EES – European Entry and Exit System and the ETIAS – travel authorisation
EES - European Entry and Exit System
What is it?
The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay, each time they cross the external borders of the European countries using the system. (A full list of the countries can be found here)
The date for the introduction of the EES is still to be announced.
The EES does not apply to holders of residence permits or visas.
For a full list of exemptions follow this link here: To whom the EES does not apply
The EES collects, records and stores:
data listed in your travel document(s) (e.g. full name, date of birth, etc.)
date and place of each entry and exit
facial image and fingerprints (called ‘biometric data’)
whether you were refused entry.
How does it work?
If you arrive at a border crossing point for the first time since the EES started you will have to provide your personal data. Passport control officers will scan your fingerprints and take a photo of your face. This information will be recorded in a digital file. Your passport (biometric or non-biometric) will not be stamped.
If you cross the borders of the EU countries using the EES again since the EES started your fingerprints or the photo of your face will already be held. The passport control officers will only verify your fingerprints and photo, which will take less time.
If you hold a biometric passport, you will be able to enter more quickly using the self-service system (if available at that border crossing point). If your digital file is clear of any impediments to travel, you will usually not need to go via a passport control officer.
Full information can be found here
Non TIE holders
If you are a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary and still using the green card or white A4 residency certificate, please note: these documents will no longer be accepted as proof of residency at Spanish or EU borders once the new Entry/Exit system is in place.
If you plan to travel in and out of Spain, you must update to the biometric TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) to ensure smooth entry and re-entry and prevent your entry being denied.
See our guide to exchange here
ETIAS - travel authorisation
For information only - the ETIAS is not operational at the moment and applications are not being accepted. The ETIAS will be introduced 6 months after the EES is operational.
What is it?
Once it is introduced you will need to hold a valid ETIAS travel authorisation before you can travel to any of these European countries (unless you are exempt as listed below). You can apply for the ETIAS online or through the App, third parties, such as travel agents can also apply on your behalf. To apply, you will need a valid travel document to which a visa may be affixed. Your travel document should not expire in less than three months and it should not be older than 10 years.
The ETIAS is valid for up to three years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. If you get a new passport, you need to get a new ETIAS travel authorisation.
With a valid ETIAS travel authorisation, you can enter the territory of these European countries as often as you want for short-term stays – normally for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. However, it does not guarantee entry. When you arrive, a border guard will ask to see your passport and other documents and verify that you meet the entry conditions.
What information will you need to supply?
When filling out the application, you will be asked to provide the following information:
Personal information including your name(s), surname, date and place of birth, nationality, home address, parents’ first names, email address and phone number;
Travel document details;
Details about your level of education and current occupation;
Details about your intended travel and stay in any of the countries requiring ETIAS;
Details about any criminal convictions, any past travels to war or conflict zones, and whether you have recently been subject of a decision requiring you to leave the territory of any country.
Exemptions
Visit the European Union website for full details of who should apply for an ETIAS and who is exempt
The following are exempt from the requirement to obtain an ETIAS but must produce evidence to the border guard at the time of entry:
A national of a European country requiring ETIAS
A holder of a residence permit or a residence card issued by any European country requiring ETIAS
A national of the United Kingdom who is a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement
A national of Andorra, San Marino, Monaco, the Holy See (the Vatican City State) or Ireland
A refugee, a stateless person or a person who does not hold the nationality of any country and you reside in any of the European countries requiring ETIAS and hold a travel document issued by that country
A holder of a uniform visa
A holder of a national long-stay visa
A holder of a local border traffic permit, but only within the context of the Local Border Traffic
A holder of a diplomatic, service or special passport
Withdrawal agreement protected UK nationals
You can still keep your residency status even if you are away from Spain for up to six months a year. Longer absences for things like military service or important reasons like pregnancy, illness, education, or work in another country won’t break your continuity of residence. After five years with less than six months absence in each year you will be entitled to permanent residency.
Once permanent right to residency has been granted you can be absent from Spain for up to five years continuously. If you move to another country you have to give up your residency card and disengage from Spanish systems. You would then be able to visit Spain as tourists and be subject to Schengen restrictions again. But the right to be a resident is retained and therefore you can move back to the Spain at any point in the following five years, re-register as a permanent resident of Spain. Your permanent right to residency remains in place and any new residency card would state that you were still “Permanente”.
If you remain absent for more than five years you lose the right to residency and would need to apply for a visa to return to live in Spain. You will also lose your protections under the Withdrawal Agreement.
Golden Visa holders
Those who are in Spain via an Investors visa have no limit on their absence period – there is no 6 month in Spain rule for them to maintain temporary right to residency. There is a requirement that you visit Spain at least once each year. To be granted permanent residency however the 10 months absence in five years rule applies.
Other Visa Holders (such as Non-Lucrative Visa)
From May 2025, the maximum permitted absence is six months in a year in order to maintain your residency in Spain.
To obtain permanent residency you need to accumulate five years of temporary residency and in each of these years less than six months absence and with less than 10 months absence in total over the five years. In the case of absences for work reasons, the continuation of the residence will not be affected by absences from Spanish territory of up to six continuous months, provided that the sum of these does not exceed the total of one year within the required five years.
Once you hold a Tarjeta Larga Duración (Long-Term Residence Card) in Spain, you are allowed to be absent from the European Union for up to 12 consecutive months without losing your residency status.
If you become a legal resident in another EU country, you may be absent from Spain for up to six years and still retain your permanent residency rights in Spain.
Under a special regime, if the right to permanent residency expires and you need to start again, you are only required to provide the same evidence as required by an EU citizen when you became a resident here for the first time (i.e. only 100% IPREM, not the 400% IPREM, etc) and you will pick up their permanent right to residency again.
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