Speaking after a House Audit Committee meeting on 24 September, senior police official Michalis Katsounotos confirmed that Cyprus will install the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) at all air- and seaports by March 2027. The EES replaces manual passport stamping with a biometric database that records fingerprints and facial images of every non-EU traveller and automatically flags overstays. Deputy Minister Ioannides said the upgrade is central to Cyprus’ Schengen bid and will allow real-time data-sharing among immigration, customs and welfare agencies. At present, roughly 290,000 third-country nationals show an ‘entry-only’ record in national databases — a gap the Audit Office identified as a security risk. The first phase links police, migration and consular systems; phase two will connect the new border platform to airline Advance Passenger Information feeds and Frontex databases. Austrian border experts are due in Nicosia next month to test the installation. For businesses, the EES will change travel routines: non-EU assignees will have fingerprints taken on first entry and must ensure passports are machine-readable; overstays will trigger automatic fines or re-entry bans. Travel managers should start collecting biometric-compliance information from third-country staff and update arrival briefings. The Deputy Ministry will publish a stakeholder guide in December explaining data-privacy safeguards and the grace period for frequent travellers registered under Cyprus’ existing multiple-entry visa scheme.
Source: Digital Hub Cyprus
