Americans Will Have To Get Fingerprinted Traveling To This European Country Starting October 12

For many years, the ritual of getting into Europe has been the identical: a pleasant greeting, a fast look at your passport, and that satisfying ‘thump’ of a recent passport stamp. However that entire course of is about to vary in a giant means, and the primary main shift is occurring subsequent month.

Right here at Travel Off Path, we’re all about supplying you with the true, on-the-ground intel you could journey smarter. The European Union has been speaking about new, high-tech border programs for years, making a ton of confusion. Now, it is lastly occurring, and it is kicking off with a complicated, country-by-country rollout.

The massive information? Beginning October 12, 2025, People heading to the beautiful coastlines of Croatia would be the first to expertise a very new entry course of, one that features getting fingerprinted and photographed.

First, What Is This New System?

This new course of is a part of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES). The best means to consider it’s this: the EES is formally changing passport stamps.

As an alternative of a border officer stamping your passport, you’ll use a self-service kiosk to scan it. In your first entry into a rustic utilizing the system, additionally, you will have to offer your biometric knowledge: particularly, four fingerprints and a facial photograph.

This data is then saved securely for 3 years. On subsequent journeys, the method will likely be a lot quicker; you will simply want a fast facial scan to confirm your identification in opposition to the profile already within the system. The objective is to hurry up border crossings and improve safety.

Maintain On, Is This The Similar as ETIAS?

That is essentially the most complicated half for vacationers, so let’s make it crystal clear: No, the EES is totally separate from the ETIAS.

Consider it like this:

• EES (The Kiosk): That is the bodily course of on the border. It is the brand new high-tech system that takes your fingerprints and picture as an alternative of stamping your passport.
• ETIAS (The Web site): That is the online travel authorization you will have to use for earlier than you permit house. It is the $7.50 move that’s nonetheless scheduled to launch within the final quarter of 2026.

You possibly can’t have one with out the opposite, which is why the rollout has been so difficult. The ETIAS system cannot launch till the EES infrastructure is working.

What To Anticipate in Croatia Beginning October 12

Croatia’s Ministry of Inside has confirmed it’s formally activating its system, making it the first European nation to take action.

If you’re flying into Zagreb or Dubrovnik, or crossing one other worldwide border into Croatia after this date, you can be directed to the brand new EES kiosks. You’ll scan your passport, present your fingerprints and picture, and reply a number of questions on the display screen. It is a change, nevertheless it’s designed to be an easy course of.

What About The Relaxation Of Europe?

That is the place the “complicated rollout” is available in. For those who fly into main airports like Paris (CDG), Rome (FCO), or Madrid (MAD) this fall, you’ll most likely see the brand new EES kiosks already put in. Nonetheless, they’re not but obligatory for all vacationers.

For now, these different nations are sticking to the plan of a coordinated, Schengen-wide launch within the first half of 2026.

Which means in the intervening time, you will face a patchwork of programs. You may get your fingerprints scanned in Croatia, however you will nonetheless get a traditional stamp in your passport if you happen to fly to France or Italy.

That is the primary, concrete step in a serious shift for European journey. To remain on prime of this and another modifications, the very best software is our 1 Minute Trip Check, which supplies you the real-time entry necessities for any vacation spot.