Greece eases EES checks

Greece has stopped taking fingerprints and facial scans from many British arrivals at its borders, even though the European Union’s Entry/Exit System is now fully live. (travelweekly.co.uk) The Greek Embassy in London said on April 17 that British passport holders had been exempt from biometric registration at Greek border crossing points since April 10, 2026. Travel Weekly reported the change was “in place in practice,” with checks relaxed at major entry points including airports and ports serving UK holiday traffic. (travelweekly.co.uk) The Entry/Exit System is the European Union’s digital border database for non-EU short-stay visitors. The European Commission says it records passport details, fingerprints, facial images, and entry and exit dates, and that it became fully operational on April 10, 2026, replacing passport stamps. (ec.europa.eu, ec.europa.eu) British travelers matter to Greece because the UK is one of its biggest source markets, and Athens is trying to avoid airport bottlenecks before the summer peak. Euronews reported Greece adopted the softer approach to keep holiday flows moving after delays linked to the new system. (euronews.com) The timing lines up with a sharp jump in inbound travel. Bank of Greece data published on April 21 showed inbound travelers rose 44.5% year on year in February 2026 to 1.03 million, while airport arrivals increased 27.6% and road-border arrivals rose 80.4%. (bankofgreece.gr) The same Bank of Greece release said travel receipts rose 83.2% in February to €533.4 million, and January-February receipts topped €1 billion. Those figures help explain why border processing has become an economic issue as well as an operational one. (bankofgreece.gr) Travel industry groups backed the move. Travel Daily Media said airline and tourism bodies described the suspension as a practical step to prevent congestion, while Travel Weekly reported support from UK travel sellers dealing with customer concerns over queues. (traveldailymedia.com, travelweekly.co.uk) The legal position is less clear. The European Commission’s rules describe the Entry/Exit System as applying to non-EU nationals staying short term in 29 participating countries, and Travel Weekly reported uncertainty over whether one country can carve out a broad nationality-based exemption on its own. (ec.europa.eu, travelweekly.co.uk) UK government advice still tells British citizens that the Entry/Exit System has changed Schengen border requirements, even as Greece appears to be waving many travelers through without biometric enrollment. For now, the system is live across Europe, but Greece is handling British arrivals more like the old passport-stamp era. (gov.uk, gov.uk)