It’s lastly right here, you guys.
After years and years of backwards and forwards, the European Union has formally began rolling out its controversial new Entry/Exit System, or EES.
As of April 10, 2026, Americans, in addition to some other international vacationers touchdown in an EU nation will get their fingerprints taken, and their biometric information entered into the brand new system.
In case you are questioning why that is even occurring, Europe is planning on a serious overhaul of its entry guidelines this yr, and EES is merely the beginning. Towards the tip of the yr, Americans ought to put together for an additional main blow.
Stay till the tip of the article to seek out out what that’s.
For the time being, although, there’s one black sheep within the EU household that is notoriously sitting this one out. In truth, they will not be becoming a member of in any of the most recent reshuffling of entry necessities: for Americans, this implies no fingerprinting or facial scans.
Ireland Is Sitting This One Out.
Despite being a full EU member, Ireland will not be planning on imposing EES anytime quickly.
As a matter of truth, they are not within the slightest.
If you fly to France, Spain, Italy, or Croatia this summer time, it is best to put together for lengthy, and we imply loooong, delays on the border as the brand new system kicks in. Major roadblocks have already started touring from Bosnia, a non-EU member, into Croatia, with drivers reporting being held on the border for six+ hours as their information was entered into the EU’s new diigtal system.
In airports, the place wait strains are already exceedingly-long, it is no totally different.
Those touchdown in Lisbon Airport in Portugal at 6 am had been but to undergo passport management at 11 am this week, and throughout a number of main European airports, the identical plight is echoed.
Going to Europe this summer time? Use the brand new Entry Requirement Checker to confirm journey guidelines at your precise vacation spot.
That is as a result of, on high of present process the standard procedures, vacationers should now line up first to register at an EES kiosk. The course of sometimes entails scanning your passport, registering your fingerprints, present process a facial scan, and ready till the system absolutely logs within the information.
Needless to say, summer time vacays in Europe will likely be bumpy this yr, however not within the Emerald Isle.
Why Is Ireland Breaking Rank With The EU?
In Ireland, Americans can still literally breeze through the border, oftentimes with no passport checks by any means.
They are eligible to make use of eGates at Dublin Airport (DUB), which implies they get fast-track go with out talking to a border agent first.
That’s a privilege they nonetheless maintain, and can proceed to no matter what shenanigans mainland Europe will get into, and though we would like to imagine this is because of Ireland and the States’ kinship and historic ties, there’s a extra sensible, less-romantic cause for this.
So why is Ireland the odd one out, you ask?
The Opt-Outs
It’s easy: when it joined the EU all the way in which again within the 70s, it had the choice to decide out of a bunch of treaties newer members who joined many years later, like Romania, Bulgaria or Croatia, didn’t.
For starters, it received to decide on whether or not it might take up the euro because the nationwide foreign money or not, which it did on the flip of the century.
It additionally received a say on whether or not it might be absorbed into Europe’s Schengen Zone, fashioned within the 90s, which it didn’t.
For those that do not know what the Schengen Zone is, it is a border-free space encompassing a majority of nations within the EU, in addition to choose non-EU international locations like Switzerland and Norway.
Instead, Ireland selected to remain out, however not for the explanations you would possibly assume…
Enter The Common Travel Area
Prior to the Schengen Zone coming into drive, Ireland had already signed a border-free settlement with the United Kingdom, with which it shares a land border by way of Northern Ireland. They known as it the ‘Common Travel Area’, or CTA, and formally lifted passport checks for journey inside it.
At the time, the U.Ok. was additionally a member of the European Union, however had equally opted out of the Schengen Zone. For sensible causes, and let’s be actual right here, primarily so as to keep away from stress flaring up alongside the Northern Irish border once more, Ireland adopted Britain’s lead.
The U.Ok. has left the EU as of 2020, but Ireland stays a member.
In order to take care of its light-touch journey settlement with Britain, our Irish associates merely can’t implement Schengen, and by default, EES guidelines.
In different phrases, Americans can proceed touring to Ireland hassle-free, with out fingerprinting.
This makes Ireland the outlier within the EU, however Ireland will not be the one nation within the wider Europe dodging the EES mess this summer time. Here’s 4 others.
Ireland is among the 10 safest countries to go to in Western Europe. Here’s what vacationers are saying:
Ireland Is Also Dodging Europe’s ETIAS
The EU’s border overhaul would not cease there.
Remember we instructed you initially of the article there is a main change coming later within the yr?
That’s the ETIAS, or Electronic Travel Authorization. That’s a whole lot of phrases for eVisa, however mainly, in the direction of the autumn, except you apply for this new obligatory on-line allow, you’ll not be allowed onboard your EU-bound flight.
No extra sipping wine within the South of France, gorging on recent pasta within the Amalfi Coast, or beach-hopping round Greek islands. Not except you get permitted to fly, anyway…
Well, guess what, of us? Ireland is infamously turning down ETIAS too. Once once more, they can not implement ETIAS with out compromising their CTA settlement with Britain.
Americans will nonetheless be welcome in Ireland fully visa-free, for stays of as much as 90 days, and even higher: regardless of time spent in different European nations.
Yep, We’re Skipping The Med This Year
In case you did not know, Schengen Zone guidelines are a lot stricter. You get 90 days (out of a rolling 180-day interval) throughout the whole 29-country block.
This means in case you go to France for 15 days, you solely get 75 days to discover all different international locations within the bloc.
We’re undecided about you, however giving the mounting pile of forms, and the brand new harsh measures, we’re very a lot inclined to offer the Mediterranean a miss this summer time and go on slightly coastal drive alongside Eire’s attractive Wild Atlantic Coast.
Medieval castles, towering coastal cliffs, cheeky Leprechauns lurking in each nook—or perhaps simply the common, redhead, big-bearded Joe…
What’s to not like?
The Travel Off Path Advantage: Your Travel Toolkit
Subscribe To Our Latest Posts
Enter your e mail handle to subscribe to Travel Off Path’s newest breaking journey information, straight to your inbox.
