Travellers entering and leaving Italy this summer will continue to experience a lighter-touch version of the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES). In a note circulated in Brussels on 7 July, Commission officials confirmed that all Schengen members, including Italy, may keep using the current “flexibility regime”—a temporary waiver on fingerprint and facial-image collection—through the end of the high-season rush in September. Airlines, airports and border police had lobbied hard for the reprieve after the 10 April EES go-live generated long queues at Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa when biometric kiosks malfunctioned or were understaffed. Under the compromise, border officers must still scan passports and record travellers’ biographic data in the EES database, but they can defer the first biometric enrolment until a quieter period or a subsequent trip. The exemption is designed to keep average processing times below 45 seconds at peak arrivals, a benchmark the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says is essential to avoid missed connections in multi-terminal hubs.
![EU Allows Italy to Keep Partial Pause on Biometric Capture Under New Entry/Exit System Until September]()
If you’re uncertain about how the EES waiver interacts with your own passport, visa or future ETIAS needs, service providers such as VisaHQ can step in to clarify the paperwork, manage applications and flag timing issues. Their Italy hub offers real-time guidance and hands-on assistance for travellers and corporate mobility teams alike, helping to minimise surprises when the full biometric rules come into force.
For business travellers the decision removes immediate concerns about scheduling extra time for biometric capture during the busiest weeks of the year. Companies arranging summer rotations or short-term assignments can advise staff that only standard passport swipes are required—fingerprints and selfies will be collected later. Nevertheless, compliance teams should remind non-EU assignees that the 90/180-day Schengen-stay counter is already active: overstays will trigger automatic alerts even if biometrics are pending. Italy’s Interior Ministry welcomed the extension but ruled out a blanket moratorium. “A total suspension is neither necessary nor legally possible,” officials said, noting that Italy has not asked Brussels for any derogation beyond September. Airports are using the window to install additional kiosks and train staff; Fiumicino alone plans to double its biometric lanes to 120 before the waiver expires. Looking ahead, the Commission insists the EES will be fully enforced from the autumn wave and will serve as the technological backbone for ETIAS, the €20 pre-travel authorisation that becomes mandatory in late 2026. Corporations with high traveller volumes should therefore budget for new lead times and review data-privacy clauses in travel policies well before the grace period closes.
If you’re uncertain about how the EES waiver interacts with your own passport, visa or future ETIAS needs, service providers such as VisaHQ can step in to clarify the paperwork, manage applications and flag timing issues. Their Italy hub offers real-time guidance and hands-on assistance for travellers and corporate mobility teams alike, helping to minimise surprises when the full biometric rules come into force.
For business travellers the decision removes immediate concerns about scheduling extra time for biometric capture during the busiest weeks of the year. Companies arranging summer rotations or short-term assignments can advise staff that only standard passport swipes are required—fingerprints and selfies will be collected later. Nevertheless, compliance teams should remind non-EU assignees that the 90/180-day Schengen-stay counter is already active: overstays will trigger automatic alerts even if biometrics are pending. Italy’s Interior Ministry welcomed the extension but ruled out a blanket moratorium. “A total suspension is neither necessary nor legally possible,” officials said, noting that Italy has not asked Brussels for any derogation beyond September. Airports are using the window to install additional kiosks and train staff; Fiumicino alone plans to double its biometric lanes to 120 before the waiver expires. Looking ahead, the Commission insists the EES will be fully enforced from the autumn wave and will serve as the technological backbone for ETIAS, the €20 pre-travel authorisation that becomes mandatory in late 2026. Corporations with high traveller volumes should therefore budget for new lead times and review data-privacy clauses in travel policies well before the grace period closes.
