Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) has flipped the switch on a new generation of automated kiosks that let third-country nationals pre-register passport data, fingerprints and a facial image before reaching the border officer. The roll-out, which entered its live phase on 4 January 2026, is Germany’s most advanced implementation yet of the European Entry/Exit System (EES).
EES, in force across the EU since October 2025, replaces passport stamps with a central database that records every entry and exit and automatically calculates a traveller’s remaining Schengen-area stay. Once fully operational, it will flag overstayers in real time and feed analytics to law-enforcement agencies. At BER the process now takes “under two minutes,” according to the airport, thanks to 60 touch-screen kiosks lining the arrivals concourse.
![Berlin Brandenburg Airport deploys self-service kiosks for EU Entry/Exit System]()
For global-mobility managers the tech matters because it changes the compliance dynamic. Short-term assignees who stray beyond the 90/180-day rule will leave a permanent electronic trail, limiting the scope for ‘reset’ trips outside the bloc. Companies should therefore tighten travel-tracking tools and educate frequent flyers, including UK-based staff who lost EU-citizen privileges after Brexit.
Border-police unions, meanwhile, welcome the kiosks but warn of teething issues. Children under 12, travellers without biometric passports and passengers with worn documents are still funnelled into manual lanes, and queue times could spike during the Easter getaway. Full nation-wide deployment is scheduled for 10 April 2026, with Munich Airport following in the spring.
In practical terms, employers should advise non-EU visitors to factor in extra time on arrival, ensure passports are machine-readable and prepare to present supporting paperwork—such as invitation letters—if queried by officers at the staffed booth.
EES, in force across the EU since October 2025, replaces passport stamps with a central database that records every entry and exit and automatically calculates a traveller’s remaining Schengen-area stay. Once fully operational, it will flag overstayers in real time and feed analytics to law-enforcement agencies. At BER the process now takes “under two minutes,” according to the airport, thanks to 60 touch-screen kiosks lining the arrivals concourse.
For global-mobility managers the tech matters because it changes the compliance dynamic. Short-term assignees who stray beyond the 90/180-day rule will leave a permanent electronic trail, limiting the scope for ‘reset’ trips outside the bloc. Companies should therefore tighten travel-tracking tools and educate frequent flyers, including UK-based staff who lost EU-citizen privileges after Brexit.
Border-police unions, meanwhile, welcome the kiosks but warn of teething issues. Children under 12, travellers without biometric passports and passengers with worn documents are still funnelled into manual lanes, and queue times could spike during the Easter getaway. Full nation-wide deployment is scheduled for 10 April 2026, with Munich Airport following in the spring.
In practical terms, employers should advise non-EU visitors to factor in extra time on arrival, ensure passports are machine-readable and prepare to present supporting paperwork—such as invitation letters—if queried by officers at the staffed booth.
Source: VisaHQ
