The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) went live across all Polish air and land borders in mid-October, and the long All Saints’ holiday weekend (1–3 November) is its baptism by fire. At Warsaw Chopin Airport, Border Guard officers reported median clearance times of 45 seconds at the new self-service kiosks, despite a 12 % year-on-year increase in non-EU arrivals.
The EES replaces passport stamps with a biometric database that logs every entry and exit by third-country nationals and automatically calculates remaining Schengen days. Travellers are enrolled the first time they cross after launch—fingerprints and a facial image are captured and stored for three years.
![Entry/Exit System First Big Test: Poland Handles All Saints’ Traffic with New Biometric Gates]()
Poland was one of the first member states to finish hardware installation, deploying 220 eGates at airports and retro-fitting mobile tablets at remote road checkpoints. Border Guard chief Tomasz Praga says the system flagged 312 overstays and 57 forged passports nation-wide in the first fortnight.
For businesses the key benefit is predictability: executives can prove remaining Schengen allowance at the gate, reducing the risk of refused boarding on outbound flights. Mobility teams should, however, brief travellers that first-time enrolment can take up to five minutes and that children under 12 must still use manual booths.
The EES replaces passport stamps with a biometric database that logs every entry and exit by third-country nationals and automatically calculates remaining Schengen days. Travellers are enrolled the first time they cross after launch—fingerprints and a facial image are captured and stored for three years.
Poland was one of the first member states to finish hardware installation, deploying 220 eGates at airports and retro-fitting mobile tablets at remote road checkpoints. Border Guard chief Tomasz Praga says the system flagged 312 overstays and 57 forged passports nation-wide in the first fortnight.
For businesses the key benefit is predictability: executives can prove remaining Schengen allowance at the gate, reducing the risk of refused boarding on outbound flights. Mobility teams should, however, brief travellers that first-time enrolment can take up to five minutes and that children under 12 must still use manual booths.
