The pre-registration devices for Entry/Exit Sytem EES

Deployment of the Entry/Exit System

The new Entry/Exit System (EES) will start on October 12, 2025. France will gradually introduce this system at border checkpoints, with full implementation expected by April 10, 2026.

What is the Entry/Exit system (EES) ?

Created by Regulations (EU) 2017/2225 and 2017/2226, the Entry-Exit System (EES) records entry and exit data or refusal of entry data of short-stay third-country nationals (whether or not subject to a Schengen short-stay visa) crossing the external borders of the Schengen area.

Foreign travellers from third-country nationals travelling to the Schengen area for a short stay (maximum 90 days in a 180-day period), whether or not they are subject to the visa requirement, must be registered in the EES. Foreign travellers who are refused entry must also be registered in the EES.

Definition of foreign travellers from third-country nationals : travelers from a country which is not a member of Schengen area, such as Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland (outside the EU), Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein (outside the EU), Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway (outside the EU), Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (outside the EU)

French pre-registration devices for EES system

Registration in the EES is carried out by a border guard when crossing an external border of a Schengen Member State. Registration in the EES system may be carried out by the use of a pre-registration device: it is a technological solution allowing travelers to record the necessary data for the creation of their EES file, ahead of the actual check at the booth by the border guards.

These arrangements take two forms:

  • Kiosk : in the form of a fixed terminal with self-service access by passengers
  • Table t: in the form of a mobile tablet handled by agents

These arrangements make it possible tocross the border more quickly. Their use isoptionalandfree of charge.

Data collected by pre-registration devices

The pre-registration devices make it possible to collect the data needed to create and update your EES file:

  • The data contained in the travel document(s) : name; first name date of birth; place of birth; gender; nationality; number of the travel document; three-letter code of the country of issue of the travel document; date of expiry of the travel document
  • The place, time and date of crossing the border : on entering and leaving the Schengen area
  • The traveler’s biometric data : facial biometrics (facial image) and digital biometrics (fingerprints of the right hand, or failing that of the left hand – except for minors under 12 years of age)

As the use of the pre-registration system is not mandatory, the traveler is free to go directly to a booth to have his data recorded by a border guard, in accordance with the obligations laid down in European Regulation 2017/2226 establishing the EES system. If the traveler refuses to collect his biometric data, he will be refused entry into the Schengen territory.

The data collected by the pre-registration devices differs if you have previously been registered in the EES system.

If you have not crossed any Schengen external borders since the entry into service of the EES (after October 12, 2025), you will be subject to a first registration. All of the following data must be recorded in your EES file for the first time:

  • Name
  • First name(s)
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth
  • Gender
  • Nationality
  • Number of the travel document
  • Three-letter code of the country of issue of the travel document
  • Expiry date of the travel document
  • Place, time and date of crossing the border
  • Biometric data:
    • Facial Biometry (Face Photo)
    • Fingerprint biometrics (fingerprint of the right hand, or in the absence of the left hand) except for minors under 12 years of age

If you have crossed an external border of the Schengen area since the entry into service of EES (since October 12, 2025), you will be subject to a subsequent registration. Your existing EES file is updated at each crossing of an external border, recording the place, date and time of the crossing.

Persons eligible for the use of pre-registration devices for EES system

To be able to use pre-registration devices, the traveler must have a valid biometric passport (containing a chip).

Accompanied minors under the age of 12 may use pre-registration devices. If applicable, depending on the device used :

  • the kiosk does not capture any biometrics (the facial image of the minor will be taken at the control post)
  • the tablet only captures facial biometrics

Unaccompanied minors are not entitled to use pre-registration devices. The actions necessary to create and update their SEA file will be carried out directly at the border control post by a border guard.

Border crossing points equipped with pre-registration devices for EES system

Airports

The following airports are equipped with pre-registration devices :

  • Roissy-Charles de Gaulle
  • Orly
  • Bâle-Mulhouse
  • Beauvais
  • Bordeaux
  • Lyon
  • Marseille
  • Montpellier
  • Nantes
  • Nice
  • Strasbourg
  • Toulouse

Railway stations

The following stations are equipped with pre-registration devices :

  • Gare du Nord - France (Eurostar)
  • St Pancras Station - London (Eurostar)
  • Coquelles Terminal - France (Eurotunnel)
  • Folkestone Terminal - United Kingdom(Eurotunnel)

Ports

The following ports are equipped with pre-registration devices :

  • Caen
  • Calais
  • Cherbourg
  • Dieppe
  • Douvres
  • Dunkerque
  • Le Havre
  • Marseille
  • Roscoff
  • Saint-Malo
  • Sete

Stages for pre-registration in the EES system

Kiosk

If the traveler go to the kiosk for pre-registration, then he must accomplish the following stages :

  1. Present yourself alone in front of the kiosk
  2. Click on the home screen to start your pre-registration and follow the instructions
  3. Fill the form about the traveler and his trip
  4. Place your passport on the photo page at the top left of the reader and hold the document on the reader until the device informs you that the capture is successful. Depending on your situation, you may be asked to scan the visa you have
  5. Prepare to take your facial image: remove your glasses, scarf, hat and mask
  6. Stand in front of the camera and help yourself with bright LEDs in order to take the photo successfully
  7. Prepare for the registration of your fingerprints: press the four fingers of your right hand on the reader. If it is not possible to use the right hand, you can use the left hand
  8. At the end of your pre-registration, the kiosk screen will direct you to the rest of the route to complete your border crossing

During the pre-registration stage at the kiosk, guidance officers are available to assist and guide travelers in case of difficulty.

Tablet

If the traveler use a tablet for pre-registration, then he must accomplish the following stages :

  1. Introduce yourself to a guidance officer equipped with a tablet, in charge of helping you to make your pre-registration
  2. Answer the staff member’s questions about your personal situation and the reason of your trip
  3. Present your passport to the officer, who will read the MRZ (Machine Readable Zone) tape and the chip of your document. Depending on your situation, you may be asked to scan the visa you have
  4. Prepare to take your facial image: remove your glasses, scarf, hat and mask
  5. The officer using the tablet will take a picture of your face
  6. Prepare for the registration of your fingerprints : press the four fingers of your right hand on the reader indicated by the staff member. If it is not possible to use the right hand, you can use the left hand.
  7. At the end of your pre-registration, the guidance officer will point you to the rest of the route to complete your iron crossing.

Information about the processing and protection of personal data

This processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest by the controller, the Ministry of the Interior (Directorate-General for Foreigners in France / Direction générale des étrangers en France), in accordance with Law 78-17 of 6 January 1978 on information technology, files and freedoms, as amended, and the General Data Protection Regulation.

The data collected shall be kept on the devices until the actual border crossing. They will then be transmitted to the EES. If the data are not presented at the control post, they are automatically deleted after a period of 6 hours.

Only border guards can access your personal data.

Use of the pre-registration device is not mandatory. The traveller can go directly at any time to a booth to have his data recorded by a border guard.

You can access your data. You also have a right to object, a right to rectification and a right to restriction of the processing of your data. To exercise these rights or for any question about the processing of your data in this device, you can contact us electronically: donnees-personnelles-dgef[@]interieur.gouv.fr

This processing is controlled by the Ministerial Data Protection Officer of the Ministry of Interior (Délégué ministériel à la protection des données – Ministère de l’intérieur – Place Beauvau – 75800 Paris Cedex 08).

If you feel, after contacting us, that your IT and Liberties rights are not respected, you can lodge a complaint with the Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (CNIL).

For more information, please consult our page about the processing of personal data in the entry/exit system