requirements, monitor which airports have activated EES kiosks, and secure any documentation needed before departure—saving time and avoiding last-minute surprises.
The EES, expected to replace manual passport stamping for travellers from visa-exempt countries such as the UK and US, will eventually capture four fingerprints and a live facial image at first entry and store them for three years. While Irish citizens are EU nationals and therefore exempt, the postponement is highly relevant to Ireland’s large cohort of non-EU residents – many of whom use Brussels, Paris or Amsterdam as Schengen gateways on business trips from Dublin. Airlines fear a patchwork approach across Europe could cause confusion during the busy Easter travel period: some airports will take biometrics, others will not, and signage is inconsistent. Dublin-based travel-management companies are advising corporate travellers holding non-EU passports to add at least 90 minutes to lay-over times and to check whether their first point of entry has live EES kiosks. Employers should also remind staff that EES data will eventually feed into ETIAS travel-authorisation risk assessments, meaning overstays could trigger future refusals. For Ireland Inc., the delay buys time. Dublin Airport is still finalising tenders for its own EES kiosks, and sources say the daa will seek lessons-learned reports from Brussels Airport before committing to a go-live date. The Department of Justice told industry stakeholders yesterday that “full domestic readiness” is unlikely before early 2027, aligning with updated EU timelines. In practical terms, global-mobility teams should update travel policies this week: add EES guidance to pre-trip briefings, build longer transfer buffers into online booking tools and start mapping which third-country national populations in Ireland are most likely to be affected once the system is switched on for real.
As the rules evolve, VisaHQ’s Irish portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) can help travellers and mobility managers quickly check visa and forthcoming ETIAS requirements, monitor which airports have activated EES kiosks, and secure any documentation needed before departure—saving time and avoiding last-minute surprises.
The EES, expected to replace manual passport stamping for travellers from visa-exempt countries such as the UK and US, will eventually capture four fingerprints and a live facial image at first entry and store them for three years. While Irish citizens are EU nationals and therefore exempt, the postponement is highly relevant to Ireland’s large cohort of non-EU residents – many of whom use Brussels, Paris or Amsterdam as Schengen gateways on business trips from Dublin. Airlines fear a patchwork approach across Europe could cause confusion during the busy Easter travel period: some airports will take biometrics, others will not, and signage is inconsistent. Dublin-based travel-management companies are advising corporate travellers holding non-EU passports to add at least 90 minutes to lay-over times and to check whether their first point of entry has live EES kiosks. Employers should also remind staff that EES data will eventually feed into ETIAS travel-authorisation risk assessments, meaning overstays could trigger future refusals. For Ireland Inc., the delay buys time. Dublin Airport is still finalising tenders for its own EES kiosks, and sources say the daa will seek lessons-learned reports from Brussels Airport before committing to a go-live date. The Department of Justice told industry stakeholders yesterday that “full domestic readiness” is unlikely before early 2027, aligning with updated EU timelines. In practical terms, global-mobility teams should update travel policies this week: add EES guidance to pre-trip briefings, build longer transfer buffers into online booking tools and start mapping which third-country national populations in Ireland are most likely to be affected once the system is switched on for real.
More From Ireland
View all
IATA chief tells Oireachtas that Dublin Airport passenger cap is now “a real and immediate risk” to Ireland’s economy
Charities and business groups demand restoration of axed midday PSO flight as new Donegal–Dublin timetable starts
