The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs has issued fresh operational guidance on the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), which has been fully live at all external Schengen borders since 10 April 2026. In a news release dated 27 July 2026, Brussels listed the categories of travellers who are exempt from the biometric registration that now replaces manual passport stamping across the bloc’s airports, ports and land crossings. Most visa-free third-country nationals who enter the Schengen Area for short stays must now provide fingerprints and a facial scan on first entry. However, travellers who already hold a national long-stay visa or residence permit issued by a Schengen country do not have to supply biometrics each time they cross the border—border guards simply verify the document and waive the EES process. The guidance makes clear that this carve-out does not yet apply to Cyprus or Ireland: holders of Cypriot or Irish residence permits and long-stay visas will, for the time being, be recorded in the EES like other non-EU visitors. For Cyprus-based companies that employ non-EU nationals on local residence permits, this means staff travelling to mainland Europe should expect the full biometric enrolment at first departure after 10 April. Once captured, the data remain valid for three years or until the travel document expires, whichever comes first. Employers are being advised to brief travelling employees on the extra time that may be required at automated kiosks on their next trip to a Schengen border. In practical terms, the clarification removes lingering confusion among Cypriot residence-permit holders who assumed they would be treated like permit-holders from other Schengen states. Travel managers should update pre-trip briefings and factor in queues at major hubs such as Athens, Vienna and Frankfurt, where the new system has already processed more than 145 million individual crossings. Longer-term, the statement signals that Cyprus is still considered “outside” the operational Schengen framework until its accession is finalised—expected in late 2026 or early 2027. Once Cyprus formally joins, its residence documents will qualify for the EES exemption, streamlining future trips for the island’s sizeable expatriate workforce.
