Greece exempts Britons from EES biometric registration for summer

Alarm at severe delays caused by the EES rollout in European airports may have dampened British enthusiasm for the traditional summer getaway, but Athens is looking to get Britons back on board.

Greece has just announced biometric exemptions for British visitors. This means they will not be required to provide fingerprint and face biometrics. In 2025 nearly five million Brits headed to the Mediterranean country, representing a huge contributor to Greece’s tourism industry.

Eleni Skarvedi, director of the Greek National Tourism Organization in the UK, told The Independent that the move is intended to ensure a “smoother and more efficient travel experience in Greece.”

“Practically, this means that the entry process in place before the implementation of the EES will remain unchanged,” she said to the newspaper.

This means Britons will need to have their passports manually checked and stamped while personal data is “skimmed” and logged. EES kiosks at Athens airport will remain open to other third-country nationals, but won’t be open to British travelers.

The Greek embassy in London made it clear that British passport holders are excluded from biometric registration at all Greek border crossing points. However, Brussels has taken a somewhat dim view of Athen’s decision.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said contact has been made with Greek authorities to “receive clarifications” and that the legal framework underpinning EES “does not foresee blanket exemption” for specific third-country nationals and for an extended duration.

Generally, however, the EES does allow flexibility for the registration of biometrics with suspension of collection possible at specific borders and for a limited duration in cases of “exceptional circumstances that lead to excessive waiting times,” the spokesperson said, quoted in The Independent.

The decision by Greece to suspend the EES system across its border checkpoints just for British visitors and for the whole of summer may cause tension with the EU. Brussels’ concern may grow if other countries that are popular destinations for Britons, such as Spain and Portugal, decide to follow suit. While there is no indication of that just yet, France has already bent the rules by allowing visitors in cars to forgo EES at French checkpoints at the Port of Dover in southeast England.

The first week of Europe’s EES was marred by delays even as there was widespread suspension of the biometrics enrollment that forms the foundation of the system. Airports and airlines called for more flexible implementation rules in response, but appeared in some cases to have botched staffing and organization.

Article Topics

airport biometrics  |  biometrics  |  border security  |  digital travel  |  Entry/Exit System (EES)  |  EU  |  Greece  |  UK