The European Union's border agency, Frontex, developed the "Travel to Europe" mobile application to help travelers navigate the bloc's new Entry/Exit System (EES). The EES, which records every entry and exit of non-EU short-term visitors in an EU-wide database, has been in a gradual rollout phase since October 12, 2025, and became fully operational on April 10, 2026. This system was designed to detect overstayers and effectively replaced the traditional manual stamping of passports.
However, the transition has introduced a new requirement: travelers must provide biometric data, specifically fingerprints and facial images, in the presence of a border guard at their first point of entry into the Schengen area. This additional step has already caused significant queues at busy border crossings, such as the port of Dover in the UK. Travel organizations have expressed concern that these delays could worsen during the peak summer travel season.
To address these concerns, Frontex introduced the "Travel to Europe" app in autumn 2024. The application allows non-EU travelers to pre-register their passport data and facial images, and to complete entry questionnaires within 72 hours before their journey. While the app does not replace mandatory border checks, it is intended to make the process faster. The deployment of this technology is voluntary for Schengen area countries—which include EU member states, excluding Ireland and Cyprus, as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. Furthermore, each country has the discretion to decide which specific functionalities of the app they intend to utilize.
Initial testing of the app at Stockholm Arlanda airport yielded positive results, showing a 25 percent improvement in the efficiency of the procedure compared to standard EES checks. According to the European Commission, the app is currently in use in Sweden, where it supports passport data, facial images, and entry questionnaires. Portugal has also recently introduced the app, though it currently supports only the entry questionnaire. The Portuguese government announced in June that the app would initially be available at Lisbon Airport, with plans to expand to other locations in the coming weeks. Additionally, it is understood that two other countries are currently working on the deployment of the app, though their identities have not yet been disclosed.
Ahead of the summer season, organizations representing European airports and airlines have urged the European Commission to take urgent measures to limit delays caused by the EES implementation. They have specifically called for the EU-wide deployment of the app to alleviate pressure at border controls. A spokesperson for the Airport Council International (ACI) Europe told The Local that the widespread use of the pre-registration app is a key industry request. The spokesperson explained that enabling passengers to pre-register before arriving at the airport would allow them to skip the self-service kiosk registration stage entirely, significantly speeding up the process and preventing the formation of long queues. Further information and guidance on how to use the application are available on the official European Commission website.
