Just one month after the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) became mandatory, Italy’s Interior Ministry has drafted an emergency decree allowing border police at Rome-Fiumicino, Milan-Malpensa, Venice-Marco Polo and other gateways to bypass biometric kiosks and revert to manual passport stamping whenever queues surpass 45 minutes. The hybrid regime—expected to run until 30 September 2026—aims to tame the chaos that has seen non-EU travellers wait up to two hours for fingerprint and facial-scan enrollment. Airport operators estimate that four EES kiosks occupy the same floor space as one traditional booth, straining legacy terminals during the May half-term surge and the upcoming summer tourist peak. Under the draft, live queue-time displays in control halls will trigger the fallback procedure. Airlines must still transmit Advance Passenger Information, meaning overstays will continue to be tracked electronically even when no biometrics are taken.
![Italy Temporarily Drops Biometric Border Checks When Queues Exceed 45 Minutes]()
For anyone unsure how these shifting border procedures affect their trip, VisaHQ’s Italy hub (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers real-time updates on Schengen entry rules, helps secure visas online, and provides expert support if you need guidance on passport validity or documentation—ideal peace of mind while authorities toggle between biometric kiosks and manual stamping.
Travellers are advised to keep two blank passport pages free, plan longer connections, and retain boarding passes as proof of time spent in Schengen. Business-travel managers welcome the flexibility but warn it complicates duty-of-care compliance: workers could accrue extra Schengen days if manual stamps are mis-read or missing. Companies are updating expense-report tools to capture exact entry and exit data and briefing staff to photograph stamps as back-up evidence. Italy joins Greece and Portugal, which announced similar exceptions this week, increasing pressure on Brussels to recalibrate EES rollout timelines. A formal Cabinet vote is expected in the next few days; if approved, the measure will be published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale and enter into force immediately.
For anyone unsure how these shifting border procedures affect their trip, VisaHQ’s Italy hub (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers real-time updates on Schengen entry rules, helps secure visas online, and provides expert support if you need guidance on passport validity or documentation—ideal peace of mind while authorities toggle between biometric kiosks and manual stamping.
Travellers are advised to keep two blank passport pages free, plan longer connections, and retain boarding passes as proof of time spent in Schengen. Business-travel managers welcome the flexibility but warn it complicates duty-of-care compliance: workers could accrue extra Schengen days if manual stamps are mis-read or missing. Companies are updating expense-report tools to capture exact entry and exit data and briefing staff to photograph stamps as back-up evidence. Italy joins Greece and Portugal, which announced similar exceptions this week, increasing pressure on Brussels to recalibrate EES rollout timelines. A formal Cabinet vote is expected in the next few days; if approved, the measure will be published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale and enter into force immediately.
