Quick answer: The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully operational at every external Schengen border since 10 April 2026, but you will almost never meet it in Granada. Aena lists 10 destinations from Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport (GRX), and none of them lies outside the 29 countries that run EES: 8 are Spanish airports, plus Amsterdam and Nantes. A non-EU traveller gives a photo and fingerprints at the first Schengen airport on the way in, usually Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam or Málaga, and at the last one on the way out.
What EES records, and who it covers
EES is an automated register used by 29 European countries: 25 EU members (all except Cyprus and Ireland) plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. It covers non-EU nationals on a short stay, defined as up to 90 days in any 180-day period, whether or not they need a visa. British, American, Canadian and Australian passport holders are all in scope, and those 90 days are counted once across all 29 countries.
At each crossing the system stores your passport data, the date and place of entry or exit, a facial image and, if you travel visa-free, 4 fingerprints; visa holders give only the photo, because their fingerprints already sit in the visa database. Refusals of entry are recorded too, and passports are no longer stamped, although the 2 EU states outside the system still stamp by hand.
By 10 April 2026 the Commission counted more than 52 million entries and exits and over 27,000 refusals, and by its update of 27 July 2026 the total had passed 145 million crossings.
The dates, from the official record
| Date | What happened | Document |
|---|---|---|
| 20 November 2017 | EES Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 adopted; in force 29 December 2017 | Commission policy page |
| 18 July 2025 | Regulation (EU) 2025/1534 on a progressive start adopted; in force 26 July 2025 | Official Journal, Regulation 2025/1534 |
| 30 July 2025 | Commission fixed 12 October 2025 as the launch date | Commission news, 30 July 2025 |
| 12 October 2025 | 29 countries began registering travellers, over a 6-month phase-in | Commission news, 13 October 2025 |
| 9 April 2026 | Last day of the progressive start | EES official FAQ |
| 10 April 2026 | Full operation at all external crossing points; manual stamping abolished | Commission news, 10 April 2026 |
| 6 October 2026 | Last day the EU warns its stay checker may be unreliable for some visa holders | EES official site, stay checker |
Why Granada is not your border
Aena's destinations page for GRX, checked on 24 September 2026, lists 10 routes flown by 7 airlines: Air Europa, Air Nostrum, Binter Canarias, Iberia, Transavia, Volotea and Vueling. Iberia flies to Madrid, Vueling to Barcelona and Palma, Transavia to Amsterdam, and Volotea to Nantes, Asturias and Santander. All 10 airports are in Spain, France or the Netherlands, 3 of the 29 EES countries, so a scheduled flight into GRX creates no EES record.
That makes the airport where you change planes your real border. Our GRX airlines and destinations page tracks the route map, and the table shows where registration happens on 5 common journeys; if Málaga is your gateway, our Málaga Airport to Granada guide covers the road leg.
| Your journey | Where EES happens | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| London or New York to Madrid, then Iberia to GRX | Madrid-Barajas, entry | 10 UK and 12 US airports among Madrid's 223 destinations; border check on level 2 of T4S |
| UK to Barcelona, then Vueling to GRX | Barcelona-El Prat, entry | 18 UK airports among Barcelona's 211 destinations |
| Any non-Schengen city to Amsterdam, then Transavia to GRX | Amsterdam Schiphol, entry | Dutch officers register you; Granada sees an intra-Schengen arrival |
| UK to Málaga, then road to Granada | Málaga-Costa del Sol, entry | 23 UK airports among Málaga's 157 destinations |
| GRX home via Madrid | Madrid-Barajas, exit | Exit check on level −1 of T4S before the S gates |
At the booth: first crossing versus every later one
On your first crossing since the system started, officers take your photo and scan your fingerprints, and your passport is not stamped. Even where self-service kiosks exist, you still meet a passport control officer. On later crossings the system only verifies your face and fingerprints, which the EU says takes less time.
Valid non-biometric passports are in principle accepted, according to the EU FAQ; a chip is needed only for the kiosks. Refusing to give fingerprints or a photo means refusal of entry. The official Travel to Europe app can pre-register passport data up to 72 hours ahead, yet its page names only 2 countries, Sweden and Portugal, so it does not help in Madrid, Barcelona or Amsterdam today.
