Will new biometric controls ‘reset’ 90/180 day rule for travel to France?

Reader Question: When the new EES is implemented will the system be able to know how much time I have previously spent in France beforehand? Will it be possible to use most of my 90-day allowance, return back to the UK, then start ‘fresh’ on 0 days when I hand over my biometric data the first time?

Part of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) is a complete digitisation of border controls, including the ending of manual passport stamping. 

Passports will now need to be scanned upon arrival and on exiting the bloc, allowing an automatic calculation of how many days people have spent in the EU, and how many visa-free days they have left over the next 180 days after leaving.

Read more: New European Entry/Exit System: 9 key things to know in advance

However, there will, at least in the first instance, still be border guards manually reviewing passports alongside these digital checks. 

Christian Wigand, European Commission Spokesperson, told The Connexion that “ As per the EES regulation, from the day the EES starts operations and at least for a period of 180 days, the border authorities will check the stamps… [alongside] EES data to ensure people have not overstayed.” 

This means that if you spend time in France (or in any country where the EES will come into force in the 180 days prior to it being implemented) border guards will be able to adjust the information tied to your passport when you re-enter the bloc. 

This will ensure that it accurately represents how many visa-free days you can spend in the Schengen Area for that period. 

Ensure passports are correctly stamped before EES begins

Note that one of the reasons the EES is being implemented is due to inconsistencies with border stamping.

If your passport has been stamped upon arrival in the EU during a recent visit (and within 180 days before the implementation of the EES) and you wish to then revisit the EU soon after, ensure you receive a border stamp when leaving EU. 

This will allow authorities to accurately calculate how many visa-free days you have left when you re-enter under the then implemented EES rules.

If you have an arrival but not an exit stamp from the Schengen area before the EES comes into force, and cannot prove to border authorities when you last left the bloc, it may cause confusion when you try to re-enter the Schengen Area.

This could see a reduction in the initial number of days you can spend visa-free in the bloc, before the reset after 180 days spent outside of the EU. 

Read more: Biometric border checks: what questions will be asked to enter France?

Mr Wigand also confirmed that those who are in the Schengen Area on a visa-free trip that starts before the EES is implemented, but ends once the border changes have come into force, will not be affected. 

“If someone entered before the EES started operations and leaves after, an exit record will be created using the entry stamp affixed in the passport upon entry,” he said.

There have been recent suggestions that the implementation of the EES has been delayed once more, and is set to begin operations in November 2024 instead of October 2024. 

The EU has not officially confirmed the launch date of the system. 

Read more: New delay for EU biometric border controls reported