EU Entry/Exit System (EES): no stamps, 90/180 check

Since 10 April 2026 the EES has replaced stamps for short stays: face and fingerprints at the border, 90/180 online. Permesso holders are still stamped.

The EES (Entry/Exit System) is the electronic log of entries into and exits from the Schengen area for non-EU nationals on short stays. Since 10 April 2026 it has run at every external border and replaced passport stamps for short-stay travellers: officers no longer count their days from stamps, because entry and exit dates, a facial image and fingerprints are stored in the database. According to the official exemption list, the EES does not apply to holders of an Italian permesso di soggiorno or a type D visa, while the passport of a valid permesso holder is still stamped - Italian law requires it. Below is what the European Commission and the Polizia di Stato say (checked 30.09.2026) and what people report in the community chats. This is not legal advice.

In short: official data

Dates: progressive start from 12.10.2025, full operation and end of stamping for short stays from 10.04.2026 (European Commission).
Italy: Fiumicino, Malpensa and the ports of Civitavecchia and Genoa went first; all border posts from 20 October 2025 (Polizia di Stato).
What is recorded: travel document data, dates and places of entry and exit, facial image, fingerprints, refusals of entry.
Visa holders (Russians included): the EES stores only the facial image, as the fingerprints are already in the visa database.
Not covered: holders of residence permits and long-stay visas, and family members of EU citizens with a residence card.
Stamp for permesso holders: the border officer stamps the entry or exit date in the passport - art. 4(1-quater) of the Testo unico immigrazione, applicable since the EES launch (added by Decree-Law 69/2023).
Refusing biometrics means refusal of entry. Children under 12 are not fingerprinted.

What changed at the border

Before the EES an officer stamped the passport and counted the 90 days in any 180 from its pages. Now the first crossing after the launch creates an electronic file, and every later entry and exit is logged automatically. Tourists are no longer stamped - according to the Commission's FAQ, manual stamping remains only in Cyprus and Ireland. Airlines check the right to enter through an online interface of the system.

What is stored and for how long:

Data	Retention
Entry, exit and refusal-of-entry records	3 years
Individual file	3 years and 1 day after the last exit
No exit recorded (overstay)	5 years after the end of the authorised stay
Family members of EU citizens without a residence card	1 year

Who the EES covers, and who it does not

The system applies to non-EU nationals travelling to the Schengen area for a short stay, with or without a visa, in 29 countries. The official list of exemptions (Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226) includes, among others:

holders of residence permits and long-stay visas (for us, the permesso di soggiorno and the national type D visa);
non-EU nationals holding a residence card who are close family members of an EU citizen;
people on research, study, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange and au pair schemes, and intra-corporate transferees;
nationals of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino, diplomats and cross-border workers.

What it means in practice. If you live in Italy on a permesso, the EES does not apply to you, but you show the permesso together with your passport at the border. Your passport is still stamped after 10.04.2026. The Schengen Borders Code (art. 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/399) lets a country stamp holders of its own residence permits and long-stay visas where its national law expressly provides for it, and Italy does: under art. 4(1-quater) of the Testo unico immigrazione the officer stamps the entry or exit date in the passport of a holder of a valid Italian permesso. If the stamp is forgotten, ask for it: it is your proof of travel dates.

A first entry on the D visa is different. Art. 4(1-quater) names only permesso holders, Italian law says nothing about the D visa, and long-stay visa holders are not recorded in the EES (art. 2(3)(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226). So on a D visa you may or may not get a stamp, and there is no electronic entry record either. Keep the boarding pass and ticket: the 8 working days to file the KIT run from the entry date (art. 5(2) TU), and that date goes into Modulo 1 - see the KIT for the permesso.

Relatives visiting you on a Schengen type C visa go through the EES like any tourist - how they get the visa is covered in the Schengen visa for Italy.

Renewal ricevuta. Neither the European Commission nor the Polizia di Stato pages mention the renewal receipt or an expired permesso in connection with the EES. The stamping rule (art. 4(1-quater) TU) speaks of a valid permesso and says nothing about the ricevuta. There is no official answer and we will not guess. How to travel with a ricevuta under Italian rules is in travel on the ricevuta.

How to check 90/180 online

The European Commission runs the official Check how long you can stay calculator. It reads EES data, so the page itself carries two caveats:

it does not see stays that began before 10 April 2026 - count older trips yourself from stamps and boarding passes;
until 6 October 2026 inclusive, an "OK" answer may be unreliable for holders of single- and double-entry visas.