Changing planes in Madrid
Aena's Madrid-Barajas directions are precise: in T4, flights from outside Schengen arrive at the S gates of T4 Satellite; you pass passport control on level 2, take the people mover from level −2 to T4, clear security and walk to gates H, J or K. If your Iberia, Iberia Express or Air Nostrum flight leaves from the M gates in that satellite, skip the train and go down to level 0 for security.
Going home reverses the order: from gates H, J or K, ride the people mover to T4S level −2, go up to level −1 for passport control, then level 1 for S gates. The operator asks connecting passengers to allow enough time but, on the pages we checked, gives no figure in minutes.
How much time to build in
We found no official average queue time for EES in 2026, from the Commission, Aena or Spain's Policía Nacional. The Foreign Office's Spain advice, read on 24 September 2026, says only that each passenger may take extra time and that checks may happen before boarding. So book a connection your airline sells on a single ticket, and treat your first crossing as the slow one.
Several reports in 2026 said the rollout had slipped to September; the Commission's own record gives 10 April 2026 as full operation. What Regulation 2025/1534 did allow was a queue valve: for 90 days after the phase-in, automatically extended by 60 if fewer than 80% of files from the phase-in held biometrics, a country could stop taking biometrics at a crossing point for up to 6 hours. That clause stops applying 330 days after the 12 October 2025 start, which works out to 7 September 2026, so it no longer covers autumn travel.
Children, exemptions and residents in Spain
Children are registered, but under Article 17(3) of Regulation 2017/2226 those under 12 give no fingerprints; the Foreign Office adds that their photo can still be taken. eu-LISA's report for January to March 2026 counted 978,940 fingerprint exemptions, mainly children under 12 and people for whom fingerprinting is physically impossible.
Of 13 exempt groups on the EU list, 4 matter most for Granada travellers:
- nationals of the 29 EES countries, Cyprus and Ireland, plus citizens of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino and Vatican passport holders;
- holders of a residence permit or long-stay visa, such as a Spanish TIE card, although permits from Cyprus or Ireland do not exempt you;
- non-EU family members of an EU citizen who hold a residence card, travelling with or without that citizen;
- British Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries, but only with a valid Withdrawal Agreement residence document.
A Canadian married to a Lithuanian without a residence card is registered, in the Commission's example of 27 July 2026. Entry and exit records are kept 3 years, your individual file 3 years and 1 day after your last exit, and 5 years if no exit was recorded.
If the system fails, or your record looks wrong
Article 21 of Regulation 2017/2226 sets the fallback. If the central system fails, data goes into temporary storage and is uploaded later; only if that is also impossible do officers record details by hand, without biometrics, and stamp your passport. Such a stamp is part of the official procedure, and your biometrics are then taken at the next crossing.
Keep old stamps as well. The EU stay checker ignores any stay that began before 10 April 2026, and until 6 October 2026 inclusive it may show a wrong "OK" for single- or double-entry visa holders who used an entry between 12 October 2025 and 9 April 2026. Under Article 22 of that regulation, officers also check stamps from your previous 180 days during this 180-day transitional stretch.
If a record is wrong, you can ask for access, correction or deletion through the data controller of any EES country, preferably one you visited, or raise it with officers at your next Schengen crossing, as the Foreign Office suggests. Overstayers go on an automatic list, though proof such as hospitalisation can get an entry amended, and any entry ban should not, in principle, exceed 5 years.
For the airport end of your trip, our Granada arrivals guide and departures guide cover baggage, terminal and timings at GRX itself.
ETIAS is still not running
The separate ETIAS travel authorisation, announced at EUR 20, is not in operation on 24 September 2026, and its official site says no applications are being collected. The EU will announce a start date several months ahead, so nobody can sell you an ETIAS today.
Sources
- European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs: Entry/Exit System page; news of 30 July 2025, 13 October 2025, 10 April 2026 and 27 July 2026.
- travel-europe.europa.eu, official EES and ETIAS site: EES pages, FAQ, stay checker and app page; ETIAS home page. Checked 24 September 2026.
- Regulation (EU) 2017/2226, Articles 17, 21 and 22; Regulation (EU) 2025/1534, Articles 4, 5, 7 and 8.
- eu-LISA, EES Quarterly Report for Q1 2026, published 13 July 2026.
- Aena: destinations for Granada-Jaén, Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat and Málaga; Madrid connecting flights. Checked 24 September 2026.
- GOV.UK, Spain travel advice, entry requirements.
- Policía Nacional, EES notice at policia.es/ses.
