Stay in France of less than 3 months: registration in the European Entry/Exit System (EES)

Verified 10 April 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You are a foreigner and you want to stay in France for less than 3 months ? Since October 12, 2025, whether or not you are subject to the requirement to have a short-stay visa, you are subject to a visa on arrival in France. recording in the european entry/exit system (Entry Exit System - EES). This system is set up in external borders Member States of the Schengen area. It records the personal data as well as data on entry, exit and refusal of entry third-country nationals. Here is the information you need to know.

This system shall:

  • Replaces stamping of passports and travel documents with a digital stamp
  • Automates the calculation of the length of stay on the territory of the Member States
  • Allows you to detect in real time persons having exceeded the authorized stay.

The recording is carried out by a border guard when crossing an external Schengen border (airport, port, international railway station).

You are concerned if you fill in the following 3 conditions :

  • To be national of a non-european country
  • Maximum length of stay in France of 3 months (or in another country of the Schengen area)
  • Do not have a residence permit (residence card) or long-stay visa issued by a Schengen Member State.

However, depending on your nationality and situation, you may be exempted from registration in the EES system.

Persons to register in the EES system

Third-country nationals traveling to the Schengen area for a short stay (maximum duration of 90 days in a period of 180 days), whether or not they are subject to the short-stay visa requirement, are required to be registered in the Entry/Exit System (EES).

Including the following:

  • Seasonal workers when their employment contract is less than 3 months, whether they hold a residence card or not
  • Third-country nationals who are family members of an EU citizen who do not have a ‘family member’ residence card.

Third-country nationals who are refused entry shall also be registered in the EES system.

Persons not required to register in the EES system

  • Nationals of European Union countries, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Sweden, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino
  • Holders of a passport issued by the Vatican City State
  • Third-country nationals in a long-stay situation: holders of a D visa, known as a long-stay visa, or a residence permit issued by France or another Member State
  • Persons with an employment contract or an education certificate of more than 3 months with a short-stay visa if they are subject to it, pending the issue of a residence permit: researchers, students, seasonal workers, volunteers in the framework of a European volunteer, au pairs, workers transferring internally to their company who can attest (right to mobility)
  • Persons already benefiting from border-verification exemption schemes or benefiting from specific border-verification rules: Heads of State, sovereigns and their delegations whose arrival has been announced through diplomatic channels; pilots and crew (aircraft, cargo ships, cruises, rail); seafarers (only when they remain on the right-of-way of the port where the vessel is moored); frontier workers; security and rescue services; persons with a border-crossing permit or waiver or a document facilitating rail transit.

The recording in the input/output system (EES) is carried out within the border crossing point (airport, port, train station, etc.) where the traveler crosses the external border of the Schengen area.

In order to be able to record the data necessary for the creation of their EES file, travelers have 2 options :

  • Go directly to the border checkpoint for a border guard to collect data and register in the EES system
  • Use a pre-registration device, of the “kiosk” or “tablet” type present at certain border crossing points. These fluidization devices allow a faster crossing of the border. Their use is optional and free of charge. The EES file shall be validated by a border guard at the checkpoint.

The EES system shall collect, record and store the following data:

  • Data contained in the travel document(s) : surname, first name, date of birth, place of birth, gender, nationality, travel document number, 3-letter code of the country of issue of the travel document, travel document expiry date
  • Location, time and date of border crossing : on entering and leaving the Schengen area
  • Biometric data of the traveler : facial biometrics (photo of the face) and, except for minors under 12, digital biometrics (fingerprints of the right hand, or otherwise of the left hand).

The collection of biometric data of third-country nationals concerned by the EES is mandatory. If the traveler refuses the collection of his biometric data, he will be refused entry into the Schengen territory.

The data collected by the pre-registration devices is different if you have previously been registered in the EES system:

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

You are unknown to EES

If you have not crossed any external border of the Schengen area since EES entered into service on 12 October 2025, you are subject to a 1er saving. All of the following data is saved in your EES folder for the 1re times:

  • Name
  • First name(s)
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth
  • Gender
  • Nationality
  • Number of travel document
  • 3-letter code of the country of issue of the travel document
  • Expiry date of the travel document
  • Place, time and date of border crossing
  • Data biometric : facial biometrics (photo of the face) and, except for minors under 12 years of age, digital biometrics (fingerprint of the right hand, or otherwise of the left hand).

You are already known to EES

If you have crossed an external border of the Schengen area since the entry into service of EES on 12 October 2025, your existing EES file shall be updated each time you cross an external border, recording the place, date and time of the crossing.

Your data is not stored in the system only for the purposes for which they were collected and for a precise duration :

  • Entry, exit or refusal of entry record: 3 years from the date of their creation
  • Individual folders containing your personal data (including your data biometric): 3 years and 1 day from the date of your last exit or refusal of entry (if you have not been allowed to enter)
  • If no output has been saved in your individual folder: 5 years from the end of the authorized stay.

At the end of each period, your data is automatically erased.

  • Authorities of European countries using the EES system, such as border, visa and immigration authorities, to verify your identity and determine whether you are allowed to enter or remain in the territory
  • Europol, who may also access your data for law enforcement purposes
  • Under strict conditions, your data may be transferred to another country (inside or outside the European Union) or an international organization (United Nations, International Organization for Migration or International Committee of the Red Cross) for return and/or law enforcement purposes.

You can use a calculator that helps you check if your stay is within the allowed duration if you want to stay in France for less than 3 months:

Calculate the maximum permitted duration of short stays in Schengen countries

Please note

You can also request this information from border control officers.

You can access data concerning you. You also have a right to object, one right of rectification and one right to restriction of processing of your data.

To exercise these rights or for any question about the processing of your data in this device, you can contact the Ministry of the Interior by electronic means: donnees-personnelles-dgef@interieur.gouv.fr

This processing is controlled by the Ministry of the Interior's Data Protection Officer:

Ministerial Data Protection Officer

Ministry of the Interior

Place Beauvau

75800 Paris Cedex 08

If you feel, after contacting the Ministry of the Interior, that your computer rights and freedoms are not respected, you can submit a complaint to the National Commission for Information Technology and Freedoms (Cnil):

3 Place de Fontenoy

ASD 80715

75334 Paris Cedex 07

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