Most search demand ("ees check how long") is about this service. The 90-days-in-180 rule itself has not changed - only the way it is counted.

What the chats report (October 2025 - September 2026)

Community reports, not official rules. Numbers are messages in open Russian-language chats about Italy:

Kiosk first, then the officer - about 140 messages, most in April-July 2026: travellers scan the passport and face at a kiosk, then see an officer. Fiumicino, Malpensa, Bari and Bologna are named. Automatic gates reportedly work less often than kiosks.
Queues - about 80 messages: usually 40 minutes to 2 hours, with reports of 4-5 hours in spring 2026. Leave room for connections.
Stamping is inconsistent: 50 "no stamp" reports against 69 "stamped", including stamps after 10 April (permesso holders are entitled to a stamp by law, see above); some kiosks were also out of service.
Keep boarding passes - 27 messages, peaking in August 2026: without stamps, your boarding passes and bookings are your own evidence of dates, including for the next visa application.
Permesso holders - about 14 messages asking whether the EES applies to them; one account from Bari (June 2026) says the kiosks processed a permesso plus passport. That contradicts the official exemption, so keep the permesso at hand and go straight to the officer if in doubt.

And ETIAS?

ETIAS is an electronic authorisation for travellers entering the Schengen area without a visa (fee: 20 euro). Russian citizens need a visa, so they will not need ETIAS; nor will holders of EU residence permits. As of 30.09.2026 the official site says ETIAS is not in operation and the start date will be announced several months in advance; EU news items mentioned "the last quarter of 2026".

The Schengen visa for Italy - Schengen for guests and pre-move trips.
Travel on the ricevuta - leaving and re-entering while the permesso is renewed.
Leaving Italy with a permesso: 6 months - how long you can be away.
How to get to Italy - routes and connections from Russia.
Lost or stolen passport or permesso - if documents go missing on the way.

Official sources

European Commission, Entry/Exit System: home-affairs.ec.europa.eu
Who the EES does not apply to: travel-europe.europa.eu
Data held by the EES: travel-europe.europa.eu
90/180 calculator: travel-europe.europa.eu
ETIAS: travel-europe.europa.eu
EES launch in Italy: poliziadistato.it
Stamp for permesso holders, art. 4(1-quater) of the Testo unico immigrazione: normattiva.it
Long-stay visa holders outside the EES, art. 2(3)(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226: eur-lex.europa.eu
8 working days to request the permesso after entry, art. 5(2) of the Testo unico immigrazione: normattiva.it
Stamping own residence permit and visa D holders, art. 11 of the Schengen Borders Code: eur-lex.europa.eu

Checked 30.09.2026. This is not legal advice: border rules change - check the EU websites and your carrier for current information.

Frequently asked questions

What is the EES and when did it start?

The EES (Entry/Exit System) is the electronic record of entries and exits of non-EU nationals coming to the Schengen area for a short stay. According to the European Commission the progressive start began on 12 October 2025, and from 10 April 2026 the system is fully operational and has replaced passport stamping for short-stay travellers. Holders of an Italian permesso are still stamped (art. 4(1-quater) of the Testo unico immigrazione). This is not legal advice.

Does the EES apply to holders of an Italian permesso di soggiorno?

No. The European Commission's official list of exemptions names holders of residence permits and long-stay visas. Per the community, border officers and kiosks do not always apply this in practice, so carry your permesso together with your passport. Permesso holders' passports are still stamped, though: under art. 4(1-quater) of the Testo unico immigrazione (Legislative Decree 286/1998) the border officer stamps the entry or exit date in the passport of a holder of a valid Italian permesso. The official pages say nothing about a renewal ricevuta. This is not legal advice.

How do I check how many of my 90/180 days are left?

travel-europe.europa.eu has the official 'Check how long you can stay' service. It only counts stays that began after 10 April 2026, and until 6 October 2026 an 'OK' answer may be unreliable for single- and double-entry visas. Count earlier trips yourself from stamps and boarding passes. This is not legal advice.

Will Russians have fingerprints taken at the border?

Russians need a Schengen visa for a short trip, and for visa holders the EES stores only a facial image, according to the European Commission, because the fingerprints are already in the visa system from the application. Children under 12 are not fingerprinted. Refusing to give biometrics means refusal of entry. This is not legal advice.

Do Russians need ETIAS?

No. ETIAS is an authorisation for visa-exempt travellers, and Russian citizens need a visa; holders of EU residence permits are exempt too. As of 30.09.2026 ETIAS is not in operation, and the EU says it will announce the start date several months in advance. This is not legal advice.

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